For over a decade, every entrepreneur has had the opportunity to build a website themselves or have it built for a low price using a pre-selected template. However, more and more companies are coming to the realization that a custom-built website is ultimately more cost-effective and brings significantly more benefits. Is a saving of a few thousand today worth tens of thousands in lost revenue in the near future? Probably not. That is why it is important to highlight the main reasons why you should prefer a custom-made website.
1. Created with your business in mind
The purpose of a template is to fit as many companies as possible, meaning uniqueness has been replaced by universality. With a site built on a template, you will not stand out from the crowd, and the probability that a competitor will create something similar is very high. In most cases, the content of the website is also based on the template design, and texts and images are forced to fit into the existing solution. The result is a website that lacks its own identity, and due to various limitations, it can never provide a solution that excites the visitor or remains memorable for its uniqueness. Planning content based on a site’s design is like building a house from the outside in—drawing a zigzag foundation line and then seeing if the bathroom fits or not.
In its simplest form, the purpose of a page is to convey necessary information—everything must start from there. Once the content and structure are settled during the wireframing phase, the web designer begins designing the page. With a custom-built site, we have no restrictions regarding layout, number of pages, length, or appearance. If you need to display a video to introduce a product, animate product packaging to create an emotional connection, or build a complex calculator, it is all achievable. In addition to functionality, a custom site is based entirely on the company’s branding, allowing for the implementation of specific typefaces, color palette quirks, and layout peculiarities. We develop all sites 1:1 based on the design, without making compromises because a template doesn’t support it or skills are lacking.
2. Offers a much better user experience
A custom-built site is created specifically with your product or service and your target audience in mind. Therefore, we can present information exactly as the visitor prefers to consume it. The entire navigation logic of the site is well-thought-out, and all sections of the page are designed to support sales.
Furthermore, templates often come with all sorts of different functions, 80% of which you may not need at all. Since it is not possible to remove or disable everything, the browser also downloads a bunch of completely unnecessary code during every load. This makes the site slow and creates fertile ground for security vulnerabilities in the future. No website built on a template can compete with the clean and efficiently written code that a high-quality custom site offers.
3. Helps with sales and inquiries
Before we begin building a website, the Hable team thoroughly familiarizes itself with the company’s sales strategy. We also establish clear goals with the client that the new website or e-commerce store should fulfill. The goal could be, for example, leading visitors to explore services or a very specific desire to increase the percentage of buyers in the e-shop. The entire website is built specifically around fulfilling these concrete goals, and no button or section is placed on the page by chance.
Websites and e-shops prepared in this way help our clients reach their set goals and provide the assurance that they help advance the sales process.
4. Enables business growth
All businesses grow and evolve or change their focus over time toward better-performing business areas. Such changes must also be reflected on the website, and the biggest advantage of a custom site is that almost all additional requests are feasible for both e-shops and websites. Compared to a website built on a template, where even a simple additional request can prove completely impossible, future-proofing is always present with a custom-built site.
In addition to custom developments, our sites also support integrations with various payment, sales, delivery, and inventory management software. Our experienced team has linked both e-shops and contact forms with platforms that help the sales team work even more efficiently.
Nearly 25% of Hable’s monthly development work involves developing additional requests for existing clients. We are proud that the websites we create are not cast aside to wait for their time, but are seen as an opportunity for the website to evolve along with the company.
5. Performance
Custom-built websites offer much faster loading times for the reasons mentioned earlier. Firstly, the site does not carry an excessive amount of universal code, as this simply does not occur with a custom solution. Can you imagine yourself driving a car in the summer with winter tires in the trunk just in case? It doesn’t seem sensible. Secondly, custom sites are prepared by a very skilled team for whom terms like image optimization and keeping code clean are not foreign. Thirdly, sites built on templates are usually overloaded with additional modules, which brings many security risks in addition to slowness. Every simple function does not need an extra module, just a better-than-average developer.
In addition to increasing speed and mitigating security risks, a custom site also offers better results in search engines. Since a custom-built site starts with content and structure and is then developed for a very specific purpose, the code is also clear and readable. This applies both to another developer and to the bots that process pages for Google. Such pages achieve better results in the eyes of Google. I will also say right away that a good site alone is not enough to rank first for a competitive keyword on Google. For that, off-page search engine optimization activities are also required. However, it is true that even a very good SEO optimizer cannot help a poorly built site to the top.
6. Long-term savings
Although websites built on templates may seem attractive in terms of price, no serious business should consider this option today.
Firstly, you leave yourself with minimal options for the future. We have had countless clients whose e-shop or website does not support the addition of even the simplest additional functionality. Whether it is an integration with business software or even adding discount coupons to only one category. After all, you started the business on the assumption that the company would grow larger in the future.
Secondly, you save your time and nerves. By working with a high-quality and experienced team trusted by many companies across Estonia, you gain the assurance that they are there for you. At Hable, we have completed over 300 branding and custom website projects, and today we have built solutions for every sector. We can put this same wealth of experience to work for you when creating your website and finding the best solutions.
Thirdly, you save money. A custom website lasts well for 5-10 years without anything blowing up. Throughout this time, there is the possibility to make all sorts of changes and develop additional functions. Also, a custom site does not require excessive maintenance; it is enough to update the core system once or twice a year. Today, robots already handle daily updates. Compared to a site built on a template, where everything sits together like a house made of popsicle sticks and chewing gum in a kindergarten, the risk of something breaking is very low.
So what should I do?
Our vision of a good solution is a website that is fast, secure, and supports the development of additional functions. A website whose content is created with your services or products in mind and supports your sales process. A site whose design is based on your company’s visual identity and where no compromises had to be made during the design process. A website that is unique, engaging, and modern even ten years from now.
A custom-built website gives you a huge competitive advantage. At Hable, we create custom websites that not only look good but also bring measurable results. Come for a consultation and let’s talk about how we can take your website to the next level.
