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Are you in the process of setting up a Shopify website for your business? When you go around checking the options, you will come across a couple of choices. You could build a completely new, custom designed Shopify website from scratch or you could buy a pre-made Shopify template and customize it to suit your needs. The question however is which is the best way to go about setting up your website. In order to make your decision you should weigh the pros and cons of both approaches so that you could make a well-informed decision.

Your Choice Could Make Or Break Your Online Business

Whether you like it or not, your website will be your online face and people will form impressions about your business based on the quality of your website and the nature of the experience it offers the users. If you have a carefully designed, visually appealing website with all the information easily accessible through intuitive website design then you could expect a higher rate of conversion in your website. 

On the other hand, if you have a sloppy website that does not pay attention to the above factors then you cannot expect the same level of conversions through your website. In other words, the quality of your website will determine your rate of success to a large extent. 

Building A Website–What Matters The Most?

When you are building your online presence by launching a website, you should know what matters the most. This however will depend on the nature and purpose of your website. You should know to raise pertinent questions so that your entire effort is steered in the right direction. Here are some basic questions to ask yourself before you embark on your journey to building a website for your business.

• Is your website going to be the primary platform for selling your products or services?
• Is this website for an existing, well-established business or is it for a startup business?
• How long will it take for custom building a Shopify website from scratch?
• In case you are going to use pre-made templates how extensively would you want the template to be customized?
• How much time do you have at hand for the launching of the website?
• What is your budget for this project?
• Do you have any specific list of features that you would want to be integrated to your website?
• What are the running costs, hidden charges and other fees for keeping the website live?

Once armed with these questions, you could now start reviewing the pros and cons of both options under question. Visit a Shopify theme store and review the options available to get an idea of what is being offered. You would be surprised to see that you have a plethora of options before you. All these templates are feature-packed and they are meant to meet the diverse needs and demands of the customers. When you start checking the prices, you would learn here again, you have a wide range of options. You will get free templates as well as templates ranging up to $200. You will find many such stores online for ordering your Shopify themes. 

In case you are thinking of setting up a temporary store or trying to do a pilot run of your concept testing various strategies then for such short-term purposes you can settle for a decent readymade Shopify theme. When you purchase a pre-made template, then you will be able to set up the website without any need for coding skills. Customization is possible on the go and you will be able to make cosmetic changes to the website such as editing the colors, fonts, adding or removing page sections, adding a blog and restructuring the URL navigation to suit your needs and so on. 

Pre-made Templates–Pros

• No long waiting periods, with almost zero development time – need only customization time.
• Fast launch possible
• Impressive website without any coding skills
• You spend much less when compared to building a custom website
• Wide range of options available

Pre-made Templates–Cons

• Only limited customization possible
• Advanced customization could lead to increased cost
• You will not be able to make your brand stand out as templates use generic designs
• You may need to spend more money on additional features, widgets or apps
•  You also pay for functions that you may not use

Modified Themes

Instead of taking the pre-made templates as it is you could consider modified themes, which is likely to be a midway approach to selecting between templates and custom built websites. However, you should take into account customization charges and decide whether it is really worth taking this route depending on the actual savings you enjoy. You should take into consideration all the long-term expenses too such as the ongoing subscription fee of any apps integrated in the modified theme. 

Custom Building Your Shopify Website

If you are planning for long-term, then you should be looking at custom built websites from scratch. You will be able to make your brand stand out from the rest with highly enhanced user experience. You can create business specific designs that would serve your customers the best.

Custom Shopify Websites–Pros

• You can create a stunning image about your business
• Complete optimization of website is possible to suit your specific needs
• You can add as many features and functionalities as possible
• You build just what you need and no unnecessary bells and whistles
• It can be built keeping in mind future scope for scaling up
• Tailoring user experience is possible with a very high level of precision

Custom Shopify Websites–Cons

• The cost is on the higher side
• You need development time and it takes much longer to build, need more time to launch your business
• Finding the top Shopify experts in the industry could be a challenge
• It is suitable only when you are planning for the long term.

To Conclude

We cannot blindly favor one or the other approach. Both options have their place and appropriateness. Careful requirements analysis will help you make well-informed choices that you are not likely to regret. 

You should remember that no two businesses, even in the same industry or niche, are the same. They are different in their own ways and using a template based Shopify website would be doing injustice to your business requirements. 

If you have long-term plans in mind and if you want room for scaling up, then custom built Shopify website is what you should be looking at and not a pre-made template. However, small businesses with a tight budget will definitely benefit from a pre-made template. 

Carefully review all these options before you make up your mind. Once you have decided how to go about launching your online business website, get in touch with the best Shopify development company to cater to your needs.