Bespoke web design is a term I’ve often used, a service I provide, but let’s define it! The word bespoke in its historical usage refers to custom made tailoring, such as a suit, or a jacket, with the tailor referred to as a ‘bespoke tailor’. But when we apply the word bespoke to web design, what do we mean?
A bespoke website:
- Is not built using a theme/template.
- Is custom made according to specifications.
- Is unique to your business.
- Might feature stand out elements of unique design.
- Is typically revised via design prototype before coding.
Because of the nature of bespoke web design, the developer will usually build upon a system that provides easy access to both front and back-end code running the website. In this way, blocks of code can be added or taken away quickly and easily, and the website can truly be customised to an extremely high level. Before coding begins at all, you will have gone through a prototyping design process with multiple revisions until you feel the bespoke design truly represents your business. Here at Proximo Web Design we use Adobe XD software to wireframe your proposed bespoke design and give you a preview of what the finished site will look like.
Wireframes can be as simple as a hand drawn layout without content, this is then translated into a higher level prototype using software like Adobe XD or Sketch, perhaps Photoshop is used also. For those designers that are still utilising Adobe Photoshop to create web prototypes, I would definitely encourage you to try out Adobe Sketch. It’s such a powerful tool to create interactive previews without code, and by the time you code it out, the customer will be very confident in the finished design you’ve created together. Client feedback is super important, don’t be married to your design too much when you’re starting out!
Bespoke web design examples
Example of bespoke web design mobile version
Example of bespoke web design desktop version
Only when this design prototyping process is complete, will your web designer and web developer program out the website, hook it up to a database , and go through all of the outputted code with a sharp eye, making sure everything required to relate to your business is perfect.
I love this process because it means the client can revise the prototype without the upheaval of having to re-code various aspects of the website, and by the time the website is coded out, it only requires very minor edits.
Bespoke design gives bespoke results
We can achieve Google page speed ratings of 100% by providing bespoke websites, they simply cannot be beaten by any third-party provider when it comes to speed and local hosting / faster running websites within the country you wish to rank for.
Not just on pagespeed can you have an advantage, but when it comes to outputting schema for example, which helps Google understand your content better, as schema is ever evolving, your bespoke web designer is always available to upgrade your code. In fact, I take bespoke web design so seriously, I build out custom video schema to satisfy for Google requirements when embedding video, and this type of feature is very difficult to achieve with theme development or CMSs (Wordpress etc) that can restrict the type of custom code you can output, cause conflicts or simply might not offer those features yet. With bespoke web design the sky is the limit, within reason though people, your website sadly can’t make you a cuppa yet, not even a bespoke one!
GDPR Cookies
Don’t want cookies? Don’t load any then! This is the standard that bespoke web design can achieve. Choose every single thing you do or don’t want to load in. If you need a website that can respond quickly to every change the internet and legislation throws at it, this is the way to go.
Why is bespoke web design better?
Choose the right tool for the job! Whether it’s a theme or a bespoke design, or perhaps a customised theme.
In our opinion, bespoke web design can respond far more quickly to current standards than themes can. While you wait for updates to themes in order to get to best standard, whether it’s improved HTML schema markup to get featured placements with Google, or enhanced accessibility, by the time a theme update is released, the bespoke websites code is already live. It might only take an infrequent check-in with your web designer to make sure any improvement can be made, is made, or maybe you already have a maintenance or content publishing agreement with them that is keeping those best standards ever updated to stay up to date. Ok, I am biased, but local web designers and developers are the best! Picking up the phone isn’t an old fashioned concept, but it’s a way of keeping clients happy and keeping standards up, reach out and offer an improved level of service, you might be surprised at the positive response!
And of course, it’s unique. It’s a design that you have had input into, that you and your designer have created together that perfectly represents your unique personality and business. You can distinguish yourself from competitors, while they might replicate their choice in themes and each website looks the same as the next, your website can be the one that’s memorable, that stands out, and that reinforces your brand and personality to the best extent possible.
Interested in getting a bespoke website? It’s our specialty so get in touch for a chat!