Should you go template or custom?
Custom is King
It’s difficult to know where to start this piece, so I’ll start in the past and set the scene. In the early 2000’s building websites was hard, content management systems were for internal teams only (meaning no client access) and everything had to be planned and considered well in advance of actually coding the thing, because changes or deviations later would mean additional time and cost.
Fast-forward to the present age and we’re surrounded by high-powered, fully featured content management systems which can be downloaded and used for FREE! There’s an endless supply of extensions and plugins available and you can also pick up a ‘theme’ for a few pounds which simply requires you to push some buttons, pull some levers and ta-da, you have a new website.
Modern and popular frameworks like WordPress tend not to impose restrictions either. They remain flexible, so if your requirements evolve throughout the build it’s not necessarily going to impact the deadline or associated costs, and almost everything you could ever ask for is essentially available out of the box, or close to it.
There’s also a middle-ground with template-driven platforms like Wix or Squarespace, which eliminate the need to set up your own web-server, install the files and database and then configure, secure and maintain the site yourself. You just sign up to their platform, press their buttons and pull their levers and ta-da, you have a new website. You can create one of these sites without employing an agency or even a designer or developer.
What is custom website design?
Put simply, custom website design is the creation of a website that’s tailored around your particular objectives and requirements.
A reasonable analogy would be the difference between a made-to-measure suit compared to an off-the-peg from the Highstreet. Bespoke might be slightly more expensive, but it’s made of higher quality materials, is harder wearing and above all, it simply fits better.
Every business is different and unique. Sure, we all have the same objective – to explain ourselves, appeal to stakeholders, sell something, be a point of contact – but the actual business, who you are, what you do, where you do it, who you do it for, what makes you special, well, that’s something that most of us will have strong opinions on!
We express ourselves digitally through the quality of our website, the aesthetics, messaging, user experience, and any bespoke features or functionality to better communicate our corporate story. Our websites are our “shop fronts” and we want them to have some personality and be enticing. So we go visit the tailor to get measured for our new suit.
What is a template driven website?
Template-driven websites – perhaps using WordPress with a £45 theme, or proprietary creation platforms like Wix – offer a range of pre-built frameworks and templates for selection and customisation. They often come with a fairly rigid structure in terms of layout and design elements, but this allows for a fairly quick turnaround and they can be more cost effective. A bit like that off-the-peg suit.
But what happens when you want to include content that doesn’t fit into the template?
Well, you might have to make a few concessions along the way. Maybe put the video somewhere else, or create a simple link when you would have preferred a stylised call to action box with headings and icons to help it stand out.
Of course, the other major difference, is that template driven solutions are often “do-it-yourself” by nature.
If you don’t know how to manage a webserver and web applications you’ll still need to find someone who does, and platforms like Wix or Squarespace are designed to be fully self-service. You are completely bound and limited by whatever their controls offer you.
This is fine if you want something simple, you’ve built websites before, understand how to position headline messaging and the nuances of search engine optimisation. But for those with little experience, the whole process can be frustrating and often overwhelming.
DIY or call in the professionals?
There are certain things I’ll tackle myself and there are situations where I’ll call a professional. If the walls need a coat of Dulux that’s fine. I’ll even stretch to installing a new power shower (go me!), but if I needed new flooring, or perhaps a garden office built, well it’s time to call the pros. This is because I appreciate the limit of my knowledge and skills.
It’s true that today we have an infinite number of ways to create websites with intuitive and user friendly tools, but that doesn’t make everyone an expert. Having the tools and knowing how to use them are two very different things.
For small businesses with modest needs, DIY platforms are often still the way to go, particularly when you also have a modest budget to match. But for larger corporates looking to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders and meet strict regulations, we’d still recommend speaking and working with the experts.
It’s why Luminate exists. Websites are much more than a few pretty pages with text and images!
A good agency will take a much broader view including things like security, maintenance and backups, page speeds, tone of voice, messaging, responsive considerations for all users irrespective of their device, operating system or browser, how to best serve up your content so that it will be read and understood, analytics, search engine optimisation…. it’s an exhaustive list too long to list here, but you get the idea.
Going custom doesn’t need to cost the earth
We like to think we represent good value for money. We adapt our pace, communication and dynamic to suit each client, their goals, deadline and budget, and everything we do starts with a blank sheet of paper.
Well, almost. We do have some things we re-use.
Our framework, for example, has been designed to cater for the types of content we’re used to publishing. We have modules for documents, director biographies and careers features like listing vacancies all baked in and ready to go. We also reuse various building blocks across each site because there really is no point in reinventing the wheel each time. From a technical perspective it would be a waste of (our clients) money and resources.
Instead, we prefer to spend our time where it matters, understanding you and the goals of the project, where you fit in, how we can help elevate you, how we can best support you for years to come, and how to design a site that will represent you and suit your content.
We’ve standardised on some things, like being WordPress experts and using AWS for enterprise-grade hosting, but the rest is all about you. When a client buys a website from us they aren’t paying for the tools or even the toolbox they come in, they are paying for the experience of knowing how and when to best use them.
If you’re considering a refresh or aren’t getting the support you need from your current agency, drop us a line and let’s have a chat.
