The need for a well-built business website has been long-established. A whopping number of people are turning to the internet for the umpteenth time for robust solutions. Therefore, businesses must fortify their digital presence to meet audience needs.
If yours is a business in the UK, you must have come across agencies offering custom web development in London. These customised site development services ensure a tailored web presence and targeted business expansion.
A fair number of businesses in the UK are turning to custom website development to strengthen their position in the industry. And they are indeed experiencing success.
In this detailed blog, we will take you through the nitty-gritty of custom web development and the benefits your business can experience. By the end of this comprehensive read, you will have sound knowledge to decide whether to opt for custom website development.
What is Custom Website Development?
Custom Website Development refers to developing custom web solutions specific to a brand’s digital presence. The tailored features offered meet precise business requirements and align with targeted customers.
Compared to generic website development, custom websites represent a sophisticated web presence of the trade. The development solutions align with the brand’s ideologies, appeal to the perfect audiences, and affirm higher conversions.
Generic websites are all about pre-built templates. This work fine for a business planning to go digital. However, if the objective of the business is to scale and make a statement among the competition, custom website development is the way to go. The custom approach helps a business website stand out in the industry with unique features.
If you are confused about whether or not to avail of custom website development, you have stumbled upon the perfect read.
Keep reading to understand the advantages of bespoke web development and all that it entails.
The United Kingdom has about 2.7 million active websites. The overall web design & development growth in the UK is phenomenal – about £621 million revenue from Web Development services in this time period 2019 to 2023. A maximum number of businesses have turned digital and are reaping the benefits of a sturdy website. However, only a few of these businesses are standing out.
How? They are focusing on custom web development and design.
Visual appeal and seamless user experience are the basics of a compelling website. Just a web presence is assuredly not enough to gain digital success. It takes a little more effort to capture the target audience and perform better than competitors.
The secret to businesses staying ahead in this competitive domain is a custom website.
Services Offered in Custom Web Development
A decade ago, creating a website was an impressive journey. It turned ideas into visible platforms that allowed visitors to interact with them. The scenario has changed manifold since then.
Today, anybody can build a website. There are multiple website builders and CMS solutions to create stunning websites. Users have access to tons of free templates.
From a business perspective (especially the ones signing up for success), these may not be the right fit. These one-size-fits-all templates lack several functionalities that can hinder success. Thus, the need for custom website development comes into play.
Before you search for the best custom web development company in London, let us take you through the services offered under this wing. The fun part of choosing custom web development is that you can choose specific services based on business needs and not the entire package.
Here is some of the most-availed custom web development services explained:
1. Custom UI/UX services
UI or User Interface comprises a website’s visual elements – buttons, icons, toggle features, etc. The visitor to a website interacts with these elements to explore the brand. UX or User Experience is the visitor’s interactive journey through the web presence, and it focuses on offering a positive experience.
The objective of custom UI and UX is to create a tailored website presence with a unique visual element targeted to a specific audience base. The design wireframe is structured, keeping the user’s journey in mind. The finished product of custom UI/UX design is an intuitive website with easy navigation. Here, the visitors can complete actions effectively without friction.
2. Custom CMS development
The value of unique content is unparalleled in the digital space. A piece of content helps your customers understand your brand. It adds value to their search needs and entices them into taking action.
A custom CMS solution allows a brand to streamline content management. It ensures faster content processing – including storing, editing, and publishing. The goal of a custom CMS is to accelerate productivity and utilise more of the original content.
Custom CMS can offer multiple features – content template, taxonomy and SEO features. It can automate content review and approval systems for businesses.
3. Custom Ecommerce Development Solution
The current ecommerce landscape is competitive. Customers prefer online businesses that offer maximum functionality and seamless retail experience.
Owing to the heavy competition, custom e-commerce development has unique advantages. It offers greater control and flexibility in multiple e-commerce processes. It has a broader range of visuals and features than any theme can offer. Most importantly, custom ecommerce development features allow the users a unique experience.
There are several ways to customise an ecommerce store. You can go for tailor-made navigations to a seamless one-page checkout for faster conversions. The process enhances the store’s ability to scale for the coming days of growth.
There are 580K e-commerce stores in the UK – each promising the best services and products. What makes an ecommerce brand unique amidst the many is how it aligns with customer needs. Hence, the prime goal of a custom ecommerce solution is to ensure the experience is unique to the users.
