One of the longest battles in digital marketing and web development stems from custom website design vs templates. Both have their benefits and drawbacks, leading many business owners to be completely perplexed as to which is the right choice for them. At Adcreators, we provide customised website designs because we believe that any investment in your business should be smart, calculated and effective.

For us, a customised option is the best way to go. However, many of our clients have had this debate – and for good reason! They want to make sure that their investment is worth it. We know that many prospective clients will also be stuck with this dilemma which is why we’ve decided to settle this age-old marketing debate once and for all!

In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of each and justify why we think a custom website design is the best option. But, don’t get us wrong! There’s a time and place for a template. As a digital marketing agency that has been in the industry for well over a decade, we know the struggles that small businesses have. We also know that not everyone is at a place in their business life cycle where a customised website design is the best avenue for injecting money.

So, while you can expect us to sing the praises of a customised website design (there are many advantages to elaborate on), also bear in mind that templates are effective for some people.

Customised website design

This option is executed by learning and understanding everything about your business, and applying a sound process of strategy, user experience, design execution, programming, and marketing to provide an effective and successful digital presence. We customise your web design in alignment with your organisational goals for the business as well as what is in line for your particular industry.

Template

A web design template is a predesigned resource that incorporates the structure and comprehensive layout for a website. It also includes the features of the website, although plug-ins can be included to improve the user-experience. Web designs templates are provided by several suppliers. It helps make designing much easier, though clients have to do a lot of the work themselves. In the last few years, web suppliers for templates greatly increased as digital marketing became more crucial.

Price

Both options have very different price points for specific reasons. A web design template is usually very affordable, even when you add in the costs of extra plug-ins or if you choose one of the more intricate options. You can expect a custom web design to cost a lot more than a web design template purchased online.

Custom web designs take a lot longer to develop. Our team will meet with you, determine your needs, trends in your industry and work with you to develop a custom web design that incorporates all the features that you want. This takes time, energy and the labour of more than one person, which is why it costs more than a template that’s used by several businesses.

Uniqueness and memorability

With a custom web design, even though the price is higher, you pay for uniqueness and memorability. With this option, your design doesn’t exist. It is created in consultation with you and after our researchers and brand experts determine what’s effective for your industry and brand. You’ll never find a website that is similar to your. It is built with the idea that customers should be impressed with our brand’s reflectivity in the design and its uniqueness. This is what keeps your brand awareness consistent, and your base loyal.

A web design template was created, not with your business in mind, but with the goal of appealing to several businesses so that the supplier can make a profit. This alone signifies the lack of creativity and uniqueness in the ensign.

Development cycle

The development cycle of both mirrors what we’ve discussed in our previous points. A custom web design, because of its research and development approach, has a much longer cycle than a web design template which can be downloaded for your business almost instantly.

While you may have to input the content and code some of the website yourself using a template, it is much faster than a custom web design’s cycle. However, the results are not as effective due to a template’s one-size-fits-all approach.

Customisation

Though there is certainly room for some customisation with a web design template – usually in the form of plug-ins and added features – you are severely limited. Some features may not be compatible with your template or simply can’t work with your web design’s structure. This is the risk you take with  a template.

However, a custom web design is just that – customised. Any feature, structure or effect you’d like for your design is incorporated by our team once we believe that it is effective for your business.

We hope that this makes your decision a bit easier. If you think that a custom web design is the way for you, then contact Adcreators.