<p>If you are a new small business owner you are probably faced with a marketing dilemma. With a limited marketing budget but the desire to include a website in your marketing plan, do you choose a professionally-developed or “do-it-yourself” website template, or spend the additional money for a custom design?<br><br>There are so many web templates to choose from these days that finding a design that fits a particular business is not an issue. Adding your specific colors and images to a template make it yours and developers can produce a template website quickly and for an affordable price. Some business owners are even able to create template sites without professional help.</p> <b>Drawbacks of “Do-it-Yourself” Templates<br></b>If you decide upon a template design, your next decision will be whether to have it developed by a professional or do it yourself using an online process.<p>It’s important to understand from the beginning that some website templates available though online hosting companies are not easily movable. In other words, if you build your site inside a particular hosting environment, you may find yourself rebuilding your site from scratch outside of the hosting environment down the line. This can come as a big shock to those who are unsuspecting fans of the do-it-yourself template.</p> <p>To make an informed choice between hiring a professional to develop and host your website template and using a do-it-yourself template from a web-based company, use the following list of pros and cons:<br></p> <b>Professionally-Developed Template</b><b> <br> P</b><b>ros</b> <ul> <li>Modular design for future growth</li> <li>Easy to move between hosting companies</li> <li>Optimized for search engines</li> <li>Unlimited design options</li> <li>Includes professional marketing and graphic design consultation</li> <li>24/7 tech support</li></ul><b> Cons</b> <ul> <li>Costs more than a do-it-yourself template</li></ul><b>Do-it-Yourself Template<br> </b><b>Pros</b> <ul> <li>Less expensive than professionally-developed website template</li> <li>Includes hosting</li> <li>24/7 tech support</li></ul><b> Cons</b> <ul> <li>Difficult to add functionality </li> <li>Not built for future growth</li> <li>Blog integration not possible</li> <li>Tied to one hosting company</li> <li>Not optimized for search engines</li> <li>Limited template choices</li> <li>Lacks professional marketing and design </li></ul><b>Major Differences between Custom and Template Websites</b> <p>Both professionally-developed and do-it-yourself website templates have differences from custom built websites—mostly functionality and design. </p> <p>If you’re selling a product and need the ability to conduct e-commerce or have a strong brand, a custom site is worth the investment. If your website is simply informational and you don’t have a strong brand, then you may want to go with a template.<br></p><b> </b><b>Choose a custom website if:</b> <ul> <li>Your site is going to include a shopping cart</li> <li>Video or audio clip integration is desired</li> <li>You must have a completely cohesive look between your online and offline marketing efforts</li> <li>It’s important your web design captures your product or service exactly</li></ul><b>Choose a template website if:</b> <ul> <li>You have a limited budget </li> <li>It’s vital your website is up and running extremely quickly</li></ul> <p>Whichever way you decide to go—professionally-developed template, do-it-yourself template or custom design—remember that websites are an extension of you and your business. Put your best foot forward and invest in the look of your website from the beginning. Leaving your visitors with a positive impression of your business is priceless. </p> 2008-10-06T19:16:19Z -16.1253 716 1874 true 1 9200 insider-information-on-template-vs-custom-designed-websites 14 2008-10-08T21:09:47Z 2008-10-08T21:09:47Z

With a limited marketing budget but the desire to include a website in your marketing plan, should you choose a professionally-developed or “do-it-yourself” website template, or spend the extra money for a custom design?

0 2009-02-24T09:46:23Z