CreationIS – Internet Services

Sometime ago I wrote a blog about custom designed web sites vs. CMS (content management systems) web sites. And in it I tried to share some of the difference and possible complications.

Today I would like to share a few thoughts about "Custom Web Site Designs" vs. "Pre-made Template Designs".

I have been thinking about this topic for sometime because as a web designer I build custom designs for my clients. However, I began asking myself – is there really such a thing in todays fast-paced internet world as truly custom?

Certainly there is custom content, customized graphics, logos, headers, footers, and such. And in these areas – relatively speaking – all web sites are custom designs. But what about the design process itself?

Most web sites are still built the same way. They contain a header with a company logo followed by a navigation bar either horizantal or vertical on the left or right. Sometimes they include horizantal and vertical navigation for aesthetics. Content is still in the middle and most web sites have a footer for quick navigation back to the home page, privacy policy, site map and contact information once again. Both custom and template designs have all of these functions. In this respect the foundations is the same – the foundation is pre-designed in all web sites and there are basically only a few options.

Take a look at the following examples: CNN.com, Timesonline.com, Newsweek.com. They are basically the same with few exceptions. CNN.com and Newsweek.com are even based on Wordpress.com blog themes. So the foundation is the same no matter what you call it.

Over the past couple of years web site design has finally moved away from the cumbersome table layout to the smoother, more efficient, faster loading CSS based layouts. This has added versitility to designs. If you look at web sites source code, you can generally date a web site by the techniques used. The width of designs has changed (for the better also – thank goodness) from creating strictly for browsers and computers with monitor resolutions of 800 x 600 to higher resolutions with a minimum of 1024 x 728 with the added ability to create fluid designs that will expand and still look good for monitors of higher resolutions. But in essence, the layouts are still the same only the techniques to create those layouts has changed.

The only real difference between a custom web site design and a pre-made template design is timing.

What do I mean by that? Simply, a pre-made template design is just that. It is made prior to anyone ordering it. It is built with a specific business in mind, lets say books or bookstore, and it is just waiting for the right customer to come along and add their own personalized content. With some minor tweaks and graphical changes you can have your online business up and running in a relatively short period of time.

When is an approach like this good? Pre-made template designs are good for smaller busines owners or personal web sites with limited content and their content will fit easily into the confines of the parameters already set out in the design. Someone with four, five or six pages is an ideal candidate for such a web site.

There are pro’s and con’s to such an approach. If yoiu have a lot of text and content, it may take away from the symetrical look of a pre-made design. After all, not all templates are made equal. Some are made with fluidity in mind – the ability to adjust to content and still look good. While others are very rigid in their design and if you add too much here or too much there it throws the entire look off – which is basically one reason why you picked that pre-made design to begin with. If you are overflowing with content then it may be better to start from scratch but offer up to your web developer the visual choices of several layouts. If they are any good at all, they will be able to take your content and design a layout to suit your needs more quickly.

In one of my earlier blogs: To Template or Not to Template I discussed in short the fact that for the do-it-yourselfer, templates are not always the best solution due to the fact that there is usually more to adding content and changing them with your own personal feel then meets the eye. And the bottom-line becomes the value of your time vs. money in learning something new.

One last thing, you will want to be careful in choosing a pre-made design because you may choose an out-dated design. I found a web site that was offering free designs (because I often research my competition). Just pick the design and for a minimal fee this company will add your content. However, the problem came if you looked at the source code of these templates. It was at least 5 year old styling and design. That would be like going back to Windows 98 operating system and trying to run today’s software programs. These older designs are slower to load, more cumbersome and limited. They also reduce your chances of getting the best SEO positions as possible compared to the more fluid designs of today. All I can say here is – Do Your Research.

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