Green Ball Media

Web designer versus template? Which one should you choose? These days there are so many websites that offer templates you can customize for cheap. Sites like wix.com and squarespace.com seem like they offer the perfect solution for your web needs but there are many pitfalls to purchasing a website template. It’s only after you’ve been sucked in by their flashy templates featuring powerful stock photography, that you log into your account, take a look at what it takes to make this thing look like “your site,” and realize it looses it’s glamour. Suddenly the website doesn’t look so great when you’ve got your own product shots replacing the flashy photos that came with the template. You begin to realize that the photography was what actually made this an appealing website and with out it the minimalist qualities you adored have now become random blobs of text with photos that can’t even compete. You realize that you’d like to change the way the content is laid out because it no longer works with your own photos and all of a sudden what you thought was an instant website becomes your new life’s work. When you purchase a template online you’re getting what you pay for; an out of the box generic one size fits all solution for your business. When you think of it that way, it doesn’t make much sense does it? The truth is it takes a lot of time to customize your design and add your own content in a way that still looks good makes sense to your audience. For most, it can be an overwhelming experience. You might spend an hour or two tinkering around with the vast amount of options for this font and that button color and in the end feel like you’ve gotten nothing accomplished. Your new website has now become a huge project and hassle for you and most likely will be shoved aside while you handle other aspects of your business.

When you work with an actual web designer & developer, you’re not simply paying for a product. You’re investing in people who are educated, experienced, and have a lot of knowledge in the field of web and design. They know how to approach your business from a unique perspective that combines their talents with what you actually need. A common misconception is that design is just whatever looks nice but the decisions that are made to make you feel that way are actually precisely executed by an educated, experienced designer. Design has more to do with functionality married to appearance, rather than just appearance itself.  In simple terms, it’s not just about looking nice, it’s about the user experience as well. This sounds a little more complicated than you first thought, right? Ask yourself this question, why would you spend your precious time trying to become a designer when you could be focused on running your business?

Another aspect to take into consideration when working with a professional, is that you’re also paying for a one on one consulting experience. Sure, these sites that sell templates might have a support system in place but how many times have you found yourself frustrated with that type of support in any other experience? There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re just a number. A good design firm will take the time to talk to you, educate you, and make sure you know you are getting much more than just a product. A designer can be thought of as an editor and translator for your ideas. Web designers have the knowledge and skills to produce high quality designs that make sense to your audience and most importantly, represent your personal business instead of just anybody’s. You can brainstorm with a designer and consult with them in their expertise helping you feel confident about the decisions you make. Try doing that with a template!

What it really boils down to is making effective decisions. We’re always on the look out for a bargain, something that seems really good for the lowest possible price. What we often find is that our money would have been better spent leaving it to the experts instead of wasting it on something that seemed like a good idea at the time. When it comes to your business and your lively hood, it only makes sense to spend your money in the most affective and efficient way.