Custom web design or ready-made website theme?

If you’re planning to design a new website, you’re probably wondering whether to opt for a custom web design or a ready-made theme that you can download and install. A legitimate question, especially if this is your first web design project.

What is a theme?

This will probably be your second question, right after stumbling over the first one. “Themes” are only of interest to you if your website is going to be based on a content management system, like WordPress. There are countless design themes for WordPress that you can download for your project. These themes define the colors, fonts, image formats, and animations your future website will contain.

Themes are a great thing…

A ready-made web design theme is a great entry point into the digital market. Especially if your design project doesn’t have a large budget. Many themes are available for free. And even commercial themes cost only a fraction of what you would pay for a custom web design. Which makes themes a good starting point for your first business.

You can install many themes yourself, so you don’t need to hire a web designer. You can customize most themes to your liking, choosing your own colors, adding your logo, or changing fonts. You don’t need to be particularly experienced to do this. However, the design customization options are limited – and require some time and getting used to.

All in all, ready-made themes can be a great option for your first business, especially when it comes to gaining initial online visibility. However, this step should be carefully considered!

… but not always.

If you want a truly customized design that sets you apart from the crowd, optimally addresses your customers, and promises greater success, ready-made themes are not a good choice. While you have a wide range of design options, once you’ve settled for one, the options are rather limited. In my experience, changes beyond the included design are very time-consuming and quickly cancel out the original cost advantage of the project.

In addition, popular themes tend to be shared by many users. This results in many websites looking almost identical and having a lot in common. This doesn’t achieve true uniqueness.

There are also a few technical aspects to consider. Ready-made themes come with numerous options, of wich you only need a a few. The rest are just ballast that impairs loading times, rankings, and your website’s success on Google.

When custom web design is worthwhile

A customized web design is developed specifically to your requirements, in collaboration with you, by an experienced web designer. It is aligned with your corporate identity and takes your customers and target audience into account. This makes it an ideal platform for branding, communication, and customer loyalty.

A custom web design offers all the features you need and is based on lean, SEO-optimized code for fast loading times and excellent performance. This guarantees great Google rankings and long-term usability.

A custom web design can be adapted to new technologies and trends, so a later update to your website doesn’t automatically require a complete relaunch.

Advantages of a custom web design

• Unique web design that only you and no one else will use.
• 100% tailored to your corporate design and branding – for consistent corporate communication and increased success.
• All the features you need – exactly as you need them.
• Lean programming for super-fast loading times and good search engine optimization.
• Easy maintenance and flexible expandability for your website’s content.
• No ongoing costs for license or usage fees.
• No vendor lock-in for more freedom in choosing an experienced web designer.
• Greater reliability with future updates to the CMS core system.
• Greater security thanks to open, traceable code.