Many businesses and organizations choose to go with a custom design for the same reason: control. They do not want to be hindered in their primary tool for online engagement. Budget aside, this is an obvious direction for anyone who wants to stand out in the ever growing crowd that is the Internet. While it is true that a percentage of visitors are not able to tell the difference between a template and custom design, there is still a certain level of professionalism that’s immediately communicated when landing on a custom designed WordPress website.

The concept behind a custom design is not to re-invent the wheel (unless that’s what you’re trying to accomplish and in that case we would love to help). Logos and navigation menus at the top of the page followed by an arrangement of page content all ending with call to actions and footer links and copyright info is definitely the framework most users expect to come across. While most pre-built themes check off the boxes in terms of the expectations, where they always fall short is in the details. A custom design gives you control over every aspect of the website. More importantly, a custom design ensures that a designer touches every aspect of the website.

A designer can impart everything from elegance to conciseness to excitement on an otherwise mundane webpage. Their key strengths lie in the ability to tie everything together. Whether they are working within the confines of established branding or given free-range, the resulting product will always look cohesive. It is truly a beautiful thing to see consistency across an entire website.

Before completely decimating pre-built themes, we would like to remind you that a custom design does not always require a custom theme. It is true that a custom theme maximizes control among other things; however, we are also able to integrate custom designs into a pre-built theme like Divi. For those who are working within tighter budgets, Divi opens the door for giving your business or organization the professionalism of a custom theme while saving considerably on the development end.