What Does Custom Website Design Mean?
There is something that's been on my mind for awhile that I think needs to be addressed. It comes into our own sphere often and it's something that I explain to new prospects on a near weekly basis.
You see, lots of people ask if we can customize existing Wordpress themes for them. For example, themes like Thesis or Headway or some other.
And actually we used to do that every once in awhile, although we have always done custom websites since we started in 2003. Theme customization was a decent cost-effective solution for new start-ups with limited budgets and I personally wanted to be able to help people that way. Except, we were helping at our own expense. We lost a lot of time/money on every single one of those projects.
Now, let me clarify. Theme customization is a great choice for many small business and there's nothing wrong with that, especially when you're just starting out and finding your voice. Some people have found ways to customize their themes enough to make them not look like the original theme and that's cool too.
However, providing a theme customization service wasn't working for us as service providers. You see, we like to go a little further than changing fonts and colors on a website. We want to dig deep and then deeper still. We want to look for client's core message and personality and then take those things and run with them. That's nearly impossible to do when you're doing theme customization.
In case you're curious, here is a quick rundown of what typically the whole process looks like for a totally custom-built website:
- Research: We work to find the core message of the client's business and/or personality. We dig deep to find keywords and ideas that represent them and what they stand for. This helps provide us a good base to work with and in actuality it's an exercise in branding rather than just aesthetics. At this stage we will also look at the website goals and what the client wishes to accomplish with their new website.
- Information Architecture: We organize the site content in an easy to use way with the visitor's interests in mind. A website will simply not work if people cannot find the information they are looking for.
- Wireframes: We put together wireframes that determine where the most important elements on a site will be located. Each site is different because the goals of every business is different. This is almost impossible to do with an existing theme because it largely determines structure for you. What works for one person's business may not be suitable for another.
- Mood Boards: In turn, mood boards help us determine the look and feel of the site without structure. We use mood boards to determine typography, colors, textures, imagery, inspiration, etc. We're largely working here with emotions and what the brand “feels” like.
- Site Design: Only after we've determine the architecture, structure, and look and feel of the site will we then work on the design itself. The thing about design is that it's not effective unless you have the proper groundwork laid out first. There's really no point in doing a custom design if you don't do that first. It would be like building a house without a blueprint.
- Coding: After the design has been done, we then convert that into a live website. Usually we do this by coding the design into a CMS (content management system). This may be Wordpress, ExpressionEngine, Drupal, Textpattern or another. We don't fit all websites into the CMS we personally feel most comfortable with. We pick the correct tool for the job.
- Content: After the site has been coded, we'll then add the content to it like site pages, video, forms, add-ons, etc.
- Done! After it's been coded, we'll then take the site live for all the world to see how awesomely unique that client and their business is. We then let them run with it with smiles of approval on our faces from afar.
As you might imagine, custom websites are not cheap. We recently raised our base price to $3,400 and will probably be raising that price again in the near future because of demand.
However, custom means the clients have a website that really stands for their business. No other websites will be like it and even if they try, you can't copy another company's message. It will scream, “This is what I stand for”. It will be a unique statement to the world about what the client has to offer.
For a business that depends greatly on its online presence, the extra investment in a unique design can pay for itself several times over spread across the course of several years.
That's the real difference between “theme customization” and truly custom website design.
Questions or thoughts? I'd love to hear them!
Comments
I’ve had similar discussions with prospective clients recently. Upon seeing the project schedule in my proposal, one prospect said that her previous designer had the site up in two days. I had to explain to her that the previous designer used a template and just plugged her content into their own proprietary system. For that reason, now that she wants a new company handling her site, she has to completely abandon her existing site. I also explained to her that we are currently handling several different projects so we have to fit her project into our existing client schedule. I could never get a site up for someone in two days.
I know it must be a daunting task to hire a web designer these days. The cost for a web site varies so dramatically from one company to another. Unfortunately, it falls on us to explain the different levels of service and quality that go way beyond visual design.
@Laura - Two days? I don’t even think I’ve gotten content into a site in two days. That’s crazy.
Yeah, I think about how daunting it must be to hire a designer myself often too. There are just so many designers and a lot of people don’t know how to tell which company has better work and what-not. I just try to do my best by providing as much information as I can think of and try to connect with the people who think it matches their needs too.
This is an eloquent explanation of all that goes into the custom design process. However, I would like to address something that could be misunderstood - just because a designer may choose to build on a framework like Thesis does not mean that the client cannot receive all of the benefits stated above - provided, of course, that the design/development studio knows what they’re doing to an extent that they can bend that framework to their will in a code-compliant manner.
