Template vs. Unique Design: Which Website Option is Best?

Template design or unique design when developing a website is a choice that sooner or later arises before every customer. It is good that it exists at all, and depending on the tasks, budget and preferences, a person can make a choice in favor of one or the other at different stages of business development and niche saturation. Let’s consider the strengths and weaknesses of both template and author’s unique options. Having put the information on the shelves, we hope that you will be able to quickly decide on the most suitable option for you.

Why Template Website Design Is Ineffective Today

The current situation in this area of ​​web design can be called a “template breakdown” – even taking into account the cost of template solutions, there is a rapid decline in demand for them among clients. Despite the fact that template design is quite affordable in price, and is also quickly implemented into reality, there are several of its fundamental negative aspects. The following points indicate the inefficiency of this type of design:

1. They all look the same, that is, a particular resource does not have any special feature that makes it stand out from the rest and helps it be remembered among a potential audience.

2. Unable to solve a multitude of tasks from the customer, the list of which will constantly accumulate in the course of activity in connection with the development of the brand and expansion of the range.

3. It is difficult to find a “middle solution” in galleries that would be suitable for both a beauty salon website and a store that specializes in selling home textiles.

The inefficiency of a template-based website is that it is not thought out for certain nuances, which means that when visiting it, the user is highly likely to not remember the company’s brand, product range and, as a result, will not return. It is worth understanding: every day the buyer becomes more and more demanding, he is not ready to buy in the first place he comes across. So, for example, if a person is looking for a phone or new furniture, on the store’s website he evaluates the product range, price, ease of use and “moments” aimed at holding his attention. A template-based website will “become familiar” and will become one of those that is in the “sequence of events” and certainly cannot be fixed in the client’s head, which means the probability of ordering from it is low.

Why doesn’t a site based on a template sell?

This is another important question that should be considered from the position of the behavioral factor. What motivates the client to make an order? – Comprehensive measures: assortment, price, delivery conditions, comfortable atmosphere, clear search. Can even a perfectly designed website on a template provide these points? – The answer is obvious – No.

Marketing research and analytical monitoring allow us to understand what an ideal website looks like, which takes into account the features of the entire customer journey: from the first transition to the page to the payment for the goods in the basket. The template solution excludes important triggers – moments that motivate to make a purchase:

• Personalized, unique color highlights.
• Posting photo/video content.
• Active buttons.
• Animations

At the same time, the template may have an abundance of blocks, places that do not contribute to the purchase, but rather only distract attention, but they are there, since they are part of the layout. Having saved on the uniqueness of the site design, then you will have to invest more in its promotion and advertising.

Template graphic design is characterized by the problem of slowing down, and in one period, even stopping the promotion altogether. The template itself does not negatively affect the promotion – the low results in mimicry on specialized counters are affected by the dominance of similar (sometimes like two peas in a pod, but with different text) resources. It is necessary to take into account that templates have many “hidden places” – built-in links that transmit data about the site, visitors to banks or directly to the developer. You may not know about their presence in advance.

+ Benefits of unique design

The author’s unique design is created from scratch and precisely takes into account all the specified requirements and parameters. They, in turn, depend on the brand niche and the tasks set for the site – to attract attention once, for example, to an event that will take place on a certain day, or to constantly hold attention, including by expanding the range of products on the site.

Speaking about the strengths of exclusive design, we will highlight the following:

• Optimization for the specific needs of the company.

• Uniqueness – no other website will use similar aspects in structure, color scheme, placement of buttons, symbols and other graphic elements.

• Strategic targeting for maximum conversion and ease of use of the resource by the client in the desktop and mobile versions.

• The ability to adapt a previously developed corporate style, including that which is prescribed in the brand book.

• Standing out from competitors who use template versions.

• Demonstrative user-friendliness: everything is clear, structured, many buttons have been implemented for quick hot ordering, contacting a consultant, and comparison. On a psychological level, it is important for the client to have not only a wide range of products, but also the convenience of choosing and ordering a specific product or service.

