When reviewing website design options for your dental office, most website design companies will ask you to choose between a custom design and a pre-built template website. While both types or websites can be successful, following are some useful points to consider when deciding between these two options.
Cost
Custom dental websites will always cost more than a pre-built design. If you are on a budget or just starting out, then template design may be the way to go. You can always revisit the design after a few years. Then again, if you will get a custom website in future anyway, then why not get it now.
Time
Custom websites will take longer to complete since everything will have to be approved by you and there is going to be a lot of back and forth until everything is exactly how you want. For a template design only the color scheme will be changed to your logo and your website would be ready to go. You just need to add content to make it live. Again, if you are pressed for time, a template design may be the better option.
Customization
A custom website is personalized to your exact preferences and satisfaction. On the other hand a template design will only allow for basic changes. You will rarely find a design template to match your exact needs because templates are designed to cover all/most audiences. If you find yourself wanting too many changes to a template design, you should consider a custom website.
Uniqueness
While a template website does undergo some basic customization, it is possible that two or more dental practices have the same color scheme. In such cases, their websites can look identical or very similar. Obviously, no dentist wants their website to look the same as another local dentist, particularly if they offer the same services. It can damage your brand and cause confusion among patients. Ideally your website should be unique to your dental practice and only a custom website will achieve that.
Marketability
A custom website can be tailored to your target audience and therefore provide better conversion rate than a template design. For e.g. If your dental office is located in a minority dominated area, you will need your website to reflect that. If you want to attract young professionals, your website should be built to do so. In short your website should speak to your patients (whether they are blue collar workers or corporate executives or middle class families) instead of the general population. This is where template designs suck big time and the main reason why we recommend custom websites.
Ultimately, the choice between a custom website and template design comes down to how committed you with online marketing. If you are serious about getting dental patients online, then your website has to be professional and marketable in terms of both design and content. Template websites usually fail to deliver on both counts. If you want to get a custom website for your dental practice please contact us for a free consultation.