The advantages of bespoke web design and ecommerce

Today, ecommerce platforms are available in two forms, an off the peg format or a bespoke web design and development. At TJS, we build only bespoke websites, focussing on our individual clients’ particular requirements. Here we look at the advantages of our bespoke service.

How much does a website cost?

Cost is a significant part in ecommerce web development and it is true that initial outlay is generally lower for a ready made platform. However, long term costs need to be factored in. Generic platforms will charge a low usage fee and businesses will have access to certain essential functions including an admin. area and shopping cart.  It is when a company requires additional functionality that is not included in the basic, generic package, that additional costs will be incurred for add-ons (via a one-off fee or subscription). On top of this, as a business grows and expands, some platforms will levy a per-transaction/order fee. Yes, a bespoke website will be more expensive but there will be no ‘hidden’ costs as you move forwards. 

What will my website look like?

Ecommerce platforms such as Magento (now Adobe commerce), Wix and Weebly will offer you a choice of template designs for your site. You will be able to add your logo and images, but bear in mind that these templates are available for use by anyone on the same platform, and because of this, the ability to customise their functionality is extremely limited. A bespoke website will look and function exactly how your business needs it to perform, with a behind the scenes CMS that is tailored to the exact element that you need to update on a regular basis.

Expansion

A ready-made ecommerce platform will suffice until you need it to do something that is not included in its basic functionality. This one size fits all model only works up to the point that its limits are reached, by which point, it’s probably limiting your business potential. By contrast, a fully customisable, bespoke site will give your business the full tools to maximise your potential, as well as having the ability to easily adapt and grow as your business or market evolves.

Site speed

The nature of ready made platforms, to cater for the needs of the many, means there will be lines of code behind the scenes that you may not require.This means your site will generate a lot of code that isn’t needed and won’t be used. This surplus code will impact on response times and will slow your site down which, for an ecommerce site, means lost sales. This will also result in the site performing poorly against Google’s performance criteria. A bespoke site is built with only the required / relevant code required to perform a given function, thus is incredibly streamlined and has much faster load times, performing very well against Google’s Performance requirements.  

Bespoke web design from TJS

Bespoke web development at TJS means just that. Our experienced project managers and design team will work with you to ensure that your brand identity is maintained while delivering the functionality and user experience you want. Our in-house development team has code and proven core frameworks that have been developed and honed across a wide range of our websites. Because of this, we are able to provide you with a truly bespoke site that can be changed to suit your business’s development and growth.

Template designs are perfect for simple, brochureware sites but if you have an ecommerce site with growth and expansion in mind, bespoke really is the better option.

When your business is a cut above your competitors or is an industry leader, do you really want the same website model as your rival? With no two businesses being the same, it makes sense that an off the shelf package will not match all of your requirements or match the way you work. So, when many of our clients come to us because their existing sites have outgrown the capabilities of their current platforms, we are able to offer them a site designed and developed to their exact requirements, with the backing of TJS’s long standing commercial experience and expertise.  

To find out more about our work, or for an informal chat about your ecommerce website needs, call us today on 01507 525500.