Is your Brand Living in a Webdivision?

Subdivision developers may use an architect’s services only once, with the rest of the tract houses using the same master template: the resulting houses all look similar.

In my opinion, a lot of web properties are beginning to look like subdivision communities. As more and more companies offer easy web design templates webdivisons are becoming the norm.

I myself use a template, and have done as much as possible to personalize the interior space and create some curb appeal. All of us have our own brand images that give the website its unique look and feel, but overall, many brand websites seems predictably templatized. And some things are fixed to a grid you cannot work around. If you choose to go with a template, having a great coder on the team can make a big difference in customizing your web design and I highly recommend it.

There are many templates to choose from, and a lot of great solutions provided by the companies that serve us. It makes it easy to get your site up and running from the get go. It’s more affordable to create. But, I wonder if we are doing a disservice to our brand and our customers by going this route? Or, do templates help people feel ‘@home’?

As webdivisions proliferate I gloss over things I might not otherwise. I am so used to the web design format and some of the stock icons that it no longer engages me. Customizing your template can solve this. Anything you do to make it your own will go a long way.

Having lived in only one apartment complex in my life, and one subdivision, web design is beginning to feel like this to me. Although the apartment had many amenities, including ocean access, going to all of my friends’ houses in the community was a bit strange. I always ended up in a place pretty much like my own. Sure, some had more bedrooms, vaulted ceilings or a different view, but in the end, it started to feel pretty weird to me. Similarly, subdivision step and repeat patterns leave me cold.

I prefer unique living situations that are sometimes even a bit quirky. I feel the same way about website design. Not quirky as in hard to find what you need, but quirky that expresses fresh and original use of the real estate.

What is the future of web design? I don’t know, but I hope it is something more than ‘YOU ARE HERE, AGAIN’…