4. Custom Web Portal Development
Custom Web Portals are the new talk of the digital town. It is a solo access point of a business, or we can call it a unique dashboard. It collects information from multiple sources and organises them into custom pockets, unique to the plethora of users.
The users can register and access their unique profile for necessary information as per requirement.
Custom Web Portal development is creating these platforms by utilising a user-oriented portal blueprint.
An ideal custom portal is feature-rich, intuitive, and user-friendly. Custom portals cater to multiple industries – health sector, education industry, B2B and B2C businesses, etc.
5. Custom Chatbot Development
Chatbots have taken multiple businesses to the next level. It has become an indispensable part of customer support. Hubspot’s recent Customer Acquisition Study highlighted that 90% of customers expect immediate response from customer support. It is where custom chatbots take centre stage.
Custom chatbots automate the entire service wing. It can engage with numerous customers and offer optimised responses. Custom bots add a competitive advantage for businesses. It shortens the conversion window and brings in qualified leads.
Did you know? The present-day Custom chatbots can even take orders and payments without the need to scroll through the online store.
Now that you have a fair understanding of what services custom web development entails, let us move forward. To help you get over your dilemma, we have listed the ten best benefits of choosing custom website development.
Advantages of Custom Web Development Services
This has been made abundantly clear that custom web solutions enhance a business’s digital presence and boost growth. We would not sugar-coat it – generic web development services turn out to be great for some businesses. However, a custom presence is inherently more professional and holds the necessary authoritativeness. It is more success-oriented and the overall structure is meant to attract a targeted customer base.
Without further ado, let us dive into the many benefits of custom website development for businesses and organisations.
Here is a list of the top 10 key advantages
1. Scalability and Flexibility
For a business to go digital is a successful endeavour. Moving forward, the ultimate goal for the business is online growth. As a result, the web presence must have reasonable room to scale. By scaling, we mean it must be capable of meeting the increased traffic flow. Apart from that, the website must offer smooth flexibility while managing added functionalities.
The scope of scaling and flexibility in a generic pre-built website is slim. The overall functionalities to meet growth are limited.
Custom websites are highly scalable and can be easily adapted to accommodate growth and the changing needs of a business. Whether adding new features, integrating with third-party services, or expanding the website’s functionality, custom development offers the flexibility to make these changes seamlessly.
For instance, you started your business website without a blog section. Your current website design structure has no section for blogs. Will adding the new blog block hinder the design? Does the theme allow a dynamic blog section? In a custom website, these are not worrying instances.
The website here is not dependent on a platform with fixed features. Since custom websites are built from scratch, these can meet any business objective.
2. Tailored Digital Presence
Creating a website using a builder platform is easy. There are multiple pre-built themes available, and anyone can do it.
The primary purpose of businesses to opt for bespoke web development is the uniqueness it entails. Custom websites are specifically designed to meet the unique brand requirements. These are not built from templates, and the appearance is tailored.
There are no limitations to how much one can customise to offer a positive user experience. This approach ensures that the finished result aligns with the brand identity and effectively represents the business.
Also, a website built with custom designs and features offers a higher engagement rate. It is because they are planned accordingly, based on customer behavioural studies. Hence, the finished web presence often resonates with customer needs.
Website engagement stands on three pillars – cognitive, behavioural and emotional. Meaning, the presence is comprehensible, triggers positive emotions and caters to customer intuition respectively.
Custom websites meet all three pillars, thereby boosting overall customer engagement.
3. Enhanced Security
Over the last few years, the digital landscape has experienced multiple security breaches. Google also has made it an objective to warn users of risky websites. Security measures like SSL certificates are now mandatory for ranking purposes. For a business, security measures are now inescapable.
Coming back to generic websites; the off-the-shelf website builders are likely to have security vulnerabilities. If another website using the same platform gets breached, your business website is the next in line. This increases the possibility of data breaches and cyber-attacks across multiple businesses.
Custom web development agency London implements robust security measures on a website. Standard Security Technology (SSL) is a primary protocol in custom websites. The source code of a custom website is proprietary and cannot be publicly released.
Some custom websites also utilise a web application firewall (WAF) and shield the website from HTTP traffic. These security features ensure better protection of sensitive data and minimise security risks.
4. Search Engine Optimization or SEO-friendliness
There is no solid proof to validate that Google prefers custom websites over template-made. However, Google considers speed, user experience and unique content as supreme.
