Which is Better? Custom Websites vs Ready-made Theme

Nowadays, a well-developed website has become the need of businesses all across the globe. If you own a business, you must have also realised the necessity of having a good and professional website is tremendous. However, when you go to get one made for your business, you will be faced with a tough choice. This choice will be between a custom-made website and an off-the-shelf solution.

In order to facilitate you in making the right choice, we have presented below a detailed analysis!

What Is A Custom Website?

A custom website is the one which is built from scratch tailored to your business goals. Each and everything can be customised according to the needs and requirements of the business. It’s not just about the look and feel, it also helps you to support your vision and goals for the business i.e. a customised funnel to generate leads. That is why a custom-made website is unique and a reflection of the brand image of your business.

What Is A Ready-Made Theme Website?

A ready-made theme website is the one which is built using an existing theme. Several web developers offer ready-made themes. These themes are pre-coded. However, you can adjust some aspects, such as the outlook of the website, by altering the code. Numerous ready-made themes are available, and you can choose whichever you find feasible for your business.

Should You Opt For A Custom Website?

This is a tricky question to answer. In fact, this question does not have any straight forward answer. It all depends on what you are looking for. A custom made website has its own advantages as well as disadvantages. We have listed all of them below. After going through them, if you think that the advantages of a custom website far outweigh its disadvantages, then you should definitely go ahead and get a custom website made!

Advantages of opting for a custom website

• It is specifically designed to achieve your goals like generating leads, traffic, increase SEO, increase sales etc. It can be anything but it’s designed to help your business. In the end, isn’t that the purpose of a website?
• Another biggest benefits of getting a custom website made is that it is unique and tailored to your brand. No other website even slightly resembles it because it has specifically been designed for your business from scratch.
• You have the liberty to design your website in whatever way you want to. There are no restrictions at all. You can quite literally let your imagination go wild. Sounds exhilarating, no?
• Another good thing is that you solely own all the design templates of a custom website. Hence, you are not dependent on anyone else for anything related to your website.
• On top of all this, a custom website also helps in enhancing the brand image of your business. The more aligned a website is to the brand image of the business, the more trust it is likely to generate.
• Additionally, custom websites are built to scale. You can easily make changes to the website and add new features as your business expands.

Disadvantages of opting for a custom website

• Custom websites are made from scratch, and that is a very time-consuming process. Developing an entire website requires a lot of time as well as effort.
• Since building a custom website requires high-level expertise, so it becomes costly for the entire process from strategy to the production.
• Not every other web designer can make a custom website. It is simply not everyone’s cup of tea. You need an expert web developer who has a strong command over coding websites from scratch to do this job.

Should You Opt For A Ready-Made Theme Website?

Some small businesses and solopreneurs prefer to use a ready-made theme website. They find it more appropriate for their purpose. A ready-made theme website has its own set of advantages as well as disadvantages over a custom effective small business website ideas. Have a look at them and decide if you would want to opt for it or not!

Advantages of opting for a ready-made theme website

• It’s easy to try a theme-based website for someone who is just starting a business and doesn’t have a budget for the website.
• Sometimes, it’s quick to test the market with different ideas to see which one works until you figure out the best way for your business.
• A ready-made theme website can be developed within a short time period.
• It is cheaper to get a ready-made theme website made than a custom website.
• A wide range of modern layouts is available in ready-made themes. You can choose whichever you like and find suitable.
• Ready-made theme websites are mostly mobile responsive. In fact, most of them are optimised for all devices.
• One of the biggest advantages of choosing a ready-made theme is that it will be regularly updated automatically. Hence, you do not need to keep an eye on bugs and viruses constantly.
• You can easily install yourself or find a freelancer who can set up for you.

Disadvantages of opting for a ready-made theme website

• A ready-made theme website is not unique and does not stand out among the rest.
• Most of the time, it doesn’t support your business objective.
• If the developer of the theme decides to discontinue it, you will suffer in many ways. As WordPress is open-source and it requires an upgrade from time to time. And your theme can stop working anytime if you don’t keep up to date with the technology. And you might have a difficult time finding someone to help if you have any issues.
• When it comes to customisation, your hands are tied. You can also alter a few things. Most of the things cannot be customised easily or without experts help. And many professional agencies or developers don’t want to take someone else’s work and customise for you.
• Ready-made themes are usually overloaded with functions. This hampers the speed of the website and makes it bad web design.
• People often choose ready-made themes, based on their apparent aspects only to realise later that they have been poorly coded.

Our Recommendation

Are you still finding it hard to decide which option is more feasible for your business? Do not worry. We are here to guide you based on our years of experience in this field. Even though both the options have their own pros and cons, we highly recommend you to opt for a custom website for your business. The advantages of opting for a custom website far outweigh its disadvantages. We are saying this with great certainty as our recommendation is based on our extensive professional experience.

Why should a large business opt for a custom website?

A custom website is an ideal choice for a large business. In fact, it is an ideal choice for any business that can afford to get one made. However, large corporations, in particular, should opt for a custom website because it truly reflects the grandiosity of the business. Large businesses can use a custom made website to enhance their brand image and engage the visitors. On top of that, custom made websites are flexible, which makes them a feasible option for a business that is operating on a large scale.

Why should a small business opt for a custom website?

Usually, small businesses are reluctant to opt for a custom website. They are deterred by the custom WordPress design & development cost. However, it is in a small business’s best interest to opt for a custom website. It might seem pricey, but eventually, it will pay you back. Being a start-up, you should always have long-term plans. If your long-term plan is to expand your operations, then we can’t stress enough how important it is for you to get a custom website designed for your business. If you have a custom website and later on you expand your business, you can easily scale up the website. This will protect you from the hassle of getting a new website and hence, will prove cost-effective in the long run. You should also give 5 small business web design examples a read to understand this better.

We hope you have understood well the merits of opting for a custom website. If you still have any confusions and queries, comment below and let us know. Our team of experts will get in touch with you and will try their best to assist you in whatever way possible.

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