Having a customized website is ideal if you have the budget for it. Custom-built sites are like having a Ferrari Omologata, a one-off creation specially commissioned for a particular client. Talk about being unique! Having something customized be it a car or a website requires time and money. If you have both, you can consider getting yourself a personalized website.
Definition of a custom-built website
Remember, your website is competing across billions of other websites. It is important to stand out.
Personalized websites are:
- built by designers using layouts unique to them
- aims to create a visual representation that captures the interest of your target market
- uses specific features and navigation, buttons and functionality
- are created so visitors could better understand what the product and company is about
- could also require the use of photos and videos that the company owns and not from sites such as Unsplash, Pexels, or Canva.
Various interpretation of a unique website
According to Artonic’s website, ‘customized’ can be interpreted in different ways depending on who you are dealing with. Be specific with what you want when talking to a website designer.
- Some will create a custom site, unique to your business, from scratch.
- Some websites will be created using ready-made templates. These templates are just tweaked using the assets and other visual content related to your brand.
Before deciding on building a website, ask yourself these questions.
- How much can I afford to build this specialized website?
- How much time can I allocate for this project?
- Do I really need to get a custom-built site or will I be fine with a simple, ready-made site?
Elements in included in creating a unique website
Here are some of the factors that go into building a custom-built site.
Website planning
When planning for a website, ask yourself these questions:
- What is the purpose of your website?
- Who is your target market?
- What are your business goals?
- How much is your budget?
- What will be your call to action?
- In what tone and voice will you communicate with your audience?
- What kind of website do you need?
Competitor Research
Evaluate what your competitors are doing and what their website looks like. Check whether you need to build a personalized site or you can take advantage of template-ready sites.
Timeline and scope of work
Once the goal is identified, building a custom website will take a longer time. If you are building the website, set the timeline for the project. Your clients would know when to expect a finished site. You will have to make adjustments to your timeline once you have identified your project scope.
Functionality and navigation.
One of the advantages of having a unique website is the customized functionality that templates don’t offer. If you need this functionality to reach a wider audience and drive traffic, you can consider building a customized one.
Web builder selection
If you choose to build a custom-built site from ready-made templates with specialized navigation and features, you can choose from some of these sites.
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Wordpress
- Hostingers
- Hubspot
- Shopify
- Weebly
Target Market Analysis
Who are you building the site for? Can building a personalized site drive their interest? Study your target audience so you can design the functionality based on their interests.
Time Requirement
It will take a longer time for you to learn things related to web building than hiring a professional web developer. Doing a custom-built website, DIY style will require your time and energy to learn the ropes. Would you have the flexibility of time to do this?
Content Management
This can be in the form of photos, videos, GIFs, articles, or blogs. This content should also be optimized for search engines for visibility and ranking purposes.
You can also get some free stock photos and videos from:
- Videvo
- Pexels
- Videezy
- Coverr
- Motion Elements
- Life of Vids
- Mixkit
Search engine optimization
There are plenty of tools you can check online to help improve your site’s ranking and visibility. There is no use in building a customized website if nobody sees it. It is like sailing across a vast ocean where no one knows you're there.
Some sites to help you with SEO are:
- Ubersuggest
- Google Keyword Planner
- Google Trends
- Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator Tool
- Screaming Frog
- Moz
- SEMrush
- Yoast
- Backlinko
- Neil Patel
Purchasing of Domain Name
According to Wix Blog, selecting a domain name is essential to the growth and success of your business. Domain is the address of your business on the internet. Your domain name should give your audience an idea of what the website is about.
Quality check and launching
Before going live, you must do a quality check and test if all the pages are working properly. Check for broken links and areas where there’s a need to improve. Make sure that user experience and user interface are checked.
Once everything is working seamlessly, activate your website and set it live. When building a custom-built website, there must be a balance between form and function. All the elements such as content, user experience, user interface, design, and SEO must come together. Each of these factors should keep your audience interested and engaged. After building the site, continue to monitor its performance and refine things when needed.
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