Many people like to compare a custom designed from a WordPress theme- what are the advantages and disadvantages of each one? Though there is no right answer to the exact question here, you must take note that your website is an integral part of setting you up for future success.
WordPress Theme
Over the last couple of years, the theme marketplace has completely flourished, and it has been catering to different users all over the world with pre-customized designs that are cost-effective.
The positives:
Cost-effective
For very little investment on your part, you can already come up with a design that displays your content and brand. There are some free themes WordPress offers for their users as well as paid ones which is from the $50-250 price range.
Fast timeline
In fact, once purchasing the theme online, you already have a design waiting for you. Within a timeframe of a week or so, you’re ready to launch a new design. It’s fast, and it’s easy since most of the development work is already done. It provides a more convenient option for people who want to launch in shorter time frames like within a week or so.
The Negatives:
Looks generic
Chances are, the mindset of the designer who makes the theme will be to tailor to a variety of users and their preferences. The finished product would turn out to be more versatile to fit different needs and a little generic. It’s built this way to appeal to more potential customers as possible. The whole process of designing a pre-customized theme is entirely different than creating a design that works well for a specific business, brand, or organization.
Redundancy of Codes
Since the theme works for everyone in that specific niche, there will be particular functionalities and styles that the user will not need. The problem comes in the specific codes become redundant, meaning they’re just there, but you wouldn’t need it. So, if that is the case, what will happen then? It affects your overall page speed and loading time. It is a given fact that a lot of readers will leave a page if it takes a long to load. In turn, this will cause you several valuable readers in the process and even potential customers and leads.
SEO
Search engines prefer websites with clean codes because it is a pre-determining factor how your site will rank overall. In this area, themes just don’t perform as well as custom built websites, having the preference more on high-quality, customized and original sites.
Custom Web Design
In a custom web design, a design team usually works on your site. It’s usually tailored to fit the needs of your business or brand making sure every element of the website is there.
The positives:
Personalized design
By having a custom design, you keep that unique edge that sets you apart from the competition. A custom web design usually has a team of experts working on it making sure every aspect of your brand is translated into a good website design. You could spend a great deal of time brainstorming creative concepts like what makes people respond and make subconscious decisions like making a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or even picking up the phone. Chances are, professional designers know the ins and out of business and can help you come up with the best choices on what your site needs specifically.
Overall functionality and performance
You are not limited to a particular theme. Therefore, everything is possible because of your site’s advanced functional capabilities. It gives you more flexibility in designing the site that you want, thus tailoring everything to be more functional and user-friendly, especially to your readers and customers.
Search engine optimized
As what we discussed earlier, search engines prefer websites with cleaner codes. You have a team of experts at your disposal making sure your site is built from clean, more effective codes that will help your site gain more exposure as well as improve your overall page rankings.
The negatives:
More expensive
Investing in a good design isn’t cheap. More programming, time and resources are involved, and if you’re just starting out, you may go over your budget.
It takes a longer time to complete
Creating a quality custom website from scratch naturally takes longer to finish. The time it would take to be complete will also depend on several critical factors such as the site’s design as well as the design team. Usually, this would take several months.
Making the right choice
Websites make lasting impressions, therefore is it critical to choose a design that would represent you, your brand and business professionally and uniquely. As one of the most important business assets you can own, it should be well thought out as well as designed to tailor every site visitor’s needs. If you need help on deciding what’s best for your business, feel free to click here to get more information.
You might ask- a custom web design vs. WordPress theme: what’s the best option? Although there might be no one size fits all solution to this, by weighing the pros and cons and considering your current situation, you will likely come up with the best decision. A WordPress theme design is cost-efficient, and you can probably set your website up and run in no time because of a built-in pre-coded template. It’s also a great option if you’re on a budget and just starting out. Custom web designs, however, are expensive, but if you wanted to invest in an excellent design to grow your business, then this is the more viable choice. It gives you more flexibility, and your site will have advanced functional capabilities that theme designs miss. Furthermore, it’s built with clean, efficient codes that improves your overall site’s visibility and amp up your search rankings in various search engines further growing your business.
