BLOG | Custom Web Design Custom Web Design vs WordPress Themes

It’s only natural that you’d want your website to look like something from 2019 instead of 2009. You want to offer your customers something new and interesting instead of the same old boring features and interactions. Sometimes, your website has simply gotten too outdated. But being said themes can be added to utilize website designs.

Planning to create a new web design that takes your business to the next level? Where should you begin? To build a new website, one has to plan and strategize carefully. During the initial stages, you could find yourself deciding between a ready-made platform, like WordPress, or custom web design.

One of the best things about WordPress is that it allows businesses to forego hiring a web designer or writing codes. Despite this, however, a lot of people would argue that it’s not necessarily the best platform for site creation. Yes, it’s more affordable and ultimately offers you a decent-enough website. But is “decent” going to cut it in this incredibly competitive industry?

Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of each.

What Is Custom Website Design?

There are limits to the modifications WordPress can provide, so owners can’t really be as creative as they want when building their website. This is when custom website design comes in with its limitless design possibilities. If you aim for a larger, more complex website that offers unique features then you should definitely go for a customized site.

1. Advantages of Choosing Custom Website Design

   • You can be as unique as you possibly can. A custom website can help you stand out from the crowd better than a site made with WordPress templates. WordPress has limits that may not allow you to integrate unique functionality into your website.
   • It has better “searchability.” A WordPress website isn’t as search engine-friendly as a custom site and would likely have a lower web ranking. As a business looking to gain as many leads as possible and to boost internet conversions, this is very important to note.
   • Building a custom website allows you to have more support. You’re basically working with an experienced web designer who specializes in custom website design, so whenever problems occur, the professional will always have the power to fix them.
   • You can have a better business website. The only constant in the world of business is change, and your website has to adapt to these rapid changes. Having a custom website makes it easier for you to create new changes to your site without having to start from scratch. Scalability is one of the biggest advantages of building a custom website, and you simply need to contact the company who developed the site and have them redesign it for you.
   • A website that stays true to your brand. Because WordPress themes are limited, you can’t really incorporate your company’s brand in a unique way. With a custom website, you can unleash your creativity and build a site that’s distinctive and immediately identifiable by your target audiences.
   • Custom websites can specifically meet your needs and goals. You can have yours structured around your unique vision for your company. Also, you get more creative freedom in choosing functionalities.
   • Acquiring a custom website means you don’t have to go through the hassle of constantly updating it. Since you’ve put a lot of strategy into creating your website, you don’t have to worry about having it updated frequently. You know that it’s going to be performing well for a considerable stretch of time without needing updates.

2. Disadvantages of Custom Website Design

   • We’ll be honest and tell you that creating a website from scratch is going to be much more expensive than building one with templates from WordPress. However, when you think about the main benefit of choosing custom web design, the cost no longer sounds too bad. Proweaver can guarantee you affordable web design services structured around your budget, so there’s really nothing to worry about.
   • Custom websites take longer to create. If you’re in a rush to launch your website, then choosing to have one customized might not be the best decision. Creating a website using WordPress takes a lot less time and effort.
   • When you choose custom website design, it’s not just the site creation that takes longer but also the changes that need to be done to the site as well. If you plan to do any changes to your site, expect it to take more time to accomplish, especially since you’ll have to rely on the availability of your developers.

What You Need to Know About WordPress

WordPress started out as a platform for blog creation. In recent years, however, it has evolved to become a more complex tool for building sites. People choose WordPress mainly because it’s so simple to use and only requires basic web knowledge to operate. There’s no need for you to learn about coding, work with a professional web designer, or be an expert in programming languages to be able to take advantage of this platform. There’s still a good number of websites existing today that were developed using WordPress. To make a decision on whether or not to choose this website creation tool, here’s a list of its advantages and disadvantages:

1. Advantages of WordPress

   

   • Building websites through WordPress is much faster as opposed to creating it from scratch. The reason for this is that the content management system will allow you to focus more on design and content. If you are pressed for time in launching your website, then WordPress will allow for a swifter site creation process to help you make the deadline.
   • You will have an entire library of ready-made themes when you opt for WordPress. Not everyone can just make up their own theme, so instead of struggling to do that, you can just choose from the many excellent options made available to you by this tool. This platform is perfect if you are looking to instantly redesign your website.
   • WordPress is a reliable tool for website building. There are constant updates that you can immediately download in order to provide added protection to your website.
   • If you’re concerned about your website’s ranking on search engines, you can simply rely on SEO plug-ins for WordPress. H1 tags, Meta Description, and Meta Titles are plug-ins that allow you to make SEO additions to your website. Furthermore, a good number of these plug-ins can also determine how optimized your site is for search engines.
   • WordPress themes are effective on a variety of interfaces whether it’s mobile phones, PC’s, or tablets. Users experience the same quality interactions, regardless of what device they’re using to view your website. This could prove incredibly beneficial as most users tend to view websites from their phones and other gadgets.
   • The very root of WordPress is blogging. It’s a built-in feature that you can always use to your advantage. If you’re into blogging and posting articles on your website, then WordPress is for you.
   • WordPress is perfect if you’re catching up on a deadline. Choosing a WordPress theme is not similar to building a website from scratch. For this reason, you save yourself a lot of time and money as well. Let’s say you’re given a few months to put forth your web project; WordPress would then make an excellent option for you.

2. Disadvantages of WordPress themes

   • While WordPress does offer you a bevy of themes to choose from, it might not be easy to customize these themes according to your preferences. The end result: you may find other websites looking the same as yours. If you are determined to customize the theme, however, you can always work with professional a web developer at Proweaver who knows the ins and outs of WordPress. This, however, would also entail additional expenses and more time and effort put into your web project.
   • There may be a constant rolling out of updates and security patches on WordPress, but that still may not be enough to keep hackers from infiltrating your site. Your site is most vulnerable to hackers during the time when patches are being built.
   • Websites created using WordPress are going to need frequent maintenance. As mentioned above, WordPress regularly releases security patches and updates to protect sites from hackers. For this reason, experts are needed to not only help in the installation of these patches but to ensure their maintenance as well.
   • Flexibility isn’t something you can expect from WordPress. It provides a framework, which works as a “plug-and-play” option, for you to place your website content. It is for this reason that custom web design wins the flexibility competition between these two options.

   • WordPress themes are not going to help you stand out from the crowd. A major downside of using this platform is that it’s probably what many other businesses are using as well. If you still prefer it, our quality content creation and visual branding can help.

Which Is the Best Option for You?

Custom website design and WordPress each have their own advantages and disadvantages. But ultimately you decide what the best option is depending on your goals and budget.
Which option do you prefer, and why? Share your answer in the comment section below.