As changes in the last couple of years have shaken up every element of society one statistic has remained: nearly 50% of small businesses still have no website. Even as every industry seems to move online, entrepreneurs are still behind when it comes to building a web presence. While it’s a budgetary issue for some, for many it’s because of the difficulty of finding a perfect custom web development solution.

Having a website is like having a storefront that’s open 24/7. It’s like having a marketing team that’s out drumming up business and gathering leads while you’re asleep or doing other tasks. As most new customers come from search engines and business directories like Yelp, having a strong web presence is essential.

The best way to build a strong web presence is to have a site that’s the result of custom web development. Here are 9 reasons why you need a custom solution.

1. A Strong Brand Identity

You work hard every day to stand out from your competition. You’ve built a brand that’s based on a unique approach to your industry and that feels personal to your customer base. A cookie cutter approach to web development just won’t do.

A custom web development approach to your site and your interface will reinforce your brand identity to your customers. Your custom web developers can ensure that you’ve got a website, logo, and business cards that all match. They’ll even work on making sure your social media accounts are consistent.

A good brand identity builds a visual language that communicates a brand’s vision. Just as Apple uses a simple sleek silver apple or how Google uses bright playful colors, these logos express what kind of brand you are. Make sure your brand has the same kind of memorable approach with a custom design package.

2. Keep Visitors Engaged

While it’s nice to see that 10,000 visitors came to your page in a day, you need to make sure that you keep them around. A unique approach to web development will make your visitors want to engage with what your site offers them.

You only have a few seconds to engage your viewers once you get traffic to your site. It can cost you hundreds or even thousands just to gather a handful of people to look at your site. Once you have them, you have to make sure you can keep them.

A strong custom design will keep them browsing around and learning more about you. Show them how you differ from the competition so that they can find out what it is your product will add to their lives.

3. Build A Customer Base

A custom web development approach will consider what your customers want from your site. It will create calls to action that connect with your visitors, offering them the kinds of products and services they need.

Not only will the language help to reinforce the overall style and concept of your company, but the responsiveness will pull viewers in.

A custom design solution will use the visual and stylistic elements unique to your business and create new customers on every visit. By offering something up front like a free consultation, e-book, or special promotions, you’ll be able to gather emails and contact s information. After you gather information, you can then use your products and services to turn those leads into sales.

4. Stand Out

While there are lots of companies that allow you to build your own site or design using their templates, this leads to a lot of similar looking sites. You don’t need a cookie cutter solution that your competitors are using. Hiring a company for custom web development means you’ll get something that no other company has.

Using a free template allows you to create a basic website quickly, but it doesn’t allow you to have anything that distinguishes you from another competitor.

You won’t be able to get the kind of quality your customers are expecting when you use a cookie-cutter solution. You might even end up using the same template as one of your competitors without realizing it.

A custom web development solution sets you apart and shows your customers that you have a commitment to offering something new in your industry.

5. Content That Has Purpose

Even if you know your industry inside and out, you might not know what your customers expect from a website about products like yours. Designers and custom web development staff know how to ensure that every bit of content points visitors in the right direction.

Every element of your site needs to help support what you offer and why customers should work with you. Getting new clients to your site is the first step. The next step is showing, not telling, your customers what you can do for them.

If you have poorly constructed calls to action or unbalanced blocks of text, customers will be on their way. Custom designers know how to make your content clear so that it can direct your clients toward either getting in touch or buying your products and services.

6. Design Is An Art

Not everyone knows the art of good visual design. Every letter, font choice, and space between words makes a difference in perception. Designers and custom web development providers know how to make the details matter.

Whether you have a tight minimalist design or you are more energetic and playful, your designers won’t take any elements for granted. Your own solutions might be “good enough” but custom web design specialists know how to push everything one step further.

There’s an entire field of study dedicated to the psychology of interfaces. With a combined knowledge of art, design, psychology, and marketing, designers offering custom web solutions know which elements matter to your clients.

7. Objectivity Is Key

While you might have your friends and family look over your designs and your logos before you decide, the might not be able to be objective. You might not be an expert on web design either, despite how well versed you are in the details of your industry.

Hiring a team for custom web development means that you’ll get designers who know how to push one another. They’ll be able to be objective both with themselves and with you when creating your website. They can explain not only which design elements and concepts won’t work but they can also tell you why those ideas don’t work.

Hiring custom web designers is more than just having people who can do the coding and development work. They will be able to get problems solved more quickly and efficiently than you can because they’ve been through it before.

8. It’s Cheaper In The End

While plenty of companies will try to offer you high-quality at a cheap price, you’ll find this to be a more expensive approach. As you go back and forth with designers who don’t seem to get what you’re going for, you’ll pay them for each feedback cycle. Meanwhile, you’ll be without a website.

When you’ve finally got your solution up and running, it could quickly crash or end up having database issues. You could end up losing valuable customer information or opening yourself up for a data breach. While your solution might have cost less, it’ll cost you big through damage to your company’s reputation.

If in the end, you have to hire another designer to fix problems with your site, you’ll be paying for your website twice.

9. Building A Relationship

It’s important for you to have a good relationship with your web developers. If you later decide to move your WP site to HTTPS, you’ll be better off with someone who knows your company and your website from front to back than someone new.

If you need other changes made or decide to add elements to your site, having a custom web development company you know means it’ll be done quickly. Having to search for a company who can understand a previous developer’s code will cost you just to have them look at it.

Creating a relationship with a web development company means that they’ll be loyal to you and make sure that any lapses in service are fixed quickly. If you need to troubleshoot anything related to your site, they’ll prioritize your site because of your previous relationship with them.

And Custom Web Development Leaves Room To Grow

As your business grows and changes, so will your website. If you’ve created a custom solution with developers, they can keep you up to date with the latest technology and trends. They’ll let you know what changes are coming down the road that could have an effect on compatibility so that you can prepare your customers in advance.

If you want to know what to look for in your next web developers, contact us for tips.