Most generic pre-made website templates are not structured with these factors in mind. Custom websites are clean and have organised code structures that comply with SEO best practices. The content across the website can be optimised with various SEO elements, such as Meta tags, headings, URLs, and site structure, to improve search engine visibility.
User experience, on the other hand, majorly adds to the SEO success of any website as well. The idea is to develop a website that offers a favourable journey to the visitors. Custom web development enables businesses to create intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. It provides a smooth and pleasant browsing experience keeping usability and functionality in mind.
With enhanced user experience powered by optimisations, custom development provides better control over SEO. This leads to higher search rankings and increased organic traffic – a complete organic success.
Let’s cover the benefit of speed in custom website development
A. Faster Loading Times
User experience and speed go hand-in-hand, and with bespoke web development, the improvements are remarkable.
It has been long established in the digital realm that website speed is crucial – for SEO conversion success.
When a visitor lands on your website, they want it to load as swiftly as possible, within 3 seconds. A second delay in page load leads to a 7% drop in conversion rate. Also as per SOASTA, For every second delay in mobile page load, conversions can fall by up to 20%.
Pre-built websites come with multiple features and functionalities that may not be useful to all businesses. However, these extra features can take a heavy toll on the website’s speed. Custom web development lets you build a website with only the necessities. It cuts down on unnecessary junk and ensures the website is optimized for speed and efficiency.
Fast-loading pages are known to enhance user satisfaction and reduce bounce rates. To experience improved website speed, you get help from a reputable custom web development company.
B. Integration of Latest Technologies
The digital landscape is evolving rapidly. The technology stack you choose today and how you upgrade it with time majorly impact your digital presence.
Several technological advancements are being introduced steadily. And it is only wise for businesses to utilise the latest out there.
We often call these latest technologies a ‘cutting-edge solution’ as they meet the current trends and allow innovation. The advancements focus on offering businesses an upper hand in success.
The latest cutting-edge technologies of this age are – generative AI and other AI features, low code development, augmented reality, automation and so on.
Several businesses are trying to integrate their business with these latest. And soon, the incorporation will become a necessity.
For a pre-built website to collate with these latest technologies is a daunting task. There is a probability of functional incapacity leading to an inoperative user experience.
With custom website development, integration of the latest technologies is effortless. The integration does not necessarily require scratch work. Efficient custom website developers can seamlessly re-factor and upgrade the existing technology stack to meet the latest. This integration helps in enhancing efficiency and streamlining business processes for future growth.
C. Efficient Maintenance and Support
It is crucial to keep a business website updated, as it speaks for the brand. Regular updates protect the presence of possible security breaches and cyber-attacks.
These upgrades are necessary to adhere to industry standards and regulations. In most cases, when businesses use pre-built website templates, they rarely get maintenance support from experts. They search for updates, integrations and extensions to keep their website efficient.
It can be a tedious task and often distracts them from their primary business goals.
Custom websites, in contrast, are maintained by an expert team from a custom website development company. Based on their expertise, they can offer more robust solutions to the website without a hustle.
Hence, for most growth-oriented businesses, custom development is an ideal solution to keep the website updated and secure.
D. Cost-Effective in the Long Run
Cost-effectiveness – this is where most businesses falter in making the right decision. Let us break down the expenses of a pre-built and a custom-built website.
Pre-built websites are hands-down cheaper than custom websites. You can find several free pre-built website themes to work with. The only expenses are domain and hosting.
Custom-built websites are expensive. Each aspect of the website is built with unique code and features to cater to the business’s visions.
If and when your business tends to grow, the website will have to meet the growth. It is where pre-built websites tragically fail. These templates are not built to scale with the growing business needs. From the business end, this would require immediate attention and a complete website rework. Overall, this is far more expensive than the initial cost of a custom website.
Custom web development may require a higher investment compared to pre-built templates, but it offers long-term cost savings. These websites are built to be scalable, avoiding the need for frequent redesigns or restructuring as the business grows. Additionally, custom development minimises ongoing maintenance costs, as the website is built with efficient code and tailored features.
E. Unique Design and Branding
Uniqueness, visual appeal, and brand value are essential factors to digital success. These effectively capture the right audience and help build trust. For instance, if a business website that offers web designing services has an unappealing website presence, it will lose customers. The reason is obvious – their design is generic, nothing appealing, and fails to meet customer’s trust.
