Until a few years ago, the creation of a professional web page was almost exclusively reserved for web designers. Today, numerous ready-made solutions are offered that can be put into operation quickly and easily by customers with little previous knowledge. However, the decision to purchase a standard solution or create a more individual web design is not easy to make. The question of which solution should have priority when creating a web presence cannot be answered in general terms, and the cost factor is not a primary decision criterion either. Because it’s not the price that counts, but the benefit. However, the pricing depends on the objectives that are to be achieved with the website.
Is it mainly about the presentation of products, should sales be boosted through an online sales channel, or is it intended to generally increase the reputation of the company and its brands by means of online marketing and to sustainably increase the positive company image in the minds of interested parties anchor? Whatever goals are aimed for, the path always leads to precise knowledge of the wishes, needs and behavior of the intended target group. The web presence is to be aligned with these specifications, both visually and in terms of content. Those web solutions that correspond to the desired profile should therefore be given priority in the decision-making process.
What options and at what price are there to present your company on the Internet? Here the future website operator can choose between individual web design, a standard web page and web frameworks.
Tailor-made web design – individuality has its price
A major advantage of individually designed web design is that the entire website can be optimally adapted to the needs of the customer, annoying ballast in the form of unnecessary functions or sub-pages is thus eliminated. The individual scope for design also makes it possible to differentiate yourself from the competition and to increase the recognition value of your own brand. However, such a “tailor-made website suit” also has disadvantages. Since subsequent modifications and extensions are usually expensive, the customer becomes massively dependent on the provider. Although one can protect oneself against its insolvency by regulations in the contract, which provide for maintenance by another provider in this case, the dependency relationship remains a risk factor. Because there are no empirical values for individual solutions, the customer must completely trust the statements of the manufacturer when it comes to the important target values ”time and money”.
Standard solutions – proven web design at a reasonable price
Standard websites have the advantage that a finished product is offered and all features can therefore be subjected to an extensive practical test before purchase. The customer can determine for himself whether he is satisfied with the graphic design, user-friendliness and range of functions. In addition, standard web solutions are constantly being further developed and the experiences of numerous users have already been taken into account. But the ready-made software can also score points in terms of price, because it is usually cheaper than individual software. However, it is more difficult to stand out from the competition with a “off-the-shelf” website, and the site may also be overloaded with functions that are not required at all and make user guidance more difficult. In addition, such standard solutions cannot always be integrated smoothly into existing system landscapes.
Standard websites are developed using so-called web templates, which are offered on platforms such as Themeforest. These are design templates for creating websites. Web templates can usually be edited with image editing programs and HTML editors and can thus be largely adapted to the needs of the customer and the user. In addition to this, there is the possibility of setting additional accents using theme-specific templates – called web themes. Such themes contain motifs and graphic elements that match the theme of the website.
Frameworks – flexible web design at a reasonable price
So-called web frameworks have established themselves on the market as an alternative to standard and individual solutions. These are modular systems that contain both ready-made standard modules and design elements that can be freely configured by the customer. The framework created in this way can be individually adapted by the user and expanded practically indefinitely. The manufacturer usually offers regular updates, and support is usually provided via online forums and communities. The theme of the website can be changed at any time, so frameworks can also be used for future web projects. The integration of content management systems (e.g. Joomla, WordPress) is usually possible without any problems. As far as the price is concerned, frameworks are roughly in the middle between standard and individual solutions.
