Custom Website Design - What is it?
As a client if you are forking out big dollars for a website design agency to build your next website, you want to be sure that it isn’t going to look the same as somebody else’s. It’s also nice to know that you are getting what you think you are paying for – an experienced graphic designer.
The problem is that in the world of website design, every company claims to have the best designers that custom design all of their websites. However those experienced with website design will know there are 2 clear avenues – hand-designed and template designed. Most would say that hand-designed websites are truly custom, however there are some agencies that claim to custom design (although they work with templates).
So what is custom design? If referencing Dictionary.com:
cust-tom –adjective made specially for individual customers.
So some would argue that no matter how a design starts (blank canvas or a template), each website is custom designed, because they are made specially for each client and that there are no two websites that are identical. So even if the layout and colours are identical, as long as there are different logos, photos each website is “custom”.
Template Websites:
In recent years the introduction of the template website companies (eg. Templatemonster.com) has virtually quadrupled the number of web agencies overnight. No longer was there a need for each agency to have an experienced designer, or even a coder - because for $20-$100 a complete website can be bought. All that is required are some basic Photoshop skills to drop in the client’s logo and pictures.
In the early days, the quality of the website templates wasn’t high, and there weren’t a large number to choose from. However as template websites become more and more popular, the quality and quantity has dramatically increased.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Template Website?
By rights, a template website should be far cheaper than a hand designed website as there are anywhere from 10 hours upwards being saved on design and coding. The quality of the designs are very good with 1000’s to choose from. It’s also worth noting that the average person cannot tell the difference between a template and a hand designed website. Templates designs work very well when a template can be found that matches the client’s needs perfectly.
Unfortunately that doesn’t happen very often, clients will request changes. The agency will then do one of two things, find a work around that avoids changing the template, or they find another template. It is for this reason that many of the templates available are very generic, allowing the agency to very easily find something more suitable.
Most would agree this is far from custom.
Hand Designed Websites:
Higher end agencies steer clear of template websites, and design everything from the ground up. These agencies have their own standards as how to best design and build a website, and it involves everything from page width, text styles and flash integration. Agencies pride themselves on starting with a blank canvas, and sitting down with the client to create something individual that creates interest and meets the client’s needs and requirements perfectly.
The opinion of most is that hand designed websites are in fact “custom designed” websites.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Hand Designed Website?
The biggest advantage of a completely hand designed website is complete control to have whatever you liked. If you want a website that looked like a can of beer, with your links being the writing on the can – it can be done. You can reinvent the wheel, you can be individual.
It allows the designer to do what they do best and make something that suits your needs exactly. And if you want to move things around, add things in and pull things out – this usually isn’t a problem.
There is only one real downside of hand designed websites, and that is that they take more hours, and are therefore more expensive.
Conclusion
There is no right or wrong way to build a website, the template route can work for some - especially those with fairly standard design requirement, while the hand designed option is best for those looking for complete control and individuality. The important point for clients is to make sure they are paying for what they are getting – template websites should be much more affordable.
The problem for clients is that it can be difficult for the untrained eye to spot the difference between a template and a hand designed website. It also doesn’t help when all agencies claim that their websites are custom designed. We suggest looking at an agencies portfolio and comparing all of the websites. If they all look roughly the same, with little variety there is a good chance they are templates. Also take a look around websites such as templatemonster.com – you might see something you recognise.
The best advice we can offer is to make sure that you are 100% happy for your website to be on par with any in an agencies portfolio. Call some of the companies in the portfolio, find out what their experiences with the agency were like.
