Differences between template vs. custom websites(updated 2022)

Let’s start with A Custom Site.

.Custom websites can be defined as a website that is made from square one or a website that is created using a coding language like Javascript or C++.

Based on your experience level, there are more accessible to more complex languages to learn when it comes to creating a custom-designed website. Still, in the end, custom-built websites will take longer, no matter what.

If you are a beginner

Go with Python. This language has been around forever.

It takes an average of just 5 to 10 weeks to learn it.

A GREAT resource to learn Python is Udemy; most courses cost less than $20.00 bucks!

Click here for a great list of Python courses you can take right now.

One thing to remember is that the quality of your custom-designed website will be directly correlated to your level of Python skill.

If you are a beginner, your website will look like a beginner put it together.

If you are an intermediate or advanced:

Go with C++. This language is a great stepping stone after you learn some Python.

This language takes an average of 3+ months to learn, but your website design will clearly show an improvement. Still, as I mentioned before, a custom site takes longer.

One question I would highly recommend asking yourself is.

Why am I learning these languages?

If your passion or career is design or programming, then go for it.

The sooner, the better, as time and practice will get you excellent skills within two years.

However, if you are a business owner trying to get your business online, then learning web design languages will be a waste of time.

I say this for the following reasons:

1-Once you design it, it has to be maintained.

If your goal is to get a business off the ground, several other things, including web design, need to occupy your mind every day.

The best route is to trust your design to someone who can expertly put together the website for you and ensure it is always running smoothly. This is where web design agencies enter the picture. A great agency can do both custom web design and search engine optimization.

Something else to keep in mind is speed.

Implementing design changes on a whim takes skill; this skill takes practice, a practice you wouldn’t have time for as you have a business to run.

Here are a couple of software options that maintain your website for you.

Remember that these are auto-set, so you might be in trouble fixing something if something goes wrong.

Remember that you will have to pay for the options mentioned above.

2-You might not be putting together the right design.

Putting together a website is not only about bells and whistles but providing an enjoyable visitor experience.

An enjoyable visitor experience can be provided by following rules like the three-click, three-click control.

If you don’t follow the above rule, plus others, your design will not be cohesive and increase your bounce rate.

A/B testing is also something that has to be done, especially at the beginning of your website design.

This means more time on your part and tweaking parts of your website.

You will lose potential customers if you are unfamiliar with how to structure your website.

3-It’s not as cheap as you might think

An essential critical reason some business owners might consider learning how to design custom websites is to save money.

In the long run, the above might prove to be a mistake.

The reason is that websites require a minimum amount of monthly/yearly money to maintain, even if you designed them from scratch.

Add to the above the fact that your site will grow over time.

You might start with a one-page design to showcase your business, but success relies on growth.

The bigger your website, the more money it will cost to maintain.

The average cost of a website can be between $400 to $60,000 a year when you factor in online marketing.

A custom-built website, as done by a web developer, is an option that is better suited for specific people, not businesses.

For a business to start on the right foot, over the long run, it will make much more sense to hire someone rather than learn from scratch.

Some places that you can go to now to hire a custom website designer:

Fiverr

As of June 2021, you can find rates as low as $5.00 an hour to put your custom site together or multiple locations.

Whether you will get good service or not is a different story.

I always like to think of Fiverr as a one-off type of option.

I meant to use them once.

You can find reviews for these guys here.

If your goal is continual growth, hiring a lonely person from Fiverr instead of a team might not be the best way to go about your custom design website, as custom-built sites take longer.

Upwork

Similar to Fiverr. You log in, post a job and hire someone to do your work.

You will be dealing with individual designers that work freelance.

I think this can be detrimental to your growth as their attention will be divided between you and 20 other random projects.

You can find reviews for these guys here.

Freelancer.com

Another option for your website design hiring needs.

You can read some of their reviews here.

Also, the work done can increase in price, and the fact that most freelance designers work hourly can quickly put a negative dent in your bottom line.

At SAAI consulting, we offer monthly packages.

This means your web design and online marketing are all rolled into one package you pay for once a month.

There are no “sudden” increases in price because of bad work that needs to be redone.

We only take on a specific number of clients so that there is no attention deficit on our part regarding reaching your goals.

Click here to get in touch with us, and we can dive into all this over the conversation.

Let’s end with A Template site.

Template or website templates are pre-built websites that you can purchase or use free without buying something you can purchase or use for free without buying anything else.

Website templates answer the question, how fast can I put a website together?

Imagine if you buy a house that is already built, but it’s empty; that’s a template website.

All the work is finished outside(coding, look, colors, etc.). You must fix the inside(copywriting, adding or taking away buttons, etc.).

