Custom designs add a unique touch to the personality of your blog or website. We will
Over the years, I have noticed a surge of blogs coming online with unique and creative designs.
These blogs are either designed by unknown companies or by the bloggers themselves. Usually, if the blogger is the web designer himself, there will be no problem, but if it is designed by a third party, there will be problems!
So, in this article, I will list a few points you should consider before getting a custom design from a third party, whether it’s a blog or WordPress.
What is Custom Web Design and Why You Need It:
There are many beautiful WordPress themes available nowadays, for example, from the WordPress theme repository , you can get many free designed WordPress themes, and if you are not worried about the budget, you can get the Genesis theme with all skin packs and boost your website.
But the problem with all existing WordPress themes is that anyone can use it. You miss out on branding and having a unique look. Especially for creative people, this is very important.
The point is, your custom design helps to brand your blog. Now, let’s look at a few things you should consider before getting a custom blog design.
5 Essential Tips for Getting a Custom Blog Design:
1. Find a design company and read the payment terms
Actually, there are many web design companies that can design what you want. Compared to WordPress blogs, the price of blogs running on the Blogger platform is much lower.
So, when you choose WordPress and a reputable company, your budget will obviously be too high. On the other hand, an unknown agency, with low costs, may meet your requirements. I will highlight this point later in this article.
It’s best to write down “what you really want” before searching for quotes so there won’t be any misunderstandings between you and the designer.
I say this because many times when people ask for additional features beyond the initial layout, the design company will take advantage of the initial amount you paid and charge you far more for the additional features than what is actually due.
Therefore, it is better to be careful before paying – this usually does not happen with reputable companies.
2. Do you really need a custom design?
If you want your blog to stand out from the crowd, then it’s obvious that you need to maintain a unique website. This actually provides personality to you and your blog – for my blog, I prefer a unique design . I recommend you to do the same.
If you are a blogger, there are thousands of templates you can choose from, but none of them will provide the exact look you have in mind. Therefore, it is up to the individual to decide whether to go for a custom design or choose one from the many designs that best meet their expectations.
3. Choose between the best and the worst
As I mentioned earlier in the article, you need to narrow down the quotes and choose between the worst and the best. I recommend making a table with the features you listed as rows and the design quotes you received as columns. By making this chart, you will be able to find which company gave you the best and worst quotes. At least, if you can't find the best, you'll end up with something better :)
Also Read: How to Choose a WordPress Theme – A Beginner-Friendly Guide
4. Does it fit your budget?
The most important factor that determines the final look is the amount you want to spend on the design. It is obvious that when you want to add something extraordinary to your blog, it will end up costing a lot of money. The cost also includes the reputation of the brand and company.
For example, Darren Rowse of Problogger.net spent quite a bit of money on his design, which includes a lot of custom areas like a job board, popular posts, archives, etc… and that’s if you think all of that could have been done for $200 or $300. Absolutely not!
This is way beyond that. Even a premium WordPress or blog theme is $49.
Multiply that by the number of sales they have – and you’ll know the exact price of that premium theme .
5. Final Decision
Once you have a budget of, say, $500, good companies will quote you $700 or $800. It would be wise to go with the $700 quote and extend the deadline.
This can save a lot of budget. Instead of buying all the features within your budget and ending up with a low-quality piece, I suggest you compromise on a few features but end up with a high-quality design.
For bloggers, the best way to get a custom design is to choose a template from the web that will meet most of your expectations.
Later, get quotes for missing/additional features from different designers, as it’s easier to customize/add features than building a complete template from scratch on your blog.
Therefore, choosing a custom blog design is actually a negotiation between your ideas and concepts and the designer’s prices.
When you compromise on some features and extend the deadline, you end up getting high quality artwork at a better price, which would otherwise be a complete waste of time and money. Choose wisely!!!
If I missed something, feel free to share it in the comments!
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