WordPress Theme or Custom Theme? Which is best for your business?
When it comes time to create a new website for personal or business use, you basically have a couple of choices. The first is to use one of the many great template themes offered by WordPress for free or for a small cost, which could potentially get you up and running in a matter of minutes. The other option is to go with a custom-built website theme, which is more time consuming and costly. If you are really serious about branding and creating a memorable online presence, it is the latter of those two options that you should be looking at.
While templates are fine, the problem is that they don’t allow you to separate yourself from the competition in a meaningful way. Separation is important when creating a business site, as the perception is that you can’t really be that serious about your business if you cannot take the time to put together a unique website. By unique, we mean breaking out of the limitations in layout, use of color, and image placement that come with using a template. With a custom design, you call the shots and get the site that best fits your needs as opposed to trying to shoe-horn it into a template.
If you are creating a website for business purposes, there is a better than average chance that you will want an online presence that can grow with your business – and a marketing ready website! Templates come with all sorts of limitations that make it difficult for your site to handle your growth. A custom designer can quickly and easily help you expand your site at the same rate as your business. That designer is also more likely to fix any bugs and issues that arise quickly, which is not necessarily something that you can say for template designers.
A template may look great, but how does it perform online once all your content is in and uploaded? The reality here is that you simply cannot know how rigorously a template is tested, which is not how things work with professional designers. They will ensure that every aspect of the site works as it should before they upload the finished article. Designers will also be adept at implementing the best search engine optimization (SEO) practices, ensuring that the search engines will have a much easier time finding your site once it has gone live.
A custom website is designed to be user-friendly and easy to navigate, which is just as important as how it looks. Aesthetics are nice, but if a user cannot find what they want with a couple of mouse clicks, they will leave and will not return. Custom website designers are always up to date with the latest trends and technologies, which means that they will always be able to keep your site current and ahead of the curve. That alone may be enough to give you a serious edge over the competition in the battle for viewers and customers. The choice is up to you, but we would suggest that a custom website is the best way to go.
Alison Rothwell
Alison is the Director and Founder of WP Fiddly Bits, the WordPress Website Maintenance experts, and contributes to the WP Fiddly Bits WordPress blog. She also uses her background in marketing to help clients get found everywhere online.