Re-Inventing the Wheel

I often get asked about when I first start designing and developing a new website, if I design the whole website completely from scratch or use a pre-existing theme/template.

Honestly, it’s usually somewhere in-between the two. Sometimes, a client likes the idea of using a pre-existing theme, because it cuts down on design and development time, thus also lowering the cost of the project.

On the other hand, having something completely unique and different developed helps a business stand out more from the crowd.

The hybrid-version of the two would then simply be taking a pre-existing theme or template and then to change it to fit the clients' needs. This is the technique I use for most projects.

I don’t try to re-invent the wheel, but I have occasionally been asked to build custom applications and templates for clients, even when they were not necessary, or could have been built using a pre-existing, free, open-source solution. But as a consultant, I merely give my clients my expert opinion and the necessary information, but they do the decision-making in the end.

Sometimes, looking at and improving an old wheel is just the most efficient way...

May 9th, 2011