The misconception I often run into is with price-shoppers who preface their requests with “I just want” this and “I just want” that, or call it a “skin.” A truly custom design is a custom design, with all the above-mentioned research and full service - regardless of whether it is built on an existing framework or not, and the use of that framework does not imply a discounted rate.
This is why I quote my rates to prospects as, “our base rate for a custom website design on Thesis is…”
We currently specialize in WordPress, and are happy to refer clients whose needs might be better served with a different CMS - you are correct that not everything is a nail, just because you happen to have a hammer in your hand. :-)
@Cynthia - That’s a good point. What I meant by using a theme like Thesis or Headway, and should have clarified better, is using something like that and then just doing the basic customization from the admin panel theme options like the colors, fonts, and columns. There are a ton of sites that look like Thesis sites, for example.
With a skilled designer on hand, you can do much much more than that. And of course, you can do a custom design and just use the theme as the basic framework.
I personally find it easier to roll my own themes from scratch after design, but it depends greatly on what each designer does best and feels is the best tool for the job in every case. There’s no right or wrong way to go about it.
It is nearly always challenging and as a businessman, you have to see how to set up a good fight once it comes to playing against your rivals.
I know you need to get deeper, but initially if you try to go deeper on new startups..all you’ll find is a shell of pride and inside a soft filling of fear and puzzlement.
Maybe you do a phase in.? do the fonts’ and colors and then come back with a stronger customization after they have been through the wars as well.
The research for $3400 should be for a redo, unless the company has it’s soft filling put together.
Joe
@Joe - That’s an interesting point and I agree with you regarding startups. I’ve actually worked with a lot of clients to solidify their needs or sent potential clients away to tell them they need to first be very clear about their goals before investing in something like this in order to make it worthwhile.
That said, most of the work we take on nowadays are for site redesigns rather than startups. So, perhaps it is working out that way in the end.
Great post! :D
<a >Harovia</a>
~THIS IS WHAT A CUSTOM DESIGN REALLY IS~
Anyone who designs a banner and changes the color and fonts on a Blogger Blog or any blog for that matter is custom designing the blog.
It does not matter if they used a Pre-made Blogger Template or not. The banner that the web designer put onto the Blogger Template was designed in Photo Shop or some other program, so YES—IT IS A CUSTOM DESIGN.
I have been in college since 2006 for Website Design. A pre-made template and a customized template are BOTH VERY SIMILAR.
All templates will be either 1 column, 2 columns, or 3 columns and usually have a HEADER and a FOOTER. I really do not see how handcoded templates are any better than a pre-made template because that is simply NOT the case! HTML Code and CSS Code never changes. The code stays the same whether it is a pre-made template or a handcoded template.
Open up your Adobe Dreamweaver and you will see the 1, 2, and 3 colum layouts. Now, go to Blogger or to a Word Press Blog, etc and you will see the same 1, 2, or 3 column templates. The only differences between all templates on the WORLDWIDE WEB is that each template is made up of different colors, different fonts, different number of columns, and images.
Pre-made templates can be customized with any color, images, and fonts just like any banner design. Any website designer who takes a pre-made template and removes the exsisting images from it—then, replaces the images with their own custom banner design, etc is still very worthy enough to have their template design to be called a CUSTOM DESIGN because the template was altered thus the template became customized.
Pre-made templates are designed to be ready to use by a few simple clicks of the mouse, but when a designer adds their special touches to any pre-made template—the template is no longer pre-made and is called CUSTOM DESIGNED.
For example, if one goes to the grocery store and buys a frozen pizza, then cooks it for dinner—is it ok for them to say that they cooked a home made pizza? Absolutely NOT! The pizza was out of a box.
However, if one goes to the grocery store and buys some flour, eggs, milk, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and cheese to make a pizza at home—you can most definately call this a HOME MADE PIZZA after it is prepared, cooked, and ready to eat.
The same scenario applies to templates. Pre-made templates are “designs in a box” ready to go. If a designer adds their custom designed banners and background to a pre-made template—the template is no longer pre-made for it has been customized! =)
Do you all see what I am saying?
Have a good day!=)
@I am a Website Designer - I think we’re talking about two different things.
For me, a custom website is made with a blueprint and a template made by someone else is not.
Even if your making your own banner, you’re still fitting it into a template. The width, size, and everything else is still basically the same as the template.
There are no wireframes, no mood boards, there’s no talk about the goals of the website to determine what should go where and how things should work….
You’re pizza analogy is not correct. Because when you work with a template, you’re not working with the basic ingredients in the first place. You’re starting with the pizza already made and taking off the pepperoni and adding sausage instead. Not the same thing at all.
