If you’re looking for successful business growth, we say a custom website.
If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Should I have a custom website made for my business or use a template website service?” The answer isn’t simple; there are a few things to consider. Template websites are usually cheaper and are much easier to navigate for those who aren’t familiar with website development. Template websites are also shorter on development time, but their support system isn’t nearly as strong. In our opinion, if you’re looking for successful business growth, we recommend having a custom website created.
Custom Code
There are a few reasons why we favour custom website design over template websites. When a template is used multiple times by different businesses, this code is repeatedly exposed to Google. Google dislikes duplicated code and content. Did you know Google will rank your website lower because of this? With custom website design, the code is custom to your specific website and will appear unique to Google.
Organic SEO
Custom website design also allows you to add the organic search engine optimization (SEO) you want to your website copy and backend. Google ranks your website based on your SEO accuracy, and if you want to add custom SEO to a template website, it will cost you more money. Most website templates you will find are not SEO-friendly, so using custom code will help increase your SEO ranking.
New, Updated Content
Google looks for fresh, new, relevant content that is updated frequently. Custom-made websites allow you to make the content changes you want to when you want to so that Google ranks your website higher. Websites built with templates limit what you can customize, and require you to stay within the parameters the template sets. This limits the number of updates, and the new content you want to put on your website.
Align Brand Identity
A website is part of your marketing strategy and is essential for your digital presence. All of the important actions are taken on your website. Being able to extend your digital marketing strategy to your website with custom colour, font, icons, and photos generates and increases brand awareness. Template websites limit the choices you can make with your identity, and not all of them work on all devices.
All in All
Your business’ success and growth is important. When deciding between a custom website and a template website, you need to consider a lot of things – budget, time, flexibility. However, if growth and expansion are priorities for your business, a custom website will always be our first recommendation.
Custom websites allow you to have the freedom to align with your brand identity and consistently update your website. They give you the opportunity to increase your ranks in Google because of organic SEO and custom code. Custom websites allow you to enhance your digital marketing presence the way you want to be seen, at the pace you want.
For more information, Attilus provides an easy-to-read infographic that compares custom versus template websites, and Ignyte breaks down the different factors to consider when making a decision.