When you ask business owners which they prefer between a custom web design and a website template, they would probably say the template because it is pre-designed and not much work is needed.
Sure, templates are great if you’re starting a personal blog (though even blogs now use their very own domain and website that they could customize) but are they really what you need if you want to have a professional-looking site for your business?
When it comes to business websites, there are actually a lot of considerations that have to be made. One of this is the ease of use and management. Business owners think that templates are easier to manage and that customized websites are harder to run and maintain.
Let’s take a look at why this is a misconception.
Access to codes
The primary reason why custom web design should be preferred over website templates is because of the computer codes. If you are a web designer, you know what I’m talking about. The designers of these templates won’t publish the codes to the designs.
If you are going to use a template for your website, there’s no way you could “customize” it even a bit. You would not be able to move the header or the footer or the logo or the content. You will be stuck with whatever layout the developer has made beforehand.
Every other website that used the same template would look exactly like yours (minus the content). Access to codes is also important for security reasons. If you’re about to turn your site into an e-commerce website, you would have a hard time installing security measures in a website whose codes you could not alter.
Optimization for mobile browsers
If your website is not optimized for mobile browsing, you would lose a lot of visitors and potential buyers. Majority of internet users are now accessing the web through their phones and their tablets. This means that if your website is not optimized for mobile phones, the visitors would have a hard time browsing through it.
Using a pre-designed template does not guarantee that it is optimized for mobile viewing. You may have to get permission to access the developer’s code in order to change this particular setting.
Flexibility
If you plan on having your very own website, one of the most critical element should be its flexibility. When you’re starting in the business, you may need a very generic and basic website only. But as your business grows, so will the demands from your website. There will be more traffic and your website should be ready for that change.