The pros and cons of template website design

All business owners understand they need a website but they often have questions in terms of what the requirements are, how should your website look? Should you use a digital agency or try and make the website yourself? How important is the design of the website for search and marketing activities? The list is endless.

Businesses need to carry out cost-effective activities that will, at the same time, benefit their business and help them to grow. When looking at website design we are often asked whether templates or themes are a good option for businesses – do they work or should business owners only go with a qualified designer with a development team that knows what they are doing?

Obviously, we are probably slightly biased however, we have collected our thoughts on the pros and cons of template website design and why we think that it is important to consider both sides:

Pros

• Quick turnaround time – often creating a template takes much less time than a bespoke design, so if you are looking for a super speedy website design option this could be for you
• Even a technophobe could use one – no idea how to design a website? Templates are easy to use so even those with little to no knowledge in website design can create a website using one easily
• Free options – there are some free themes available (sometimes they do lack in quality though) so if you are looking for a cost-effective way of creating your website a theme may help
• Great designs – there are some fantastically designed templates available online which will represent your company how you would like to be perceived

Cons

• Your website will be an exact clone of someone else’s – so there won’t be anything unique about your website which means that it could look exactly the same as another company’s, possibly even a competitor!
• Templates are created by people around the world – which means little support. If you have any issues or system problems with the template, there is a chance that there will be little support any issues that you may have
• Not always optimised for user journey – your target audience will have their own ideal user journey and when creating a website this is important to keep in mind. Using a template will take away this unique user journey which could cause problems in terms of conversion rate (the number of leads/sales generated from the website)
• Some templates struggle with search engine optimisation – this may or may not apply to your website however some templates have been coded in a way which means that search engines, such as Google, don’t allow them to rank which is obviously vital if you want to have a good search engine presence and for your customers to be able to find you through search

User journey is key

When looking at creating your own business’ website your requirements will be different than a business working in a completely different sector and providing different services/products – but you could end up with exactly the same website.

Each business is different and so, their website should be different. Not just for brand management and how your customers will perceive you but more importantly for your target audience’s customer journey.

Finding a theme that meets these requirements that can be difficult, which is why we usually recommend seeking the help of a design agency with your website project. They will use their expertise to ensure that your website is able to perform to it’s optimum.

If you want your website to take your business to the next level online and push the number of leads/sales generated by your online presence in our opinion, nothing can compare with a bespoke website that is designed specifically for your target audience.

Need help with a website design project?

If you are struggling with a website design project or would like to speak to a member of our team about our services contact us on 01254 447050.