Yes, it’s still a pizza. And maybe a perfectly good one for you that day. But, not homemade.
I agree that most websites have 1, 2, or 3 columns and a header and footer. However, I don’t agree that the code is the same. Maybe the framework, but the whole code, no.
Plus, a lot of sites’ ideal layout is not precisely what you mention. What if the website needs 1 column at the top, 3 columns after that, then 2 columns, and then 1 column again?
Wordpress and Blogger templates are specifically made for mass consumption by nature. Saying all websites should be like that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The point I’m trying to make here is that when you start with a theme, you design around the theme. But, when you do custom design, you design around the content and focus on the goals of the website owner and getting results.
There most certainly is a big difference.
You are so wrong Naomi. I am on my way to be a College Professor in Website Design and I know my stuff. I am an Honor Roll student as we speak. I do not know where you got your information. You really need to consider going to college to learn the right way to do website design. You can not learn it on your own like you think you can!!!
@I am a Website Designer - I agree with Naomi that you two are really talking about two different issues.
As I understand her point, a true professional will approach a new web design project with business objectives in mind. The process she describes is how her company helps clients achieve their business objectives. The services they provide go much further than visual design.
You really seem to be missing the point because you are hung up on what “custom design” really means and your ego has obviously been bruised.
Naomi even says -
“Theme customization is a great choice for many small business and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when you’re just starting out and finding your voice. Some people have found ways to customize their themes enough to make them not look like the original theme and that’s cool too.
However, providing a theme customization service wasn’t working for us as service providers.”
She’s talking about her own business model and what works best for her business. I’m not sure what made you take offense so vehemently, but I would caution you about using your college honor roll status or future career goals as an argument in favor of your skills. I went to college, too, and I can tell you that what I learned there was a mere stepping stone compared to the mountain of web design and development skills that I have learned since. Posting your real name and a link toward your portfolio would (potentially) provide you with far more credibility than your aspirations of being a college web design professor.
Laura,
You are very immature with your statements and you do not know what you are talking about at all. For me, I own a large design and marketing firm. We hire only top professionals. I work with multi-millon dollar companies and we know what works for my company.
Best of luck to you with your logo desiging.
We do far more than that.
Have a great day. Now I have to get back to work.
I have more important things to do than chat with novice
designers on here like yourself.
Ok, this conversation is getting silly.
@I am a Website Designer - Right. Helping people set up eBay stores isn’t exactly what we’re talking about here.
@Laura - Thanks for defending me, but I think this person’s just trying to push our buttons and get a laugh about it.
@Naomi - Yep. I decided not to respond to that last one. No point to it.
<!—Begin Rant—>
Wow, sounds like this “Web Designer Guy” is a little kid.
He makes the statement that Naomi and Laura’s statements are immature, yet he’s the one saying “I know everything you know nothing”, and “No your wrong because I’m going to become a professor”.
If you really are going to become a professor, I’d HATE to have an arrogant prick like you as my prof. Go stroke your ego somewhere else if your just going to bash on people who contribute to the conversation.
Also, your pizza analogy is horrible, I hope you don’t use that on your “future class”.
P.S. - Where are you going to teach, so I know where not to attend?
<!—End Rant—>
Bashing on someone is something I normally never do, but in this case web designers arrogance pushed me too far. I apologize to anyone else who had to read my rant.
Naomi brings up some great points, on how not every site is a cookie cutter style. Going with a unique theme can create a website that no “premade layout” can fulfill.
Now that’s not saying you can’t reuse a lot of code when designing a custom website.
But what “web designer” is talking about is mass produced cookie cutter websites that only involve tweaking some fields and creating some nice looking buttons & header/footer.
A key point of difference though, is a website artist pushes the envelope and creates new and unique styles. Whereas a website producer replicates and uses what they already know.
At the end of the day though, there is usually a template for MOST website styles.
Haha, oh Naomi… hard to be rational with crazies.
Keep up the good work, and don’t waste your time with honour role students telling you how to keep it real.
Always enjoy your thoughtful posts, and often mind myself in similar scenarios/internal dialogues :)
Cheers!
Marie, for your info. I am a Website Design and Business Teacher.
Cheers! =)
I totally agree with you. In fact, there are so many things to consider when building a new website for businesses, including search engine optimisation, social media, marketing strategies etc thus the initial information architecture and wireframe of the website has become more and more important than ever. A custom wordpress theme just won’t do.
hi web designers….............
i like web designing…............
but i don’t know detail knowledge about web designing…........
plz teach and help me…......
THANK YOU VERY MUCH WEB DESIGNERS…...
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