For any business on a tight budget, a website template might be their only option. But even those who can afford some of the more premium templates will be missing out on the benefits a bespoke website can bring in the long run.
What’s so wrong with website templates?
There’s nothing particularly wrong with them - they’re a means to an end and they get the job done quickly. They do have a number of drawbacks, however:
They’re not very original - duh!
The whole point of templates is that they can serve as a starting point for anyone to adapt. That means if you find a template you really like, chances are someone has used it before you.
Sure, you can change the colours and slap your own logo on it, but it still won’t be completely unique to YOUR brand and business.
Unnecessary bloat
You know that feeling when you’ve eaten so much your shoulder hurts and you can’t see properly? That’s what it can be like when you use a website template.
Many of them come with unnecessary pre-installed extras which can cause your pages to load slower than a snail on Slo-Mo.
Trying to add to them can be fiddly
Building bespoke functionality on top of a template can be a pain in the posterior.
When the design is pre-made, you don’t always know what’s going on in the bowels of the code, so trying to implement additional features can create conflicts that can be tricky to work around.
Okay then, what’s so great about a bespoke website?
Many things!
It will be yours and yours alone
A bespoke website will be tailor-made to your brand, even down to the layout, navigation, and overall user experience. When a potential customer visits your website, they’ll think “Oh yeah, I’m definitely in the right place!”
SPEEEEED!
Bloat be gone - when your website is built from the ground up, it will only include what it needs, and that goes for elements on the page as well as plugins working in the background.
At WebSorted, we use the Oxygen builder which has some of the highest performance metrics in the game! The added benefit of this speed is that search engines will LOOOVE you.
Full control
Because your designer and developer will know exactly how the website is designed and built, it will be much easier for them to customise and update features for you over time. Being able to hand-pick which plugins are used also means greater security for your site.
If you want to have more control over adding posts or editing your website in WordPress (which is what we use at WebSorted), your developer will even be able to give you access to your own admin area which will require very little training to use.
Better Search Engine Optimisation
An important part of on-page SEO is ensuring all those little technical things like alt tags, meta descriptions, URLs, and image formatting are optimised properly. This can be hard or impossible to do with website templates, but a breeze with bespoke sites.
Ownership
When you pay for a website, surely you should own that website, right?
The bad news is, if you opt for a DIY builder such as Wix or Squarespace, you’re only really renting that website. If you stop paying the monthly fee, you’ll potentially lose access to your ‘custom’ website and/or domain name, and will instead become the proud owner of NotYourWebsite.com until you start coughing up the cash again.
Want to leave that provider? Say goodbye to your website and prepare to start again from scratch.
Thankfully, when you invest in a bespoke website, you can do whatever you want with it. Not happy with our hosting options? Need someone with a different vision? Simply don’t like us as people? We can pack up your website in a virtual Tupperware pot for you to take away and heat up somewhere else (please don’t go, we’ll treat you right, we promise!)
Can I have something in between?
Actually, yes!
At WebSorted, while we encourage you to showcase your unique brand with an equally unique website, we understand that times are genuinely hard and the budget isn’t always there.
Thus, we offer what I’m going to call Pseudo Unique Designs, or PUDs for short (I literally just came up with that - can you tell I’m hungry?)
With PUDs, we build your website brick by brick, but each brick is ready made with a design and elements which we can hand-pick to suit your needs. That means we can speed up the process but your website will still have the features it needs, with a design that is part way between bespoke and off the shelf.
—
If you have the budget, going for a bespoke website will be a greatly beneficial investment in the long run. If you're budget's a bit tighter, rather than opting for a website template you may be able to compromise with a semi-bespoke design that uses individual section templates. Check our pricing calculator to see if we have a solution for you!
There might be a number of valid reasons why your business doesn’t have a website. However, without one, you’re probably missing out on some good business. Here are six reasons why you absolutely SHOULD invest in one.
1. It’s your digital storefront
Imagine your website as a shop on a busy street. The name of the street?
Uh…INTERNET STREET!
It's where people take a virtual stroll (or scroll), have a look at what you've got to offer, and decide whether they want to step inside. But here's the kicker: the internet never sleeps. Your website is open 24/7, 365 days a year. So while you're tucked up in bed, your website is still out there hustling and making you that cash money.
2. Reach the masses
Let’s continue the shop-on-a-street example.
When you have a physical store, your custom is limited to those people who decided to get out of bed and go for a wander.
But what about those people who can’t, or don’t want to leave the house? Why would I want to leave the house when I have a comfy sofa and a PlayStation? What about potential customers on the other side of the world?
The internet has no boundaries!
With a website, you can attract visitors from anywhere. Whether they’re from Teesside or Tahiti, anyone with an internet connection is a potential customer.
3. Establish credibility
Be honest - would you trust a company if they didn’t have an online presence? Probably not as much as you would if they did.
Your business isn’t any different.
And NO. A Facebook page doesn’t count. While it’s a very important part of your bigger marketing strategy, anyone can set one up, slap on a profile picture and call themselves an entrepreneur.
It takes a truly distinguished gentleperson to take the time to invest in their online image with a shiny new website, and this will come across to your visitors.
4. Reinforce your brand
The more places people see your branding, the stronger it becomes. And while social media platforms are a great way to get your business out there, they don’t offer many options in terms of customisation.
This is where your website can really promote your brand amidst an ocean of competitors - when a visitor lands on your home page, they’ll KNOW where they are.
5. Provide vital information
This one’s simple.
Without an online presence, your customers might have trouble finding answers to their questions.
What’s on sale today? What time are you open? Where IS the damn place?!
By providing all of this information on your website, customers can simply open it up and check your contact information or the FAQs for an answer.
You could even go further and really soup up your user experience with a chat bot! These madlads can answer questions directly, or guide the user to the specific information they need.
6. MAKE MORE MONEY
I put this in caps because that’s the POINT of a business, right?
Having a website makes it easy-peasy for your visitors to buy stuff. No need to trudge around a shop for an hour trying to find that thing they like in that specific shade of white.
They just whack it in the search bar and a few taps later they’ve treated themselves before they knew what their thumbs were doing.
And this applies to services as well, not just products!
Now imagine expanding this efficiency beyond the constraints of your physical place of business and out to millions of people on the web, and you’ll see that you have the potential to increase your sales exponentially.
—
You want a website now, right? I bet you do, you cheeky rascal. That’s what WebSorted is here for! If you think you’d benefit from our services, get in touch and we’ll see how we can help.