Written by: Satpal Juttla
In this day and age, a website is critical to the successful running of your business. But, when should you go all out with a bespoke website and when should you opt for the simpler route of a template site?
Getting your website right is critical. It’s your shopfront and often a potential customer’s first impression of your business. But, when should you opt for a bespoke site that’s built by professionals, over a quick and easy template design? It can be a difficult decision to make, which is often dictated by budgets. However, experts will tell you that if you’re going to spend money on any piece of marketing, your website is the golden nugget.
At evokeu, we pride ourselves in being at the forefront of web design, digital marketing and brand strategizing. We work with business owners from every sector to create websites that perfectly match their ethos and the product or service that they’re selling. Our team of designers and project managers can build sites from scratch that are tailor-made, in addition to offering a wide range of template sites that can be tweaked to improve suitability. There’s a time and place for each type of website, here are our top tips for choosing the best option for you, your business and your brand.
Plan your requirements
Think about exactly what you need from your website. Perhaps you’re after a site that acts as an online portfolio for your work, so a one-pager with the ability to scroll through images or easily access your social media profiles would be a good fit. For this scenario, a template site would probably be sufficient, as its simple design can be transformed into a variety of layouts with a colour palette to match your branding. Whereas a business that has a catalogue of services or is more complex might benefit from a website specially made to allow potential customers to explore every area. You’ll struggle to find this type of website from an off-the-shelf product.
Benefits of testing
If you’re still unsure which type of website is for you, before committing to the expense and time implications of a bespoke website, why not set up a more basic template site to begin with? A template website can be a great way to test what works and what doesn’t. Use Google Analytics or the data provided by your hosting company to track where visitors travel when clicking on your page, then use the information to better inform your prerequisites for a site. If you have a loyal and warm customer base, it might also be worth sending out a survey via email to gather feedback. If in doubt, it’s sometimes best to ask, you might be surprised by the responses you get; plus, your customers’ comments are what counts, as they’ll be your website’s biggest audience!
Websites are everchanging
Finally, keep in mind that your website, just like your business will be a constantly evolving project. A template or bespoke website might work today, but it might not work tomorrow. Continue to evaluate your site and make changes to ensure that it’s always performing at its optimum. If you need help and guidance with building a website, then enlist the expert support of evokeu. The daunting task of creating the perfect website for your business will quickly become a breeze with the evokeu team on the job.
If you’d like to find out more about Satpal and evokeu, please visit here. You can also follow Satpal on LinkedIn, where you’ll find the latest agency updates and further content to motivate you and your business.
About the author:
Satpal Juttla, Co-founder and Technical Director from evokeu, London’s leading boutique digital marketing and branding agency, discusses the times when a template or bespoke website is better for business.
