Imagine a world where all of us looked the same, had the same the color, wore the same, and spoke with the same accent. There wouldn’t be much for the word “identity” to describe. Are templates turning brands into clones? They seem well-designed and harmless, so what’s the catch? A very hard question to answer no matter at what stage you are in your branding is this: should I hire a designer, or shall I use templates and do it myself? The answer is not one-size-fits-all, but there are certain things a business needs to pay close attention to. Awareness will help you not to punch your brand in the face. You want your brand to thrive with all its identity elements, like colors, style, music, and graphics. Before you even think about launching a website or printing a logo, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Website templates are taking over the arena, and for good reasons. As one is about to launch a brand, templates are free, easy-to-use, and you can do them yourself without hiring anyone. It’s the fastest way to launch the website. But is this speed enough for you to win the rat race? For people at the first stage, it seems appropriate to use templates, but it’s not for everybody. Templates are not only double-edged swords, but they are lightsabers. It can hit you from anywhere. If your brand identity demanded flexibility, you may find limitations in your template. These can be walls stopping you from achieving originality and uniqueness. The user-friendliness comes at a monthly price. For example, Wix’s initial price is at 13$ per month, and the worst part? You don’t own your website! When you hire a designer, you pay for more than just a mere website. They have in mind your brand identity, and they can shape how all the elements can be shaped inside the website. A developer also has more freedom, so your website is tailored according to the brand’s elements. However, going for templates is just fine as a first start; however, if you’re looking to go big on online presence, it is better to go big on investment too.
Now that the identity is taken care of, there is one more thing to pay attention to: your SEO ranking. For Google to choose you over others, many things come into play. For example, user experience, loading speed, mobile compatibility, and many more. The web developer you hire knows how to play around with these to get a valid SEO ranking from Google, even at the start. However, if you still want a template, make sure you know what you’re doing or else you’ll be painting your website with the invisibility ink. Bounce rate will spike, especially if your loading is slow or the website is incompatible with mobile phones. People have no patience to wait for your website to load for more than three seconds. Make sure you know how Google judges if you want a better ranking.
Websites aren’t the only thing keeping you awake at night, if you’re still scratching your mind on how to represent your brand. If it’s not excess caffeine, then it must be the logo design. How can your name stand out if you look like everybody else? Brand logos are what we remember. If you see an apple with one bite at the top, you’ll either think about the Apple company’s logo, or Snow White. When you think about the color blue in brands, Facebook and Dropbox will pop inside your brain. Low cost or free Logos might sound tempting as a bait is to a hungry fish, but can you guarantee that they will be of high quality? You get what you pay as always. It’s better to invest in something that makes your brand unique. In this case, template is just another word for Similar, and it’s exactly what you’re not trying to achieve when it comes to your brand’s symbol. If you already have a budget constraint, see if you can hire a freelancer and not a firm. You can always get around this! If you still want to get a template, at least make sure that it can be modified or that the website can give you multiple options for a lower cost.
The only one thinking about you for free, is you. Just remember one important rule. Whoever designed fixed templates didn’t think about you specifically. Templates can come in handy, but not all the time. So, make sure you are certainly aware of all the cons and pros of using templates. If your brand identity is turning into brand similarity, it’s time to raise the red flag.
LetsMarket.it is a leading inbound marketing agency based in Canada. We deliver customer focused internet marketing solutions that are poised to deliver outstanding results and best ROI.
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