One of the most vital base marketing steps for virtually any business is a well-designed and appealing website. After all, in the modern age where a significant portion of business and shopping is done online, a website is the first point of contact.
It is essentially the calling card or first impression that someone will often get of a business. There are two methods to go about creating a business website from a design perspective, with these being custom or template-based web design. But when it comes to custom vs. template web design, which one suits you best?
Well, that can depend on several factors for the business and the goals of their website. So, let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of custom vs template web design, as well as the real cost difference. Ultimately, this will help you understand the options and determine which is right for your business.
What is Custom Web Design?
As is probably somewhat obvious from the name, custom web design indicates website design that is tailored to the business’s particular needs and wants. Custom web design allows businesses to have a more involved hand in their site’s creation through advanced tailoring of aesthetics and features, and unique design elements.
Often, custom design is the better choice for large-scale businesses, extensive catalog eCommerce sites, and high-traffic sites.
Custom Web Design vs Website Templates
A template design refers to the usage of pre-designed website templates to construct a site. While this does offer a lower degree of customization and unique design, there are ample templates around the web. This means businesses can browse the template selection to find one that truly fits their needs.
When it comes to choosing customer web design vs website templates, templates are often a great choice for smaller businesses or those without the need for significant customization.
Custom Web Design vs Templates: The Cost Difference
One of the major differences to consider when it comes to custom web design vs templates is the cost difference between the two. Generally speaking, custom web design will be more costly than templates, but let’s take a look at the factors that can play a role in the costs.
Custom Web Design Cost Breakdown:
- Initial Development Costs: The custom design will have higher upfront development costs due to more involved coding and design as well as longer development timelines.
- Maintenance: Additional costs may arise due to more need for custom functions, tweaks, or large-scale updates.
- Miscellaneous Costs: Potential for high costs of specialized developers for completing custom or complex features.
- Cost Range: The range of costs for custom design can be quite broad depending on the features the business requires. Generally, custom design can range from $2,000 on the low end to up to even $10,000 for initial development.
Template Design Cost Breakdown:
- Development Costs: Template design will have much lower initial development costs since most of the heavy lifting is already pre-designed.
- Maintenance: Less custom features and lower needs for maintenance means lower costs over time.
- Miscellaneous Costs: This can include the potential for additional development for features that templates cannot fulfill or upgrading the template design.
- Cost Range: Depending on the template design and the source, templates can be incredibly affordable. Some may start at a one-time fee of only around $25 to a couple hundred for more high-end designs.
Overall Pros and Cons of Custom Web Design and Template Design
Now that we’ve covered the general costs of each type of development, let’s look at the overall pros and cons of each.
Custom Web Design Pros
- More customization
- Unique design and features
- Ability to fulfill niche needs
- Better scalability for expansion
- More impactful branding
Custom Web Design Cons
- Higher costs of development and maintenance
- Longer development time
- Potential for numerous tweaks along the way to optimize custom functionality
Template Web Design Pros
- Lower development and maintenance costs
- Easy to use and fulfills basic needs
- Easy to use and launch for any type of business
- Ample template options to choose from
- Fast runway to get the website live
Template Web Design Cons
- Limited customization options
- Lower ability for custom functionality
- Might be less scalable depending on the template and rate of growth
- Potentially lower brand recognition or identity
Which Option is Right for Your Business?
There is no right or better option per se when choosing how to design a business website. Rather, it depends on numerous factors related to the particular business and its purview, including:
- Size of the business
- Level of need for custom functionality
- Branding recognition
- Particular industry
- Budget restrictions
- Long-term goals for expansion or scalability
- Restraints or pressures on the runway to market launch
In general, businesses should opt for custom design when it has complex design or functionality needs, or brand-specific design. Moreover, if they are looking for long-term growth, custom can be better for scalability.
Templates can be opted for when there are budget constraints or simpler website needs. It can also be a better option for getting to the market quickly. Of course, a business can always begin with a template design early on when they have a lower budget and need. Then, once they have some growth and additional budget available, they can begin on a custom-designed site.
However, stay aware of the potential that if expansion happens rapidly, it can be difficult to scale quickly to keep up with templates. If growth is more gradual, this shouldn’t be an issue to have a custom design be developed while scaling is occurring.
Recap
Overall, custom web design and templates can both be great options for businesses to create their website. While custom design can be more costly, it comes with major boons for website functionality and branding. However, templates are much more affordable and allow newer or smaller businesses to get their website up and to market quickly.
The right choice comes down to the business’s particular budget, needs, and objectives. The best way to decide is to weigh each option against what the business needs its website to accomplish and what users need when visiting the site. Be sure to consider the long-term as well, as the website will need to be able to handle increased scaling or expansion.
We hope the above has helped you understand the ins and outs of customer web design vs templates, and in making a decision.
Graphem Solutions – Your One-Stop Shop for Web Design
If you are unsure where to get started with designing a website for your business, we can help. Our team at Graphem Solutions is well-versed in all avenues of web design. Whether you want a custom design with advanced features or an easy-to-use and launch template, we have you covered.
We will work closely with you to understand your business’s objectives and needs to ensure you get the website that will fit both. Check out some of our previous projects to see the types of sites we can accomplish for your business.
To learn more, you can fill out our online form or give us a call at 1-800-590-0175. We look forward to helping you build the perfect website for your business.
