Today, it can be easy to get started in your website setup, with various off-the-shelf or page builder options available, and a lot, and we stress a lot of website templates to choose from.
However, many businesses will quickly outgrow their off-the-shelf site, where continuing to add plugin after plugin no longer offers you the flexibility and functionality you need.
In fact, it could take a considerably long time to set up your site exactly as you picture it, and often, you have to settle with what you can achieve in the system rather than what you want to achieve for your business.
This is where a custom-built site comes in.
Built by professional web designers and developers who can extract the necessary requirements from you and outline your options and the best way forward from the start. Developing a custom-built website that is unique and bespoke to your brand and specifications. Providing the flexibility to grow with your business as you begin to scale.
Why you shouldn’t settle for another plugin
Yes, with all templated sites, there is the option to add numerous plugins to help your site continue to meet your requirements.
However, a lot of plugins can be difficult to manage, and adding a lot of plugins will contribute to slowing down your site and its overall performance, making it clunky and difficult to navigate – (make sure to check out our post on plugins for all the finer details.)
In addition, using multiple plugins to set up various features may not work well together, and you may need to compromise on aspects based on how they work, resulting in a website that feels a little disjointed.
Reasons why you should consider a custom site:
Your current website’s performance is poor.
Is your current site running at a snail’s pace? With pages not downloading within a couple of seconds, images not appearing, and content struggling to load?
A poor-performing website is not only a headache for you but also a big turn-off for your target audience, negatively affecting their user experience and driving them into the arms of your competitors instantly.
Poor-performing websites also mean a poor search engine presence, and with SEO an essential part of a business’s growth strategy, can you afford to drop rankings as well?
Your website has outgrown its initial needs.
To quickly establish a presence online, you may have picked a basic template design and used a page builder to get started; however, as your business grows and you firmly establish your brand, are you now looking to take your site to the next level?
Do you need to move away from a template appearance and have a unique design that reflects your brand perfectly?
Do you need a site development that provides you with more functionality, a CMS system you can rely on, and a site that can scale with you?
Website is with a separate provider.
For example, is your current site with a separate service outside of WordPress? Services such as WIX or Squarespace?
Do you find the options available are now too restrictive?
Do you find there is:
- A lack of additional functionality, such as shop features, membership features, etc?
- An inability to choose hosting?
- A lack of customisable options?
You now require more integrations.
As a business, do you now require more integrations with other services? Services such as Mail Chimp, feeding in Eventbrite content, etc.? With all systems working in harmony with each other.
Benefits of a custom-built site
- Custom-built sites are:
- Flexible to update and will grow alongside your business
- Easy to modify and can last a lifetime
- More professional
- Unique to you – remember, others have access to the same page builders and website templates as you
- Fully scalable, with more functionality and capabilities
- Built and managed by a professional developer.
Custom-built sites also provide you with the following:
- A design that stays consistent across various browsers (positively impacting your SEO and search ranking position)
- Improved SEO as professional web developers can add custom coding into the design, allowing for better keyword penetration, site features, and an increase in traffic to your site
- A website that represents your brand
- Better updates and online security features
- Increased site visibility
- High-quality user face and improved user experience to increase effectiveness
- Improved page speed due to a decreased loading time through coding.
How can we help?
At Arkay Digital, we can provide you with an audit of your current website, offering sound solutions around performance and security.
From here, we can work on a development plan that meets your requirements and specifications. Requirements and specifications that allow us to develop features as per needs rather than what a plugin may offer.
Providing you with a much tighter integration that is highly efficient, we build customised websites to help you maximise your online impact.
Thinking about a custom-built website?
Get in touch and see how we can help you!