Greater Lafayette Indiana Website Design
If you had to give an honest review of your company website right now, what would you say? Does it have a clean but basic look with minimal functionality? Could it be a lot more exciting and on-brand? If so, it might be time to bring in the experts in custom web design.
What Is Website Design?
Website design is a creative process that can help you transform a boring, outdated, and underperforming website into something that gets results. Visual appeal is, naturally, a big part of what web designers do, and our team at Dunsen Design has honed this craft with clients in Lafayette, Indiana, since 2008. However, effective web design is about so much more than looks. It's about branding, functionality, and customer experiences. That's why our custom approach for bespoke designs is the way forward.
Why Choose Custom Website Design?
The first hurdle for any company looking to build its presence online is the choice between a basic plan and a custom approach. Customization immediately puts you ahead of your competitors because it puts you firmly in the driving seat with greater control over your choices. The web design team will guide you and implement ideas, but they'll also listen to your needs. You'll be able to express precisely what you want from the look and function of the website so it marries with your branding and ethos.
Doing this makes it easier to connect with potential customers searching for you online because of the instant brand recognition and curb appeal. In turn, you'll be more likely to build on your lead generation campaign, bring in more traffic, and make more sales. It's a gradual process that requires some experimentation and room for further improvements, but custom web design teams can make that happen.
The Pros Of Professional Web Design
If you want a completely custom design to gain all these benefits, you're better off going with a professional team for bespoke web design. They can work with you through this ongoing process and build a relationship with you. Yes, it's a bigger investment, and it may seem like a massive leap from your current webpage, but that investment pays off. A professional approach means working with people who can look at your ideas and current problems from all angles. They'll use their expertise and the best software possible to come up with solutions that meet your needs. Those solutions will be fully bespoke, so you stand out from the competition while presenting your brand as accurately as possible. The best providers will also do all this with license-free software that helps you gain more control over your content.
What Problems Can Professional Web Design Fix?
In a moment, we're going to take a look at the difference between getting a custom website design and going with a basic pre-packaged plan. This is important because expert web design services aren't just about creating a bespoke site from nothing. Often, we have to take a problematic, unfulfilling existing website and make it better. Fixing those problems means a combination of,
- Improving the aesthetics
- Improving the layout
- Improving the interactive elements and overall functionality
Fixing the aesthetics of an underwhelming website is a crucial first step because of the aforementioned curb appeal. You need a site that's attractive at first glance and that makes people want to explore. This can include upgrades to text and color palettes as well as the use of images. For example, the ability to use high-quality original photos rather than stock images.
The placement of those images within the text and the layout of the pages also make a difference when leading people through their journey. The landing page has to be navigable with clear links to the next steps, such as product pages or your store. Your team will help you organize your content better so it's more user-friendly and likely to gain more traffic and conversions.
From there, there's the functionality of the site. Do all the links work? Are there strong CTAs at the end of the pages? Does the design load correctly or slow everything down? There's a lot to consider, but the more problems you brainstorm with your team, the more you can improve.
Off-The-Shelf Websites Vs. Custom Website Design
There's a good chance that if you have a basic company or brand website right now, it's what we call an off-the-shelf site. It's one put together with a standard package of features and templates via a third-party provider. These sites are great starting points. They give you a domain name and just enough to become a discoverable presence online. Perhaps yours has a simple landing page with your information and some links to an About Me page or other information. It's good, but is it enough? Two key problems are holding you back with these off-the-shelf solutions,
- You have minimal choices for creative expression and branding.
- You are tied into specific models, plans, and licensed software.
The lack of choice quickly becomes apparent when creating something on-brand or with any sense of personality. Website creation plans do become more flexible the more you're willing to pay, but there's still going to be a pretty low ceiling. There's a good chance that you'll end up with the same backgrounds, layouts, and typography as hundreds of other users. You won't stand out. You'll also struggle to create something that perfectly matches your branding. For example, let's say you have a very distinct shade of pink on your branding that became your signature. You're going to want to replicate that perfectly online and not have to settle for something closer to Barbie's pink.
The limitations continue when you start playing around with your web design and try to incorporate more features or complex elements. This isn't possible on basic plans. If you sign up for free to save money, you quickly run into brick walls with restricted content or problems with the licensed software. It becomes so narrow you don't have space to breathe.
That's where working with a custom web design team makes such a difference. These teams give you the flexibility to be open with ideas and create exactly what you have in mind. They're not tied down to the restrictions of plans and software licenses. In fact, we make a point of using as much open license software as possible. Designers who work on bespoke web design will take the time to get things perfectly aligned with your branding and vision. That way, it's clear as soon as people click onto your site that they're in the right place.
The finished product will be 100% yours and unique to your brand's needs, thanks to the flexibility and adaptability of the approach. We'll play around with ideas, listen to what you truly need, and come up with the best approaches. That flexibility also means there's a level of scalability with custom design that you don't get with the off-the-shelf approach.
Other Benefits Of Our Custom Web Design Solutions
Flexibility and freedom of choice with design ideas are just the start when working on a custom plan. There are additional perks on offer to help make web design and website management even easier. These tools are designed to give you the confidence to continue adapting your site and getting the best from it long after the final design goes live. Examples include the following.
- Content management systems
- Mobile web design
- Website Support
The idea of adding content management software to your operation sounds daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Adding a CMS should make it easier to add and edit content as needed. You'll find you have better management of your content and archives than before. There is a small learning curve, but your web design team can help train everyone to make it easier to understand.
Creating web designs that are mobile-friendly is essential when growing your business. If your site doesn't load correctly in portrait mode on a smartphone, that prospect is going elsewhere. Effective custom web design works on all configurations, so it doesn't matter if customers are on their desktop, phone, or tablet. The site should be just as functional and attractive, with no attempt to compromise the quality of the content.
Last but not least, there's the bonus of additional website support. Going back to that idea of the restrictive off-the-shelf solution, how much support are you getting right now? Is it a case of talking to an unresponsive chatbot or searching through an FAQ page? Expert web design teams are there to answer your questions with helpful solutions when you need them. If something isn't right or you're interested in making a change, they can advise you. After all, the job of a web design team should end when you publish that first design. This is an ongoing relationship.
Work With A Skilled Web Design Team To Upgrade Your Site
There is no need to stick with the bare minimum in design and functionality with an off-the-shelf product when you can create something far better. Switching to custom web design for bespoke websites brings you that creative freedom for better branding, aesthetics, a new customer experience, and more.
