Design templates make it easy for entrepreneurs (who are non-designers) to take their businesses online.
They eliminate the need to hunt for new talent or to pick up a complex skill.
You can simply purchase a design template online, and Voila.
So, by making it easy to enter digital markets, design templates do what the internet has done.
They enhance equality of opportunity in the world.
That’s a monumental accomplishment, right?
After all, equality of opportunity is an ideal that we’ve strived towards for centuries and still do.
Even if you’re not the biggest altruist out there, it’s hard to overlook the wisdom here.
The more individuals and groups innovate, the better things become for everyone.
But, for all the good that design templates do, they’re not perfect.
Let’s venture into 5 reasons that’s the case:-
- Design Templates Don’t Scale Properly
When you’re crunched for money or time, templates help you in setting up a workable website.
But, as your business grows, your website needs to grow as well.
Now, growth can manifest in the business world.
- The products/services you offer may become manifold with time.
- Your company’s geographical influence may expand.
- Your branding may need to strengthen to meet the needs of your industry.
How well do you think a standalone template would cope with such changes?
Not very well, right?
Even the most customisation-friendly design templates would be incompatible with most of the growth scenarios we’ve laid out.
That’s why even though templates are a viable way to enter digital markets, they should be treated as a means to an end.
They’re a great launchpad, but don’t mistake them for the rocketship itself.
Design templates don’t support conversion optimisation
You’d be hard-pressed to find a business owner that doesn’t want their website to garner conversions.
But, many shot-callers cannot consider the same when they jump the gun with design templates.
They underestimate the long-term influence of conversion optimization tactics and get seduced by the short-lived upside that templates offer.
Think about it yourself.
Design templates are prototypes meant to serve a myriad of businesses that share some broad similarities.
They don’t account for your businesses’ specific needs, or the sales funnels you rely on.
They’re not designed to capitalise on the behavioural patterns of your typical customers.
Collecting conversion data with design templates is yet another hassle (when it isn’t, the easy access to analytics comes at a premium).
But, let’s forget about all that for a second.
Even with all the data in the world, there’s only so much that you can tweak about design templates.
Custom websites practically have limitless conversion optimization potential.
Design templates may look completely different when merged with your content
When creating something new, design professionals try to work with as many real assets as possible.
They know that even using basic ‘Lorem Ipsum’ placeholders can lead to poorly conceived last designs.
But, when you’re working with design templates, the option to visualise end-products beforehand goes right out of the window.
When purchasing a template, you need to base your decision on a few generic mockups (or a standardised demo, if you’re lucky).
When merged with your content, your chosen template may look nothing like the preview that prompted its purchase.
If you hit that wall, you’re back to ground zero… with lesser time and fewer resources to get a custom website built.
Design templates may cause technical issues and SEO woes
Templates with cool effects and plentiful visuals are great to look at, but a nightmare for technical SEO.
They leave little to no room for optimising website speed, and may even be incompatible with relatively unpopular browsers.
If the design template you’re using gets poorly coded, you may run into further troubles with Google’s mobile-first indexing.
Now, it’s fairly difficult for a non-technical person to scrutinise for such red flags when shopping for a template.
Without post-purchase support, the situation becomes even grimmer.
Granted that popular drag-and-drop website building tools like Wix and Squarespace offer immunity against most technical issues, they’re costlier than most templates on the web.
Even with the extra cost, these alternatives don’t offer as much control over SEO as custom websites do.
Design templates make your brand look generic
Well, this one’s pretty obvious, right?
A design template is, by definition, a one-size-fits-all solution.
So, nothing is stopping other businesses from using the same (or a similar) template as yours.
When enough businesses in one industry use similar design templates, it becomes really hard to tell them apart.
Now, there are silver linings to this, of course.
For instance, familiar designs don’t overwhelm visitors with new patterns and are easier to navigate.
Thus, from an usability perspective, using design templates isn’t a crime at all.
But, it’s just as easy to imbibe familiar elements into custom designs, and still preserve uniqueness.
The same, however, not as easily accomplished with templates.
Conclusion
Design templates have significantly reduced the barrier of entry to website design.
They allow even someone with little to no coding experience to get a website up and running in no time.
But, beyond a certain point, design templates lose their utility.
When a business surpasses a certain threshold, having a custom website becomes a necessity, not a choice.
In such a landscape, it’s handy to know of a competent design agency with tons of experience under its belt.
So, let us take this opportunity to drill the name Creaa Designs into your mind.
We’ve been building killer custom websites for many years now, and have tons of examples to show for it.
Look no further than our portfolio, and you’ll find that we’re more than just talk.
Until then, we hope reading this blog gives you a fair understanding of what design templates are all about.
Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
