Small Business Software

Contains a wealth of information and resources for small business owners and entrepeneurs.

Learn more…
   
Categories

Featured Items

Free Website Content

Pros And Cons To Website Templates

Pros and Cons of Web Templates
By Sharon Housley

Small retail businesses who are making the move to an online presence may feel overwhelmed by the process of creating a website. Web templates can often help make the process less painful for a small business. To assist webmasters in the "template vs custom design" decision, we have outlined the pros and cons to each...


Pros For Website Templates

Less Expensive

Using a web template is a far less expensive option than having a custom website designed from scratch.

Customizable

Web templates can be customized, to a certain extent, to meet the specific needs of a business. Though admittedly, they are less customizable than a fully-custom design.

Consistent

Web Templates are designed by professionals, so the look and feel will remain consistent throughout the design.

Professional

Web templates can indeed result in a professional look. This is particularly important to small businesses that do not have a staff of graphic designers.

Large Selection

At this point in time, there are a great many web template websites. Any given template website, such as Webmaster Templates ( http://www.webmaster-templates.net/ ), may have thousands of web templates available, providing small businesses with a huge selection of templates to choose from.

Easily Managed

Web templates are easy to manage and manipulate. You know what you are getting, so there are no surprises.

Quick

A web template allows a small business to instantly create a web site. There are no delays waiting for the design or revisions of a custom design.

Cons For Website Templates

Looks Similar

Some webmasters may worry that using a web template could result in their site looking similar to another site that used the same template.

Less Customizable

While web templates can be customized, they are less customizable than a custom-designed website.

Pros For Custom Website Design

Unique

Having a custom-designed website results in the site having a very distinctive and unique look.

Easily Brandable

Custom templates can be easily branded to match a company's brand and existing look.

Cons For Custom Web Design

Expensive

Custom web design is significantly more expensive than using a stock web template.

Time Consuming

Custom web design can take significantly more time to design and implement than a template. The design process can be long and arduous, so if you are looking to hit the ground running with a website, you may find the custom design process frustrating.

Predictability

While you may have a vision about what you want in a custom web design, it is not always easy to articulate your "vision" to a designer. As such, the results may not be exactly as you had envisioned. The difference in the resulting custom design may be a pleasant surprise, or an expensive disappointment.

Web templates increase the speed in which a website can be designed. With the layout, colors, and graphics all in place, you can simply drop in the content. And template-based websites are far less expensive than custom designed sites... but they may also give a webmaster far less flexibility. It is important for small business owners to determine which solution is the best option for their business.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

**********************************************************

This article may be used freely in opt-in publications and websites, provided that the resource box is included and the links are active. A courtesy copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net .

Additional articles available for publication available at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm

**********************************************************

 

 


FeedForAll
  |   SMS Gateway Software   |     Handmade Gift Ideas for BusinessBusiness Cards
Copyright (c) 2003-2020 NotePage, Inc. All rights reserved.