Template websites have been around for more than 30 years, so it is not a fad that will go away soon.

Add to this the fact that you can now add code to an already built website template, and you got yourself the best of 2 worlds.

Some questions that can come up:

1-Can you create your template websites?

The answer is yes…with code.

Every template-based website that exists now was in the beautiful mind of a programmer. In essence, countless businesses use the same template across the internet.

That programmer made the template used by/bought by someone else.

The excellent programming language to create your template is Python.

Read some of the last things you said about this above.

One language I did not mention before that is more popular than Python for putting together a template website is Javascript.

Javascript is a medium-level difficulty language that first appeared in 1995.

It has been around for so long and will not disappear anytime soon.

If you would like to dive into the beautiful world of Javascript, here is a list of excellent Udemy courses you can start with.

2-Should I build a template from scratch or use/buy a pre-built one?

The above question can be answered similarly to the previous questions in this post; it all depends on why you want to learn.

Building a template from scratch will take your time and effort.

The time and effort someone with a career in design should take.

Web designers and templates go hand in hand.

Business owners and creating templates from scratch? Not so much.

Web designers need to know their stuff.

This means learning every language they can and putting in the time and effort.

I highly caution against building a website template from scratch if you are an entrepreneur or business owner.

It will just be an unnecessary time-sink.

As an entrepreneur or business owner, consider using a pre-built template to buy the house already built.

Since someone else took their time and money, you can now focus on expanding your business.

To further drive home the point of going the template route, you have to know that many free resources on the net allow you to use their templates.

I like to use a great template site, Themeforest.net; these guys have been around for a while and offer free and paid templates and themes.

Speaking of themes, a website theme is decoration.

If a template can be seen as an empty house, a theme can be thought of as all the decorations you can put inside or always inside.

A theme can also be considered the outside paint, shape, and feel of the house/website you are working on.

Which option is best for you?

In my experience, a template and a theme are simple tests; this test is simply making a choice and moving forward.

There are many other much more critical areas to a website than its template, and the theme that is spending more than a couple of days choosing and moving forward is a big waste of time.

Seriously, there are over nine areas where your focus will need to be regularly once your website is up and running.

Each of these areas is very important in its own right as they complement each other with the goal of you having a successful online business.

I say the above because there is a good chance both the template and theme of your original website choice will change over the long run.

You don’t want to spend three months(or too long) choosing a template and theme to then have to change it immediately when A/B testing results tell you people do not like what you chose.

Thank you so much for checking out our latest blog post!

Before you go, here’s a bit about us at SAAI:

Here at SAAI, we do Web Design

WITH a helpful page, DESIGN- Your online presence will make people want to stay.LOOK around! Ever been to a store where everything was so easy to get to, you NEVER got lost and knew precisely how to get everywhere? That’s what an effective, SALES-oriented well-designed website will do for your business. Our Brooklyn SEO agency can make a difference.

WITHOUT an effective page DESIGN-Your website will look like a war zone. People will know they are IN a store but have no idea WHAT is going on, WHERE they should go, or HOW to buy IF they find what they’re looking for.

People will leave your website almost immediately; you won’t get the sale, you will not pay rent.. affairs in order… headstone shopping. You get the idea.

Here at SAAI we do SEO

WITH SEO-Your website will allow you to pay your rent/bills/employees. It’s that simple.

Ever walked into the mall and had NO choice BUT to go through a random store first? Well, SEO will make YOUR business that store people HAVE to walk through.

SEO will place your business on page 1 of Google, so your product is seen FIRST.

WITHOUT SEO-Your website will falter and fail.

It’s that simple. Imagine your store is located in the BACK of the mall where it’s too far to walk, so NO ONE ever goes there.

If patrons do not come through your doors, your business will falter and fail… you will not pay rent.. affairs in order… headstone shopping. You get the idea.

We looked around the net and made sure WE are doing what others are not:

1-We respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.

2-We go through precise details on our contracts to ensure all information is clearly understood before moving forward.

3-We ONLY take on about 2 to 3 ideal clients to ensure we give you our undivided attention.

We feel it is more essential to provide QUALITY service than to meet some insane “100 client quota.”

4-The above rule allows us to meet deadlines without issue, ensuring the quality of service and guaranteeing that you will stay with us for the long run.

5-To avoid any issues or misunderstandings, we only take on clients that we know we will be able to help.

If issues prevent us from providing you with the best service, we will tell you before any paperwork is signed.

Please email or give us a call and Let’s chat! 

You can also continue learning about web design and SEO for your website by reading some of our other blog posts below.