How to Know if a Box Website Solution Will Work for Your Business — or Not

If you’ve clicked this link, it’s likely that you’re considering a website build. And, you’re probably wondering, “How on earth do I choose what route to take? Will my business benefit from the investment I make? Or will I be throwing money out the window?”

Hopefully, we can help you determine the answer to this question. And, surprisingly, the first step to finding this answer can be broken down quite easily. Your first decision is to decide if your business needs a customized website solution, or a box website solution.

Boxed Solutions

Let’s start off by defining what a ‘boxed solution’ is. A ‘boxed solution’ is an off-the-shelf tool or service that is capable of producing a responsive, scalable, and user-friendly website. This is possible through a templating engine that usually allows the business owners to author their content and customize their website through branding techniques and strategies. Some notable contenders are Wix, Squarespace, and Wordpress.

There are boxed solutions that allow you to create your website using their tools — and then it’s up to you to take those website files to a hosting solution like GoDaddy or AWS. After that, you’ll need to link up your domain to your web host and voila! your website goes live.

There are solutions out there that take away all of the difficulties of getting your site to go live. One notable player here would be Shopify. All you need to do is fill in their template with your business’s content, and you’ll be online in no time.

Examples

If the extent of your website’s needs fall under one of these categories below, then there’s a good chance that a boxed solution would be your best option.

• Splash page
• Online store
• Portfolio page
• Business site
• Blog site
• Discussion board
• Wiki (shared knowledge board)

Custom Solutions

A custom solution might be appropriate if your concerns are specific and cannot be easily met by an available templated solution. I’ve found that if your business is centered around the web and its various connected offerings, it typically calls for a custom solution to be built.

More simply put, if your business offering depends upon many other online services to function, or if it needs to hook in another business’s servers to operate, you’ll need a custom build.

It’s difficult to provide a list that entails examples of custom solutions. Reason being, a custom tailored solution wouldn’t need to be custom if it had been done before. Thus, when helping someone decide between a custom solution or a boxed solution, we usually look for some key factors.

Connected Services

Many businesses these days offer solutions that are connected to virtually everything. Does your business rely on a live connection to multiple backend systems (via APIs, etc.)? Does it need to use an AI (artificial intelligence) to recommend your services to your customers? Does it need to stream data to a dashboard for an admin to review in real-time? If so, you’re entering an area that can get so specific that it might be best to consult an expert.

Product Creation

Are you setting out to bring an idea to life? If it’s something that’s never been done before — chances are, there’s likely no off-the-shelf solution to streamline its creation.

Specific Requirements

Do you need to be using a specific set of tools to connect to an existing platform? Do you need your solution written in a specific language that you can maintain on your own accord at a different date? If you choose a boxed solution here, you’re not likely to get to pick what underlying technologies are used to create your product. This may put you in a bind at a later, less than optimal, date.

Ownership of Codebase

Some businesses that profit directly off of their software need complete ownership of the codebase. Thus, an off-the-shelf solution won’t cut it since you don’t own the codebase — you’re simply renting access to it.

Planning & Strategizing

One thing is for sure; you don’t want to find out too late that a custom solution could have been easily accomplished with a boxed solution instead. Likewise, you don’t want to find out the hard way that your off-the-shelf solution was not capable of your specific business needs.

Choosing the wrong option is costly and could grind your retail service to a halt. Proper planning and strategizing will go a long way in terms of helping you understand your product’s requirements and specifications.

Do you feel like you identified with any of the situations given above? If so, you’re a good candidate for a custom solution. It’s time to hit up our team at Helpful Human to see if we can help steer you in the best direction for your business.