Custom Web Development
What’s The Difference Between Using a Website Template and Custom Web Development?
Similar to web design, there are two approaches to the development of websites. On one hand, there are pre-made themes/ templates where the development has already been done. On the other hand, custom web development involves taking the design files and developing the HTML and CSS, as well as integrating the Content Management System to those web designs. This is what enables future enhancements and scalability.
What Is Custom Web Development?
Similar to Custom Web Design, Custom Web Development is like sitting down with an architect and sharing your list of functional requirements with a development team in order to develop exactly what you need rather than trying to fit your needs within a predetermined template. The result is a website that is unique to your needs and doesn’t carry with it the same security risks associated with mass-produced templates. And most importantly, Custom Web Development allows you to add new functionality to your site after its launch without running the risk of breaking the code of template.
How Does Custom Website Development Work?
Our in-house development team takes the design files (Photoshop Files also known as PSDs) and writes the HTML and CSS specific to those designs which results in minimal, clean code which search engines prefer and that allows for future enhancements or phased evolutions of your website. Then Content Management Systems like Umbraco or WordPress are programmed specifically to the design and content of your new website. This allows for things like custom content types to be created allowing website administrators to make changes in one place in the website admin which can then cascade to multiple places on the website.
Why Does Custom Website Development Matter?
Security and transparency increasingly matter in the ever-changing world of the web. It’s difficult to know who truly created the code in (WordPress) templates and therefore difficult to be certain it’s being properly maintained with security updates. For templates like Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify, security is less of an issue. However, the portability of your content is still a challenge despite their advertising that you can export your data. And most importantly, you are dependent on the functionality that they provide. If your technical requirements don’t match their existing functionality, you have few to no options outside of their proprietary system.
Custom Website Development Best Practices
- Clearly define your technical requirements
- Do your due diligence in determining what solution will best fulfill your requirements. There are a lot of good resources out there. For a list of some of our suggestions, Click Here.
- Ensure that whoever is programming a CMS for your website will do so allowing for the maximum amount of editable content areas. Many developers and agencies will shortcut the development process by limiting the number of editable content areas. This allows them to develop the site faster, but it will limit you in the future and potentially force you to have to go back to them in order to make some content changes to your site for you.
- Trust the development team’s expertise as they guide you through best practices.
"The reasons why we do something matters. And therefore, each decision has a purpose supporting it as we build something that will work well for our clients—both now and as they grow."Joe Delly Programming Director