Template Website VS Websites with Coding from Scratch

The time that you decide to take your business online is when you must make a further decision. Shall I use a website builder software or work with a programmer to code my website from scratch?

In today’s competitive online business world, there are many decisions you as a business owner must make. Building a professional website for your business normally comes first on your journey to take your business online. As the first step, you must have a clear understanding of what you want from your website, so the process will be quite easier.

Generally, there are two options for you, when it comes to creating a website. The first option is to work with a professional website developer team to code your website from scratch. Alternatively, you may use a website builder software to design your website by drag and drop ready-to-use templates.

To make your mind clear, we will go through the pros and cons every option has, so you will have a better understanding of which option would suit your needs.

Template website; pros and cons

Pros:

• Easy to Use

The website builders are designed user-friendly, so most users with basic knowledge are able to use the templates and create their own websites by drag and drop! Also, with no coding in place, there are no errors.

• Cheap and Affordable

If you own a small business, you will be saving considerably by using a template website. The cost of using such a service is something around AUD 100 per annum.

• Time Saver

There are a huge number of templates out there to be used by simply drag and drop in your webpage to create your website. Such a tool would minimize the time required to build a website.

Cons:

• Limitations

There are many limitations associated with template websites. Your capabilities to create your website is limited to the website builder software options only. It’s not possible to customize your website based on your desire and needs.

• Weaker Security

Template websites are at a higher risk of being hacked, in comparison with manually coded websites. This is a critical point to be considered, when making the decision to build your website.

• Less credible and trustworthy

Generally, users trust less to the template websites. Also, manually coded websites are more SEO friendly, so they normally rank higher on the search engines.

Psychologically, users tend to give more credit to the websites which are developed by coding. Besides, as they usually rank higher on Google in comparison with template websites, more credit and trust are created over the time.

Coding Website; Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Endless personalisation options

When coding your website, there are endless options to customize your website based on your needs. Also, you will be capable of creating a 100% unique website which is not similar to other competitor’s websites at all. Such uniqueness can be an advantage for your business to rise over the other competitors’ websites.

• More interaction and integrity

The ability to interact with any reputable sales and marketing tool is another option for you, when coding your website from scratch. In contrast, your options will be limited to the tools that are offered by website builder software, if you choose to use templates.

• More Credit, More Security

Websites which are coded from scratch are more difficult targets for hackers in comparison with template websites, so users trust more on manually coded websites. Furthermore, such websites tend to rank higher than template websites on search engines. Hence, more credit is created from users’ perspective for your website.

• SEO Standard

Websites which are coded from scratch are much better in terms of Search Engine Optimisation Standards. The exclusive UI/UX, light volume and optimized performance will help this matter a lot.

Cons:

• More time and more cost

To manually code your website, a professional programmer is needed and more time is required for your website to be built. As a conclusion, a manually coded website costs you more, in comparison with a template website.

• Issues and Errors

When you decide to code your website from scratch, coming across errors and issues is unavoidable even if coding for a very simple website. You must note that the coding process is being done manually by a human being, so errors will be an inseparable part of your journey. However, don’t forget that all errors are supposed to be resolved when working with a professional programmer.

How to make my decision?

You need to have a clear understanding of your business and your needs. If, for instance, you need some specific feature on your website that are not provided by website builder software, you must code your website from scratch. Also, based on your business type, if the security of your website is important, for example, if you must get your customer’s bank card details, you should work with a professional programmer to build your website from scratch, rather than using ready-to-use templates. Furthermore, you must keep in mind that manually coded websites have a better chance than template websites to rank higher on search engines, so if your website rank on search engines plays a crucial role in your business, code your website from scratch.

Lastly, don’t forget the fact that either direction you choose to go, working with a reputable and professional web design agency is a must for your business in order to progress on the right track to success.