As a business, brand or content creator, the internet is the best tool that you have at your disposal. Without an effective digital strategy, it is easy for your brand to be lost in the shuffle. Far from needing a huge budget for digital marketing, creating a high quality web presence is as simple as opting for a custom built website.
Unlike templated sites, custom designs are able to incorporate features that are unique to your brand and, can meet all of the necessary functions for your site. Instead of being locked into a generic template website, working with full stack developers means maintaining the ability to scale your site, incorporate Search Engine Optimization practices, reduce security risks and improve user experience, all while promoting your brand.
Choosing A Template Theme Vs. Custom Websites
A basic website builder might be a quick and easy way to put your business name on the board, but you get what you pay for. Choosing a template allows you to drag and drop content and photos into a pre-made theme but anything beyond that becomes a headache. Incorporating certain features, like calendars or online forms, that may benefit the running of your business, are often not included in pre-built designs and will end up costing more money over time.
In addition to reduced functionalities, it is difficult for brands to stand out, with recycled visuals. As much as you may change the colours and imagery on a site, the overall layout will still be recognizable. Users searching within a certain field or industry will often review several competitors, and it does not look professional to have similar or duplicate sites.
Custom built sites, however, will not be confused with your competitors, but will help your brand stand out. Having a professional build your site means getting the best results at both design and development levels. Templated sites are already full of code, some of which is necessary, while some is not. Custom built sites begin by using a blank slate, with no bulky coding structure or programming languages, meaning increased speed and user experience. Web developers are not only highly skilled at creating attractive and functional designs, but those that function at the highest level, both from a technician perspective and for your brand.
How Can a Custom Built Website Help My Brand?
Anyone can come up with a unique name, but in the long run, a brand is about more than a sign above the door. Dynamic branding consists of consistent and unique features, such as style choices, fonts, messaging and even a distinct colour palette. You might build a client base or following on social media but translating these characteristics to online stores or sites can be tricky.
Professional Appearance & Brand Identity: A good website designer works alongside clients to ensure the imagery and messaging presented on the site fits the intention and core mission of the brand or client.
Increase Functionality: There is no limit to the features that you can add to a custom built site. Depending on the type of business you are running, you will need access to certain functions that others do not. For those industries that require customer booking, online contact forms can be added, calendars can be made to fit scheduling practices and, for those businesses who rely on product photography, exciting presentation tools can be put to use. Custom WordPress themes are also designed to incorporate plug-ins, allowing further features to be added.
SEO Opportunities: The ability to add additional features and dynamic content structures are just one of the ways in which a custom build can help to increase organic traffic through Search Engine Optimization. Curated content, as well as technical additions can help to draw traffic to you, and experienced web developers understand how to create an ideal environment to add these features. Custom designs eliminate bloat and increase page speed, while intuitive navigation reduces bounce speed, all while creating an improved reader experience.
Scalability: A small business will often not have to accommodate booming web traffic right off the bat. Expert website development works to create sites that can grow along with your readership, or customer base. As the needs of your business change, so should your framework. Never be afraid to add features, with the option for altered navigation structures, SEO practices, faster site speeds, and the ability to accommodate a larger flow of traffic.
Avoid Unpleasant Surprises: Templated sites come along with pre-made content management systems CMS, users are at the mercy of unexpected updates. Many site owners are keen to incorporate some hard-coded features in conjunction with templated designs. This might seem like a functional hybrid at first, but a platform-wide update can scrub all of these changes away, leaving your site looking basic, or sometimes even broken. A custom web design is not subject to unexpected updates and can incorporate security measures, while inspecting any potential threats.
Why struggle to stand out, when the experts at Quake Media can make it easy. The inability to customize core aspects of your site means looking like one of many instead of one in a million. Whether you are just starting out, or are looking to improve your existing web presence, consult an experienced web developer today.
