If you decide to launch a new website, first you need to choose among possible options:
All of the options serve a similar purpose. Let’s review what each approach offers and what is better for you.
Website Builder
A website builder is an online tool offering website creation from ready-to-use blocks. You can put together a professional website without skilled technicians in a matter of a few days. The website builder creates a simple resource with basic functionality. However, it will satisfy the needs and requirements of many startups.
The main features of the website builder are as follows:
Low price — for many small brands, it is an optimum solution offering various pricing plans. For simple projects, these plans provide all the necessary options. But you can face certain limitations in templates and features available in the website builder. Besides, you are not able to add custom functionality.
Ease of development — this tool does not require coding or design skills to create a website. You choose one of the pre-made templates, set the fonts and colour schemes, and paste your content. But for some users with an insufficient general tech background, this will be a complicated task requiring time and effort. If the website is needed asap, then the website builder is not your choice.
Marketing tools — a website builder can offer marketing tools to optimise and promote your new website for better ranking. Remember that you need to understand how SEO works: mistakes such as keyword overstuffing or over-optimisation can lead to a website falling out from the search index.
Template Website
A website template is a pre-designed layout that allows you to arrange content on a page. The template is an excellent starting point for small businesses or personal websites. Templates are simple to use and affordable in price. They are available in great variety, offering different website structures, clear navigation, mobile compatibility, and many other valuable features. But you should consider the main flaws of choosing a template.
They are as follows:
Poor conversion optimization opportunities — CRO experts do not take part in the template design. The templates do not consider fundamental conversion principles. But the templates are customizable so that you can add necessary conversion features.
Trendy features and designs — designers commonly strive to add the trendiest features when creating a template. As a result, you get a pretty site with low functionality and efficiency. Mind that popular features are used on most websites, so your template solution may lack originality and look like all other websites.
Further optimization is needed — a template website is just a starting point. It can not cover all the needs and requirements of a growing business. After launch, you will constantly need to re-work, optimise and develop the website further.
Custom Website
Custom websites are more effective for business than template or builder-created websites. They are developed with one company in mind, considering its mission, vision, goals, state of business, and many other factors. Custom code turns out to be cleaner and better for SEO purposes. Template solutions commonly face ranking challenges.
Main advantages of custom websites:
However, custom solutions take longer to develop and launch. They are much more expensive and require higher engagement in the process.
Modern solutions give you a chance to launch a website in a few days. You can create an MVP with a website builder, choose a template variant, or order website development from scratch. Each option has pros and cons. But if you have a reliable development team, you can get a perfectly coded, optimised website using any alternative.