The Pros And Cons Of Bespoke Website Design

For many people, the very idea of using a template is simply not an option. As an expression of the uniqueness and individuality of your business, you may well agree that going down the completely bespoke route is the only option for you. I have tried to allay some of these assumption in my previous post, as templates don’t necessarily mean that the finished website will simply be a carbon copy of something else that’s already out there (provided, of course, that you’ve got a great web developer running things).

However, if you want to be absolutely sure that your website is completely unique and original, then having it built from scratch is the thing to do to put your mind, in this regard, completely at rest.

For that’s not to say that you can give your brain a break from all concerns. A bespoke website will mean that your design will be completely conceptualised – something innovative, new, and designed specifically to suit your business and the needs of your customers.

The web designer will of course do the hard work, and bring his/her experience and professionalism to the table. But, more than likely, if you want a bespoke website built, then you will at least have an idea of the design in mind that you hope your designer will be able to translate into something workable and brilliant. Indeed, you will probably be thinking of new functions and features all the time, jotting your ideas down and then relating them to your designer and developer. Indeed, your mind will probably be working overtime if you opt to go down the bespoke route – so be prepared to get creative!

The Pros And Cons Of Bespoke Website Design

Ok, as with everything, there is an upside and a downside to opting for bespoke web design. So let’s now consider the pros and cons of the venture.

Pros:

• Guaranteed Unique Design: Having a website custom made means that it will be designed specifically with your business and your customers in mind. Let’s face facts – there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ template that can be assigned to every business model, so why should there be one that provides the frame for your website? Your business is different from all the other businesses that are out there, and with a bespoke design, your website will be too.
• SEO: A good developer will now how to code the back of your website so that it is search engine friendly. This is something that cannot be guaranteed with template design – since templates are coded the same, any website that uses them will not have an SEO advantage over any others. There is also a risk of antiquated coding with a template, which means that not all browsers will be able to run it. Bespoke design means that this potential pitfall can be eradicated.
• Adaptability: Your business may change over the course of time. This indeed might happen relatively quickly, which means that if you have a bespoke design, your developer can also react quickly and make the necessary changes to accommodate. Indeed, you may already know or have an idea of the direction that your business is going, and so you may even be able to explain this to your designer at the outset so he/she will know what to accommodate for in the future.
• Scalability: You of course plan for your business to grow, and so you will want your website to be able to grow with it. With bespoke design, the ability to scale will be part and parcel of the package.
• Service: Your very own web designer will be on hand to service your website at regular intervals, and should always be there to ensure that it is updated with the latest security to protect your business from cyber threats.

Cons:

• Price: There can be no getting away from it unfortunately, but having a website custom built from scratch will inevitably cost you more than if you were to use an off-the-shelf template.
• Time: In the same vein as price, it will of course take much longer to have a website built completely to bespoke requirements than it would if the developer had a template to work with.
• Risk Of Unknown: ‘Unique’ doesn’t always equate to ‘better’. Yes, your bespoke website will be nothing like anything that’s already out there – but is this what your users/customers really want? People have a set of expectations when they visit a site – they want to know exactly where the navigation tools are, how to use the shopping cart, where the contact page is, etc. If your designer likes to think outside the box, then you don’t want him/her to think too far outside of it, as this will ultimately lead to a poor user experience (UX) if first time visitors to your site have no idea how to use it.

Are there any more pros and cons of bespoke design that are worth highlighting for our readers? Please share your thoughts below.