Pre-built websites rarely offer room for unique design and branding. There is a sharp limit to how much you can customise. Hence, these websites fail to create the necessary conversion stimuli.
A custom website, on the other hand, offers complete control over the visual and branding elements. Businesses can create visually appealing websites that align with their brand image, values, and objectives. This branding consistency helps build trust with users and fosters a strong identity.
F. Better Analytics and Reporting
Analytic and reporting are critical to the growth of any business across industries. It tells you everything you must know to improve your presence. Starting from how many people are visiting your website to what action they are taking after.
Analytics, rarely mentioned, is an invaluable resource for improving the overall website to boost conversion. The reports can help you transform your digital presence into an improved version that resonates with your ideal customers.
With a pre-built template website, analytics hardly come of use. Despite understanding what changes will help you improve, there is no room for improvement. It is where custom websites excel.
The purpose of analytics is to make your business a brilliant presence. And with a custom website, these measurable alterations for success are uncomplicated.
There are several well-known analytics tools that businesses find helpful. To name a few are Google Analytics, Open Web Analytics, Matomo, Mixpanel and so on.
These tools cater to multiple business needs – such as event tracking, heat maps, user insights, etc.
Reasons to Choose Custom Website Development
Now that we have got a closer look at the benefits of custom website development, let us explore the reasons to choose this over pre-built websites.
Between these two distinct methods of website development, the custom version is ideal for most businesses. In particular, bespoke development is the best for a business planning to scale.
Here are three solid reasons to get your business a robust custom website with advanced functionalities.
Reason 1: Meeting Specific Business Needs
Business growth and boosting sales are all about telling your customers what you sell and how it benefits them. There are several businesses similar to yours that are offering the same products and benefits. Why would they convert on your website?
Because the custom website perfectly represents the UVP – Unique Value Proposition. The UVP distinctly communicates to your customers the unique quality of the product/services and why it is superior to the competitors.
A website structure that captivatingly represents the UVP – this is a feat you cannot perform with pre-built website templates. Even when it comes to various functionalities and website features, pre-built websites rarely offer a scope of customisation.
With custom website development services, you can have a visually appealing website that speaks to your brand and fits your business needs.
Reason 2: Stand Out in the Competitive Market
Websites are a make-or-break factor for your business. Either they visit, get convinced and convert, or they abandon and go to the competitors. Hence, the website you built, whichever approach you choose, is the cornerstone for your success.
Yes, a business can buy a website template, make some tweaks here and there, and build a digital presence. But this will never work out if the goal is to create a unique presence.
The digital space is competitive, where each day a new strategy is built to stand out. Be it advanced SEO techniques or a top-notch design feature, the idea is to stay ahead in the market.
Custom website development allows businesses to build the best version of their brand. With the abundant scope of customisation, strategising is effortless and rewarding in the long run.
Reason 3: Long-Term Strategic Investment
The idea is business success and for the long haul. It has been mentioned multiple times that the digital domain is ever-evolving. Each year, there are new trends to explore and new technologies to upgrade the website. Even customer engagement styles will likely change in the coming year.
Custom website development is a long-term strategic investment. This approach keeps the web presence flexible and scalable to any amount of change that comes. Whether the business expands or suddenly experiences an influx of organic traffic, custom websites can be adjusted to meet these changes.
Generic web solutions, on the other hand, are affordable. They are only valuable for short-term gains and not ideal for growth-oriented businesses.
Choosing Custom Web Development Services for Unique Needs
If you have thoroughly gone through this article, you have certainly got a good understanding of what custom development is and what services it offers.
It is essential to consider what your business truly needs. Is it a flexible and scalable model that adjusts seamlessly with growth? Is it to effortlessly rank on the search engines? Is it to keep the website secure from threats and breaches?
If the answer to these questions is yes, your business needs expert custom website development services. A custom website offers all that is needed for revenue-based growth. It offers a unique web presence with advanced functionalities and impeccable speed.
It keeps your website secure while keeping it updated with the latest technologies. Maintenance of a custom website is effortless with experts on board and has proven to be the most cost-effective solution in the long run.
Looking for cutting-edge custom web solutions? Webskitters Ltd. has a proven record of delivering bespoke website development services for an elevated brand presence. We help build perfect custom websites for businesses and help them gain a competitive advantage in the industry. The design and development market in the UK is ambitious; get in touch with our experts to stay ahead.