The most important points are exclusivity and consideration of the brand’s philosophy.

– Disadvantages of unique website design

With all the strong aspects of unique design, it is worth dwelling on specific disadvantages. First of all, it is the high cost, which is not always affordable for a company, especially with a small and rather limited starting budget. At the same time, the high price is justified, because a professional designer, content maker, SMM specialist and even an analyst are involved – masters working on a common project.

Among other negative aspects of choosing a unique design, we will name the following:

• Quite a large investment of time. Thus, it may take even several months to develop a website – everything depends on the requirements specified in the technical specifications and, of course, the specific direction.

• Even when creating a seemingly perfect design, it may take time for further adjustments: identifying and eliminating bugs in the work. Plus, it is worth understanding that in the process of testing the design, new problems may be identified that will also need to be promptly and completely eliminated.

Depending on the terms of a specific agreement with the company, such services may be paid for additionally, falling under the category “Further service, support”.

+ Benefits of Template Design

Although in most cases a template may not solve the global tasks of the project, there are certain moments when its existence is irreplaceable and justified. Website templates exist on certain “banks”, where they are presented by topics, forms. Speaking about what is included in each template, we will highlight the following moments:

• Development of structure and placement of blocks.
• Graphic content.
• Page “anchors” that are aimed at retaining attention.

You shouldn’t be too biased about template design, because in practice there are often cases when, with a competent approach, even a template can take into account all tasks and be very effective. This happens, but extremely rarely.

Speaking about the significant advantages of non-unique sites on a template, we will name the following:

1. The cost, which will be an order of magnitude lower than in the case of developing a unique website design. If the business is at the very beginning of development, the budget is extremely limited, then such a temporary solution will be the most suitable.

2. The high speed of implementation is indicative, which is especially important at the stage of launching a product or service, when you need to enter the market “right now, or even better, yesterday.”

3. A large selection of options in banks for different management systems among paid and free offers.

4. Quite a good variety of options considering the niche.

5. Possibility to implement small wishes from the customer depending on each specific case.

6. An ideal solution for testing the initial hypothesis when introducing a brand to the market, in particular from individual entrepreneurs. It will help to understand the mood of the audience, evaluate behavioral metrics at the start of development and in a short period of time.

Often they rely on a template site when the resource is created for the first time, and the company itself is small and cannot spend a lot of money on creating a unique, high-quality web product. Over time, the initial version is often modernized and improved.

– Disadvantages of templates

A template site, with all its advantages, also has significant disadvantages. The main one is typicality, lack of exclusivity, high risk of repetition by other people. No one will give you a guarantee that a competitor will not order a similar site and in one city there will be two or more pizza delivery or flower shops that offer customers almost identical sites.

Objectively assessing, it is worth saying honestly – there are quite a lot of disadvantages and they are quite strong. It will not be possible to completely exclude any of them. Let’s name the main ones:

• The template cannot in any way take into account the individual wishes of the customer and the entire concept of the brand.

• Despite the fact that the possibility of addition, partial change is provided, it is difficult to fully embody the philosophy of the trademark, convey the characteristic symbols, colors, fonts prescribed in the brand book. It is unrealistic to fully fit in the corporate style.

• Repetition by other market participants; no one can guarantee that there will be no repetitions, because the masters work with the same bases.

• It is not completely free, as potential customers may initially think. You will need to pay to set up and implement the functionality you need in your work. Plus, payment may be withdrawn when it comes to additional functionality: you want to write a script, but the header cannot be edited until payment is made. As a rule, professional versions of the template will only become available after their purchase.

• The presence of embedded hidden links that can lead to the website of the developers of such a template, a bank, or an online casino, a betting site, or even a porn resource. As a result, your site will significantly “sag” in the SEO (search engine promotion) results .

In general, if we say that a site on a template is characterized by technical imperfections, it will be absolutely true. As a result, a huge load on the hosting can be created, there are often cases of conflicts with the CMS, plugins and other components of the site. Correcting them can take a huge amount of time, and not all webmasters are ready to take on their correction.

