What is Custom Web Design?
There’s a lot of confusion floating around about what “custom” web design is; some people define it as a website hand-coded from scratch, others define it as any website that has their name and logo on it. My definition of a custom website is one that was built specifically for you and revolves around your business’s goals and needs. Most of my websites start from a clean and basic pre-made structure, and then completely customized to suit my client. This is the most cost-effective way to build a website; there are virtually no limitations because I know HTML and CSS, which are coding languages that I can use to tell a website to do whatever is needed.
The design of a website is probably the first thing that a visitor notices, but they often take it in subconsciously. How they move around the site, what information they consume, and their interaction with the site is influenced by the site’s design and user interface, which is why these things are extremely important. I’ve spent years studying things like placement of calls-to-action for lead generation, and how to ensure that the most important messages and navigation cues aren’t lost in translation on a mobile browser.
No matter what kind of look and feel you’re aiming to capture with your website, I can deliver it. Whether you like a very clean and minimal design, something warm and friendly, or something completely unique, I’m certain that we can work together to bring it to life.
But there’s more to custom websites than just design – the site needs to work. It has to capture leads while you’re sleeping and deliver content to your contacts. It needs to integrate with your CRM and give you a list of things to do in the morning. It should provide you with a fully optimized platform for content marketing. For some businesses, it even needs to offer retail items for sale, allow consumers to purchase online, and store the funds safely in your account. For Realtors and real estate brokers, it needs to allow consumers to search the MLS for their dream home, right from your site.
Building a site that puts everything together in a way that represents your brand, services your clients, informs your audience, and automates as many things as possible is really the definition of custom web design. Otherwise, your site might as well be an online business card.
Custom Web Design Benefits
- A custom website just looks and feels more professional; and a more professional appearance lets your audience know that you’re serious about your business.
- All of the site’s visitor data and traffic analytics are yours – you’ll never have to go through a third party to access that information.
- The cost is ridiculously low. After the initial costs of having the site built, there aren’t outrageous monthly fees. In fact, to keep your site operational is less than $7 per month.
- The search engine optimization will be infinitely better on a custom WordPress website than on any out-of-the-box template websites, according to Google Engineer Matt Cutts.
- There is no limit to the amount of pages your site can have, nor content your site can offer, because the site’s hosting is controlled by you.
- It can integrate with just about anything, thanks to the flexibility of WordPress and the thousands of developers who offer tools and plugins for it.
- A custom site makes it easier to make changes down the road, if you choose. You could re-arrange your entire layout, or add a whole new section of pages and content with ease.
- You don’t have to compromise on what you want. There are no cookie-cutters here, the design is only limited by the available technology.