The benefits of bespoke ecommerce website development
At TJS, our websites are bespoke and tailored to our clients' exact requirements. Here, we examine the benefits of bespoke development for ecommerce website design.
As an online, ecommerce business, your website is the first point of contact that new customers will have with your brand. We believe that the advantages offered to our clients of bespoke web development, far outweigh those of an off-the-peg, template platform; after all, if your business is unique, why settle for anything less than a tailor made website? But, first, what exactly do we mean by bespoke web development?
Bespoke web development – what is it?
Unlike pre-built, template platforms which offer a certain amount of flexibility in terms of customisation, bespoke web development allows you to have all the features your business needs, designed to meet your exact requirements.
The benefits of bespoke development for ecommerce website design
Unique design – as more ecommerce websites are coming online, the template designs available from off the peg solutions are becoming less unique. Limited customisation will allow you to use different colours and images to suit your business but you will always be restricted by the template layout limitations.
Responsive versus adaptive layouts – a responsive ecommerce web design puts the user at the forefront of the development process, considering the types of devices they will be using. Adaptive web design, often used in template platforms, uses many layouts that can be supported on a variety of screen sizes and usually focuses on the most common. This feature is more labour intensive to create and can lead to higher maintenance charges as each version needs to be kept up to date. At TJS, we use mobile-first responsive web design as it is the only way your website will be displayed accurately on all devices.
Technical expertise – a bespoke web design will be created for you by the developers who created the code and not just the designer! Only in this way can you guarantee you will get the exact functionality you need.
Growth and optimisation – a major benefit of bespoke ecommerce web design is its ability to adapt, and expand with your needs. While template platforms offer plug-ins, they are often unreliable and can clash with other plug-ins and with system updates. A bespoke design allows you to integrate features such as CRM or barcoding systems, your accounting software and courier and delivery information.
Security and support - plug-ins have also been known to compromise site security and can be slow and unresponsive due to the amount of (unnecessary) code they contain. With bespoke web development, the absence of plugins means these downsides cannot become an issue. Additionally, template platforms represent easy pickings for hackers as they often have a common database location, codebase, and even admin login area, making them vulnerable and easy to penetrate. With a bespoke website, the experts who developed the code will be on hand troubleshoot, identify and fix any issues should they arise.
Bespoke content management system – unsurprisingly, a bespoke website will have a bespoke CMS. This means you will have complete control over the content on your site and be able to add/edit it as you wish. At TJS, our bespoke systems are designed for ease of use by our clients.
Costs – while a ready-made platform generally involves a lower initial cost, it is important to consider long term costs over time. Bespoke websites have no hidden charges as your business develops, for example transaction volumes fees or the cost of add-on. When your business outgrows the capabilities of the platform, the costs of expanding the site will be prohibitive, if it is even possible.
Ecommerce website development from TJS
At TJS, we offer bespoke ecommerce web design in Lincolnshire because we believe our clients deserve the best for their businesses. Our designers and developers will ensure that you have all the functionality you require and that your site looks absolutely as you want – unique and inline with your branding and identity. Where you are starting out, we will work with you to create a logo and branding, which will be fundamental to your site.
To take your ecommerce business to the next level with a bespoke website, call us today on 01507 525500, to see how we can help.