A website on a template is cheaper than a unique design, faster and easier to develop: truth or myth

The basic task of a website, regardless of whether it is based on a template or created by an author, is to solve problems, needs and “pains” with which the client comes to it. Since a template design is, in a way, a collected set of factors that positively influences the user due to the fact that he has already seen it, remembered it, it may not simultaneously satisfy all the tasks set, including at the psycho-emotional level.

In general, a unique design will cost you more than a template, but if you look at it from a perspective perspective, in the future, you will most likely save on advertising and will not need to look for webmasters who will make edits to it if necessary. Of course, there will come a time when the site will need to be “re-sawed”, and this will also require costs. So the answer to the question regarding cheapness, if you look at the root, is not so affirmative.

Plus, an exclusive solution can work for the future – include development opportunities, when it is almost impossible to do this with a template site. The resulting finished product immediately takes into account wishes and needs, and therefore works in the interests of the audience and the business owner.

Unique design for those who don’t want to pay twice

Having decided to order a design, it is not that you are saving fantastic amounts, but rather wisely and with a perspective, distributing funds. According to unofficial statistics, data received from webmasters, almost 90% of customers who initially chose a site on a template, still later switch to an author’s design. Therefore, perhaps, it is strategically correct to invest right now in the creation of an initially author’s solution, rather than wait for a certain time, stop sales until the rework is done. Consider the correctness of such a decision and from the position that you cannot fully know what will happen to the financial market at the moment when it will be necessary to do this, as well as with the budget of your company.

Another risk: a similar site on a template is created for testing a niche, but users have already encountered something similar in their experience. Of course, there will be an extremely biased and skeptical attitude towards a new resource – is it a fake? – As a final result, even a niche test in the implementation of a product or service may fail.

Another aspect is usability . As a rule, template versions do not take into account the maximum user comfort, and everything is done according to the standard scheme. Even if the site is launched, then after a certain time you will observe a drop in coverage, because the user is not comfortable on it and he does not intend to step over this.

Morally outdated dull templates for morally outdated dull companies

It is important to understand that template banks are not replenished every day, or even every month. There are quite a lot of offers in them that were relevant and “popular” with users 2-3 years ago. The audience reacts quite critically to outdated solutions and, as a result, does not actively place orders on such resources, or even chooses more modern competitors. Individual design is characterized by modernity, accuracy and relevance of trends. Few people are pleased to interact with a resource that smells of the early 2000s (unless we are talking about antique shops). Take into account that a site on a template, only under the brand of another trademark, could have already been noticed by a visitor, and he is already placing orders on it. Why should he change anything?

The rights to the unique design are transferred to the customer under the contract. And who owns the rights to the template?

The rights to the website template belong directly to the developer – the person or group of people who worked on its creation. At the same time, there is no guarantee that sooner or later this template will not be used by competitors, or sold by the developer to him, but in an improved version.

When considering custom design, it is worth understanding the following aspects:

• It is the developer who is vested with personal non-property rights.
• Property rights are fully transferred to the client (customer) and then belong entirely and directly only to him.

As a result, a template site and the rights to it look like a dubious decision, a lottery, a time bomb that you never know will detonate.

Conclusion

Even if you are still separated from a potential order of a unique design by the developer’s stated cost of a unique design, it is worth looking at it strategically, realizing that this is not just payment for creating a brand website, it is a profitable investment in the further development of the company, regardless of the niche.

As a rule, discussions about whether to choose a unique design or a template arise at the start of business development. If the company has formed a brand book, has a corporate, recognizable style, then there is still no need to take risks, but immediately order a unique website design from top-tier web design agency, receiving such prospects:

• Prompt project implementation deadlines, even taking into account its complexity and uniqueness.

• Preparation of technical specifications and their subsequent implementation by specialists to achieve important results.

• Reasonable price on the market.

Before starting to create a unique website design, specialists study competitors, the niche, in order to understand behavioral factors and take them into account at each stage of developing a website where it is convenient and profitable for visitors to place orders.