Hey guys, Dc here! It’s easier than ever, to get your business online. You can come to a company like ours and we’ll create directory website that’s definitely going to stand out. We’ll also create all the content, and teach you how to rock it yourselves, to save your hard-earned money.
Or you can explore DIY theme services. It’s your choice, but how do you know which is best for you? Read this, then ask yourself, do I go theme, or custom?
What’s a theme?
People dismiss themes as the cheap way out, the cookie-cutter, suburban-neighbourhood of website design. Themes can appear beautiful and be functional, but are not without limits. Let’s look at why a theme could be the best choice for you and your brand. But if you’re still not convinced, you can always seek the assistance of professionals like react web developers in creating your own site.
1. They’re Cost Effective
If you’re new on the scene, or you’ve never had a website before, purchasing a theme from WordPress, or a service like Wix, will be cheaper than a custom build.
2. They Can be User Friendly
You can get an easy-to-use content management system (CMS – better known as the backend), but you may have to do a little hunting for it. Content Management Systems can be quite complex and require a learning curve to customize the front-facing site.
But buyer beware; no matter what theme you use, it’s going to take some learning to get your content online and that doesn’t come with the theme.
3. They Stay Up to Date
Most times the designer of the theme you purchase will offer updates. Browsers change, user-experience standards change, and even devices change at the pace of Moore’s Law, which is to say, really stupid fast. As long as the theme is still supported by the developer then your website will often come along for the ride, depending on where you host, but that’s another story.
4. Try Before You Buy
What’s unique to theme hunting is that you can try a site out before you buy. Developers often offer demos so you can tinker around with some of the features, as they will appear when it’s your site.
5. They’re Customizable
Themes are a faster way to get your brand online, but don’t often have all the features you want. This is where we come in. Depending on the theme, we can customize it to contain your brand spirit!
Using a theme means you’ll likely come across other websites that are using the exact same theme, and as Dc says, “Sameness kills joy!”
Depending on the theme, we can customize it to contain your brand spirit!
Straight up?
We don’t recommend themes unless you know where your business is headed. Depending on where you’re going and what you want your website to do today … and next year, you can outgrow your theme quickly, and hacking or slashing the code can lead to bugs and glitches.
Themes can be great for short-term or event-based entities, or backyard businesses planning to stay a small side project. Sometimes a not-for-profit can make one of these work too, in a pinch!
We hope we helped you think about how a theme – especially one customized to your businesses’ needs – can be a somewhat less cookie-cutter approach to branding better online.
If you’d like to find out more about how Dc does themes, get in touch!
Join us Thursday for PART 2, where we’ve got news about what custom websites can mean for you!
