Every business wants their website to be an essential part of their marketing strategy. However, few realize that without a custom web development company, they’re leaving money on the table and will never get the results they want. Here are 10 reasons why your company needs custom web development if you want to stay competitive in today’s business climate.
1) Consistency
Developing a custom website is a long-term investment. When you implement an off-the-shelf solution, it’s difficult to make significant changes later on. A custom website, however, can grow with your business—as you add new products or incorporate additional services, it can do so as well.
The same is true of a custom website’s appearance. An off-the-shelf solution may not fully reflect your brand, and that can affect how your customers perceive you.
2) Increased Site Speed
According to Pingdom, one in every three people will abandon a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Most websites take a lot longer than that and haven’t been optimized for speed. A slow website means a bad user experience and no conversions, which is not something you want if you are trying to grow your business.
No one wants to wait for a site to load. I know I don’t want to, especially when my competitors have faster sites than mine. There are many things you can do as a business owner to increase your site speed, but it would be better if you could just start with a fast website from day one and never have to worry about it again. This is why having custom web development made just for your company is so important.
3) Brand protection
When you create a website, your main focus is (or should be) getting it online and getting traffic to it. But what happens when you start attracting leads or customers? Do you want them to come back to an amateur site that can be easily duplicated by a competitor? Hiring a professional web developer will ensure that your site’s design and functionality are unique. If people like your content, they’ll come back for more. and will continue patronizing your business for years to come.
Meanwhile, an off-the-shelf website template can give visitors a been there, done that impression of your business. By hiring a custom web developer to craft your own site, you’ll send out a strong message that you’re professional and established in your field.
4) SEO benefits
Building a website with SEO in mind will allow you to rank well on search engines, giving your business more visibility. With custom web development, you can ensure that every part of your site is optimized for search engines.
Make sure your site content is written in a way that uses words commonly searched for on Google, Bing, and other search engines. Include links to your social media pages and make it easy for visitors to share your content. When you work with custom web development, you’ll have access to experts who can ensure that everything on your site works together seamlessly. This will create a seamless experience for potential customers who visit your site and help increase traffic to your business.
5) Accessibility
When you need to launch quickly, a custom web development company can help make sure your website is not only up and running but that it meets all WCAG 2.0 guidelines—the international standard for accessibility on the web. They also focus on accessibility because they understand it’s important not just to their clients and customers but also to their bottom line; having a highly accessible site makes both good business sense and good moral sense.
A great custom web development company will also ensure your site is mobile-friendly. If you’re not designing for multiple devices, not only are you leaving money on the table for every person who can’t access your site, but you’re also likely to see a significant drop in rankings from Google and other search engines, which penalize sites that aren’t mobile-friendly.
6) Improved UX/UI
Websites designed by professional web designers and developers not only look better, but they’re also easier to use. Most people don’t know how to code, so they’ll build a website that they can navigate easily. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you could lose half of your potential customers right away.
When you hire a web design and development company, they’ll build your website to be both mobile-friendly and intuitive. They know how customers use websites, so they’ll make sure yours is designed to help visitors accomplish their goals as fast as possible. According to the latest statistics, 53% of all online activity happens on mobile devices. That number will only increase in 2018 and beyond. Don’t limit your potential customers by building a clunky website for them to view on their smartphones or tablets.
7) Cost Savings
If you’re thinking about moving your business to a new platform, you may be concerned about how much it will cost. A custom web development company can often build out a new site for less than one based on templates, and if you have extensive or unique needs, you could actually save money by working with an agency rather than a third-party template. Most businesses that choose an agency cite cost savings as their primary reason for making that choice.
8) Scalability
When your startup begins to generate a lot of buzz and traffic, you want to be sure that your site is built in a way that can handle it. With website development services, you have more control over every aspect of your site, from its foundation to its content display. Coding for scalability ensures that all aspects of your site are ready for growth.