A template costs fifteen euros, a custom build a few hundred. Put like that, the choice looks obvious, and for some cases the template really is it. But comparing on the starting price misses what you pay later.
This post breaks down where the difference is real and where it's just a sales pitch.
What a template actually is
A ready-made look someone built to sell to as many people as possible. To do that, it has to cover every possible case: a shop, a restaurant, a law office, a gym.
That's where its main trait comes from: the template carries everything and you use a part of it. The visitor still downloads all of it.
Where the difference is real
Speed
A template loads code for features you don't use: sliders you removed, galleries you never opened, icons that aren't on the page.
In practice that means a few hundred kilobytes of extra weight before the first image. On a good connection you don't notice; on a phone with weak signal it's the difference between a visitor who stayed and one who didn't.
A look that already exists elsewhere
Popular templates sell tens of thousands of copies. Your site looks like a competitor's, sometimes literally.
For some businesses that doesn't matter. If you sell something where trust decides, it does.
What can't be changed
A template adapts up to the limit its author foresaw. The first request beyond that limit has no solution except a workaround.
Typically: a form that checks availability, a price list that calculates by your rules, two languages with correct tags, an editor role with limited rights.
The structure under the look
You don't see this, but Google reads it. Templates often have several top-level headings on the same page, headings out of order, and structured data describing the demo content instead of your business.
Fixing that on someone else's template often takes longer than writing it correctly from the start.
Where the difference isn't real
To be fair:
- The look itself. A good template looks good. A custom design isn't automatically prettier, it's fitted to you.
- Basic SEO. Titles, descriptions, a sitemap and a certificate work on a template too.
- Working on phones. Serious templates do that well.
Anyone selling a custom build with the argument that "templates don't work on mobile" is selling fear.
The maths over three years
Template: €15 to €60 once, plus hosting at €5 to €15 a month, plus plugins at €100 to €300 a year, plus the time spent adapting it. Over three years, realistically €700 to €1,500.
Custom: €500 to €2,000 once, hosting free for a small business's traffic, a domain at €15 a year, occasional fixes. Over three years €550 to €2,100.
The ranges overlap. That's why the starting price isn't a good criterion; a better one is what the site has to do and for how long.
When a template is the right choice
- The site is a business card and customers find you some other way.
- You're testing an idea and don't yet know whether it will last.
- The budget really is small: better a tidy template than a poor custom build for three hundred euros.
- You work alone and want to change everything without waiting.
There's no shame in a template. There is harm in a template for a business that depends on its site.
When a custom build pays off
- Customers find you through search and the competition is serious.
- The site has to calculate, remember or check something.
- You have more than one language.
- The look is part of what sets you apart.
- You've already hit "that can't be done" on your current site.
Ownership
With a custom site the code is yours, and you can take it to another developer. With a template you're tied to its author: if they stop releasing updates, over time the site is left without support.
That's no reason to panic, but it's a line in the maths nobody mentions at the time of purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Can a template be replaced later?
Yes, and that's a common path. What matters is that the addresses are redirected one to one when you switch, otherwise you lose the visibility the site has built up.
Is custom always faster?
Not automatically. A badly written custom site can be slower than a good template. The difference is that with a custom build the speed can be fixed all the way.
How much does a custom build cost?
€500 to €2,000 for a business site; the breakdown by level is in what goes into the price of a website.
What about platforms like Wix?
That's a third option, with its own strengths and limits; the comparison is in Wix and Squarespace or a custom build.
How to decide
One question separates the cases: how much business comes, or should come, through the site?
If the answer is "little, and it'll stay that way", take a template. If the answer is "it's our main channel", the site is equipment, not a cost.
Tell me where you stand or see my work.