If you’ve finally decided to invest in an Indianapolis business website, you may hear about template websites and custom websites. What does that mean and what are the differences between custom vs. template websites? It all depends on how you want your website to serve you. Based on your industry, website purpose, and budget, the Indianapolis web design team at NEXTFLY can help you determine if a custom or template website is better for your business.
What is a Custom Website?
A custom website is designed and developed specifically for your business. It’s built with unique branding, features, and functionality to meet your company’s exact needs. Custom websites are typically created by professional web designers and developers who tailor every aspect to reflect your business goals and vision. When choosing between custom vs. template websites, custom websites provide a truly unique online experience. The design, layout, content, and even the coding are created specifically for your brand.
The Advantages of a Custom Website
Uniqueness & Branding: A custom site allows you to completely control the look, feel, and user experience, ensuring that every aspect aligns with your company’s identity.
Scalability: As your business grows, custom websites can be scaled up to accommodate new features, pages, or even a larger user base. Whether you’re adding an e-commerce store, a blog, or integrating third-party tools, a custom site offers the flexibility to adapt to changing business needs.
Customized Functionality: Custom websites allow you to create specific tools and capabilities that will enhance your business operations and user experience. This level of customization ensures that your website works exactly how you need it to, without the limitations of pre-designed templates.
The Disadvantages of a Custom Website
Higher Initial Cost: Custom sites tend to be more expensive than template-based websites because of the time and resources required for design, development, and testing.
Longer Development Time: The custom website building process involves thorough planning, designing, coding, and testing, which can take weeks or even months depending on the complexity of the project. This means you’ll have to wait longer before your website goes live.
Ongoing Maintenance: With a custom website, you’ll need to allocate resources for ongoing maintenance and updates. As the site is unique, any issues that arise require custom solutions, which can mean higher costs for troubleshooting or making improvements over time.
What is a Template Website?
A template website is a pre-designed website that can be easily customized to fit your business. These websites come with predefined layouts, colors, and styles that you can modify by adding your own content and images. Template websites are often available through website builders like WordPress, Wix, Shopify, or Squarespace, where you can choose a theme and make minor tweaks without needing any coding skills.
A big difference between custom vs. template websites is that template websites are convenient and affordable. Template websites may not be as unique as custom-built websites, and they can come with limitations in terms of customization and functionality.
The Advantages of a Template Website
Cost-Effective: Template websites are significantly less expensive than custom websites. Most website builders offer affordable pricing plans, making them a budget-friendly option for small businesses or startups looking to create a simple online presence.
Quick Launch: When considering the benefits of custom vs. template websites, one of the biggest benefits of template websites is that they can be launched quickly. Since the design and structure are already in place, all you need to do is input your content and publish. This makes template websites ideal for businesses that need to get online fast.
Ease of Use: Template websites are generally user-friendly, with drag-and-drop builders that don’t require coding knowledge. Maintenance and security updates are also easy to roll out. Templated websites are also tested and are mobile-ready.
Pre-Built Features: Many templates come with built-in features such as contact forms, galleries, blogs, and social media integration, making it easy to add functionality without the need for custom coding. Many website templates include additional features that are easy to use and add.
The Disadvantages of a Template Website
Limited Customization: Template websites offer a limited range of design options and functionality. While you can adjust colors, fonts, and content, you can’t make drastic changes to the layout or structure of the site without advanced technical skills.
Scalability Issues: If your business grows and your website needs more advanced features or custom solutions, you may find the template restrictive and unable to accommodate your changing needs.
Lack of Specific Features: There are many add-ons and services you can add to your website that will solve your issues, but they might not be specific to your company. If you want your website to be able to take payments, you can use an add-on like Stripe to take payments, but you’ll incur a processing fee. Creating a customized payment system from scratch would be an intense undertaking.
Other Considerations
When deciding between a custom vs. template website, it’s essential to consider your Indianapolis business website goals, budget, and timeline. Think about how much control you need over the design, how soon you need the website to be live, and whether your business requires custom features that a template might not offer.
Additionally, take into account the long-term scalability of your website. If you anticipate that your business will expand quickly, a custom website might be more beneficial in the long run, even though it requires a larger upfront investment.
Talk to NEXTFLY® About A Custom vs. Template Website For Your Business
If you’re still not sure if a custom vs. template website is best for your business, The Indianapolis web design team at NEXTFLY can walk through your new website project with you and help you decide. Our experienced team can help you find pre-built features that can meet your needs on a stunning template website, or work with you to create the custom website you need to perform for your customers. Talk to NEXTFLY today to see how we can help you with your business’s website.