Web design: Custom or template?

If you are considering creating a new website or if you have already gone through this process, you will probably be familiar with the terms "custom web design" or "template website". The choice between one or the other way of working will largely condition the final result of a website.

What is the difference between a custom-made design and a template? In this article we are going to answer these and other questions that may arise during the planning of a new website. For what purpose? To present you with all the information you need to choose the best methodology for your next website. Let's start.

What is custom web design and what about templates?

The concept of web design is usually linked to the complete creation of a website, going through all its stages: conceptualisation, design, programming, layout, SEO optimisation and publication. So when a user searches Google for a web design agency, they expect to find a company that takes care of the entire process of creating and publishing a website.

But is the concept of web design used correctly? If we were to be really strict, the term should only refer to the process by which a web designer defines the visual section of a website. In any case, in the real world it is used with the meaning we mentioned above (the complete creation of a website), both in the case of custom web design and the use of a template.

Now, custom web design refers to the creation of a unique visual section for your project. A designer will gather all the necessary information about it and will present a unique website, adapted to your requirements.

On the other hand, a website with a template will use a predefined design, normally bought in a specialised online shop. In this design you can make some changes in visual aspects, such as the logo, colours or typography; in addition to being able to introduce your own content. Templates are usually linked to a standard web content management system (CMS) such as Wordpress or Prestashop.

A practical example

To give you an idea of how the two compare, imagine you need a new piece of furniture for your dining room. One option could be to go to a shop like IKEA, choose a model that you like and that more or less fits the space you have available at home. We will get a functional piece of furniture, but we will not be able to adjust it completely to our space or personalise it with a colour that is not available. This would be the equivalent of creating a website with a template.

Another option would be to hire a specialised carpenter to create a specific piece of furniture for your dining room. The carpenter would take measurements of the available space, ask you what type of furniture you want, what styles you like and many other things. And once finished, he would deliver a piece of furniture completely adapted to your style and space.

Having clarified both concepts, let's analyse the advantages of web design and websites with templates.

Advantages of a customised web design

• Unique: one of the main advantages of a custom design is that we will obtain a website that no one else will have, separating it graphically from the competition. At the other extreme, the use of templates means that there will be hundreds of websites with practically the same design as ours.
• Adapted to our requirements: the work of the web designer will involve gathering all your needs for the project and creating a visual section that responds specifically to them. This also works the other way around: elements that you do not need will not be included, avoiding overloading the page and negatively impacting its performance.
• Compatible with any technology: the definition of the design of a website can be completely independent of the programming language or content management system that will be used to programme it.
• In line with our brand: if we have already defined a corporate identity, the customised web design will be adapted to it, following the same line that we already use in other formats.
• Performance: since a website will be created specifically for us, we will avoid the use of technologies and functionalities that we do not need, which usually penalise the performance of our website.
• Contribution from other departments: it is very likely that different professional profiles work on our website. For example, an SEO technician in charge of attracting traffic, or a sales manager. With a customised web design, these profiles can participate in the definition of requirements so that the final product adapts to everyone's needs.

Advantages of a template website

• Affordable: using a template to create a website is usually cheaper than custom design. Thousands of templates can be found on the Internet at low prices. However, we must be careful with the choice of template, as it may be incompatible with some of our requirements, or may not have all the features we need.
• Updatable: when we buy a template for a website, we also have access to the updates that its creator adds. Keep in mind, however, that the update support for most templates is usually 1 year. After this time, we will have to pay again if we want to continue receiving updates.
• Fast: the process of creating a website with a template is usually quite fast. Keep in mind that we skip the entire design phase, and only make occasional adjustments to the template. Even so, the use of templates is not free of unforeseen events and complexities, which can delay the publication of our website.

Custom web design or template?

Both custom web design and the use of templates have their own advantages (and disadvantages). The choice of one methodology or the other will depend very much on the type of web project we need.

With a customised web design we will ensure that we have a completely unique website adapted to our brand, different from your competition. In addition, both in terms of performance and functionalities, we will obtain a fully optimised product.

The use of a template to create our website will guarantee us a more economical and updatable solution. And, in some cases, the creation process will be faster than with custom design.

Our recommendation

At La Teva Web we are committed to custom design for our projects. This allows us to offer our clients a website totally adapted to their requirements, with a unique design and unbeatable performance. If you are interested in creating your website with a custom design, do not hesitate to contact us.