Website Design - Templates vs. Bespoke DesignWhen looking for a company to design your website, you will find that
some offer templates and some will offer you bespoke design services. You need
to carefully consider the options before deciding which option to go for and
the following will give you the advantages and disadvantages of both.
What are Templates?
Website templates are websites that are already set up and designed.
They can be downloaded for a small fee and tailored to your company. They may be
sold over and over again to different companies and you will have no input on
the design of the site. They are very practical for a small start up company
that is not concerned with creating an image and has a very low budget.
What are Bespoke Designs?
If you use a bespoke design for your site then you will get something
unique to you. It often involves the use of a graphic designer who will work on
a brief you give them and produce more than one option for you which you can
play around with and get perfect for your company. This type of design gives a
large amount of flexibility and will allow you to create an identity that is
unique to your company.
Comparison between Templates and Bespoke Designs
Advantages of Bespoke Designs
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Advantages of Templates
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- Unique to you
- Can tailor to your needs
- Can use any technologies
- Can control navigation layout
- Can create to be scalable
- Control over general layout
|
- Very Cheap as sold to others
- Quick to implement as ready
made
- Low design requirements
needed
|
Disadvantages of Bespoke Designs
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Disadvantages of Templates
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- More expensive
- Takes longer to design and
implement
|
- Not unique
- Less flexibility
- Can look less professional
- No control over navigation
- Code may not be search
engine friendly
- May not be cross browser
compatible
|
Conclusion
We would recommend that if you are serious about your business you
consider using bespoke designs to get your site just right. Think of your
website as the shop window to your site, you would not scrimp on the way it
looked if it meant no one would come through the door, the same idea should be
applied to your website. One word of caution, when a website design firm says
they are doing bespoke designs ask a few probing questions as some may actually
be using templates that they buy online and just change slightly and are
charging you 4 times as much as if you had bought the template yourself. |