People often ask me about the difference between a unique website design and one based on a pre-existing layout. Since I get this question a lot, I decided to write about it.
Template-Based Design
Template-based design – a ready design based on a pre-existing layout. Designers and web creators make templates and themes, which you can use to create websites for various CMS. To ensure that the website works, you will need to purchase/download and install the chosen template after installing the engine, such as WordPress on hosting.
Each template has its design, structure, and primary features. You can choose the template with a pre-made design of a particular theme. It can be a template for a construction company, a portfolio website, or a traveling blog.
But you must understand that this type of template-based website isn’t going to be unique, and there will be many websites on the Internet just like yours.
Usually, after applying the template, the website looks crooked and awkward because it’s challenging to find a perfect template for your specific project. So you have to make lots of adjustments to the website, to make it look more appealing. You can correct colors, sizes, and structures and change other settings.
Sometimes it takes a long time to correct the template’s code because it’s not clean, and you may need to spend lots of time fixing a small detail. Frequently, adding the necessary feature causes conflicts and malfunctions in the website’s work.
Primary Benefits of Template-Based Design
- Price and time are two primary benefits of template-based design.
- Template’s cost plus the installation and configuration price are several times cheaper than creating a unique website design.
- You only spend time adjusting the template’s settings, which is much quicker than developing a new unique website.
Here’s where the benefits end. To understand the complete picture, you must examine both options. Only then can you decide what is best for you, so I want to tell you about a different prospect now, the unique website design.
The Unique Website Design
The unique website layout is also called the original, exclusive, or handwritten.
This type of website is a real author’s work. Design, shapes, dimensions, structure, and elements – everything is made from scratch according to a customer’s specific needs, creating a unique design layout. It means that you will have a kind website, and there will be no other similar to yours over the Internet.
The website’s code is written from scratch. It’s simple and easy to edit, so you can quickly change something or add some element to the website. After the design and layout are done, the website is “stretched” on the CMS (in our case, WordPress). Now the owner can edit and add necessary materials to a website.
It’s evident that certain websites cost more and take longer to make. But who orders them and for what purpose? What’s the point of getting the uniqueness if there is a cheap alternative?
Let’s get this sorted out!
Benefits of a Unique Website
Stand out!
In the age of competition, any unique feature will be your competitive advantage for a business. This is why original and memorable logos, signboards, offices, and websites will always be in high demand. If you need a temporary website to try out, template-based will be just fine.
If you work for the future, keep in mind that uniqueness shapes your brand. Far-sighted companies look into the future and stay one step ahead of their competitors from the moment they start creating their websites.
Website design makes an impression on a visitor, and it’s crucial to make a positive first impression. Have you ever seen a website that looks like it’s been made relatively quickly, without much effort? Would you want to risk and purchase anything from them? I’m sure you will think twice before buying anything at a poorly made website.
How does the standard user search for anything? He enters a phrase into the search line (for example, “web studio), clicks on the “search” button, and he’s provided with a long list of websites, which he starts reviewing. Part of the website is closed immediately for several reasons. Here are some:
- The website takes a long time to load – the user doesn’t want to wait, so he closes it.
- A Website looks horrible. The user is appalled, so he closes it.
- Everything looks beautiful, and the pictures are moving and shifting, but the user is lost because he can’t locate the prices/portfolio/contacts, etc. He closes this website too.
- Classic website template – it looks primitive and outdated, so why don’t they update it? What is wrong with this company? Maybe it’s off the market, and they just forgot to shut it down. The user closes the website.
In the end, the person is left with 1-3 websites, which he studies thoroughly, getting acquainted with the company’s history, services, and prices.
