Today on the Internet you can find a lot of web studios that offer, frankly speaking, ridiculous money for the complex development of a turnkey website (for example, a business card site for $ 100). If you ask what exactly is included in the development cost, you will see a modest list of several items, among which in 99% of cases there will be the phrase “template design”. What is a template design and how does it differ from a unique one? Who and in what cases should choose one or the other type?

Template website design

Template design is a solution that is not developed individually for your requirements and wishes, but is purchased or downloaded from template banks

Advantages of template website design

  • Cost

The most common question that a web studio hears from a client: “Why should I pay for the development of a unique design if I can download a nice template for free?” Compared to individual development, template design is much cheaper. This is its main advantage in the eyes of customers who are ready or willing to pay more.

  • Time and labor costs

It will take much less time to search and obtain a template than to develop a unique design. Many customers justify the choice of a template solution by the fact that they need the design “the day before yesterday”, and the stage of creating an individual design (from the design stage to approval and transfer to the layout) takes time that they do not have.

Disadvantages of template website design

  • Serialization

If the design is not developed individually for the customer’s requirements, there is a huge probability to come across a site (or a dozen sites) with the same design on the Internet. And this is not surprising, because such templates can be downloaded for free. You can often find several sites with the same template but with minor modifications, for example, changed color of buttons, different logo and graphic content. Many resources offer the possibility of buying back the template and removing it from sale. However, the cost of such redemption is often higher than the price of developing a unique design in a web studio.

  • “Dirty” code

The most common problem of template designs is “dirty” code. Often websites-banks that distribute templates “sew” invisible links to external sources into the code, thus trying to promote their site at the expense of the customer’s resource. Of course, no one will even suspect that the site can be a carrier of links to other resources.

Important: before buying a website template you should also pay attention to the site loading speed. As a rule, many ready-made templates have a lot of code that is not used and this affects the loading of the site, and as a result, its future SEO promotion in search engines.

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  • Promotion in search engines

It is very difficult to break into the TOP positions for high-frequency queries in the presence of a template design. Search engines can distinguish a unique design from a typical one. Search robots analyze and compare the uniqueness of not only the existing content in the template (images, videos, text), but also the html code of the pages. Thus, if you need to unify the template, you cannot do without changing the images and logo.

  • Restrictions in editing

This problem is inherent in most free templates. Quite often we face the fact that any functionality in the template is simply cut down or available in the PRO version. Sometimes, when editing a template is prohibited, changing its functionality can result in time and financial costs that are equal to the cost of developing a unique website design.

  • Sophisticated integration with corporate identity

Many companies at the time of website development already have a certain corporate identity, logo, branding elements. All these elements should be partially or completely reflected on the web resource. It can be quite difficult to choose a free design that is so suitable for the corporate identity. As a result, the customer either approves a template that does not fit into the general concept of corporate identity, or continues the endless search for the “perfect” option.

Unique or individual website design

As the name suggests, the design will be developed specifically for specific requirements, taking into account the specifics of the business, favorite color and other wishes of the customer.

Advantages of unique website design

  • Individuality

This is the most important advantage. When developing an individual design, you can not worry that somewhere else on the Internet there is the same site. All interface elements and graphic content are unique, which, in turn, positively affects the promotion in search engines and the branding of the company as a whole.

  • Customer’s wishes

If a template design is developed without taking into account the wishes of the customer and the specifics of his business, the development of a unique design implies this by default. No one can describe the peculiarities of his activity, state the wishes and requirements for the design better than the client. Thanks to the information received, specialists will be able to better work out not only the information architecture, but also the graphical interface, without problems introducing the existing elements of the customer’s corporate identity.

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  • Teamwork

In a web studio, as a rule, a whole team of several people works on creating a design. Usually it is a designer-designer, UX-analyst, SEO-specialist, illustrator. In this case, the creation of website design includes all the necessary stages, from the formation of user scenarios to the preparation of graphics for promotions. Each of the specialists contributes at each stage of development. For example, a UX-analyst conducts research related to the behavior and actions of users on the site, as a result of which he makes recommendations on usability. In turn, an SEO specialist gives recommendations on the optimal structure and placement of interface elements that positively affect the promotion in search engines.

Disadvantages of unique website design

  • The cost is “above average”

Depending on the complexity of the task, design requirements and the type of site for which it is created, the development price can be several times higher than the cost of a template with the right of redemption. But this is quite justified – when drawing a design from scratch, a whole group of specialists works on it. Otherwise it is impossible to design an interface that will maximize the conversion on the site.

  • Timing

The process of website development can last from several days to several months. When developing an individual design, the customer should understand that depending on the variety of unique design and the number of design adjustments, the time for its creation may increase.

What type of design to choose?

Template design if:Unique design if:
If you are limited in finances.If you want to emphasize the corporate identity of your company and attract new customers with it.
If no further search engine optimization and promotion of the resource is planned.If you want your site to solve specific tasks of the user, and not just be a beautiful shell with pictures.
If the functionality of the template does not play a special role, further work inside the site will not be carried out.If you plan to promote in search engines and achieve high positions.
If you do not plan to measure conversion on the site.If you need an individual approach to the task.

And then the choice is yours. It all depends on the purpose and budget.