Design

This is the most obvious part of any web site – its look. If you choose to work with template you will surely have hundreds if not thousands of web site templates to work with. There are even pre-fabricated web sites designs based on the company business, i.e. accounting, construction, e-shop, coffee shop, etc. You just pull the template, place your logo and you are done. In addition, each of those templates can be slightly customized with colors and by moving certain elements on the web site such as banner fields and main menu position.

You will say that’s good, but if you have someone working on a custom web site (meaning especially for your company and no one else) you will have limitless options. The design is often more complex and fine-tuned to your company brand, logo and even venues. Each element is designed to correspond to the uniqueness of your business: from the design of the buttons and the soundtrack, to the logo positioning, banner appearance and color matching.

Comparing template design and custom website design is just like comparing these two situations: In the first one you have someone (a person or a company) who is being pushed into a mold, so that she can fit; in situation two you have a mold that is being created around that person, so that she can easily fit.

Functionality

Every website has specific features and provides functionality for its users – for example: order products online, search for location or information, fill in forms, review of products, participate in forum, provide descriptions, play online games, write and receive e-mails, etc. This is basically what a web does for its users. And here are the big differences when it comes to templates and customized web sites.

A template can provide only a limited number of functions and for almost all cases they are the most wanted functions a website can have: navigation menu, home page, description pages (i.e. company history, our team), e-shop, picture galleries, banner fields (horizontal and vertical), calendar, etc. We would recommend a template form if you are building a personal blog. There are free templates available and using them is simple. After all this is what blogging is all about: a simple form to create content and share with other users. Back to our topic, a template cannot provide specific functions that a company web site might require. There are businesses that are so specific that they need unique solutions to present their products or services and to sell. Templates don’t have those specific solutions and a person or a company must compromise with her website functionality and use whatever is available. Think of the mold example: there is a mold and something is pushed to fit into it.

On the other hand, a custom-built web site will be able to satisfy the most unique business-selling feature someone can wish for or invent. We mean 3D imaging for buildings, products, parts even organs, specific forms and inquiries that include images, fields, e-signatures, also sign up forms, live chat and support, etc.
To sum it up: a simple problem will require a simple solution. If you have simple goals and if you do not want to invest too much effort in a website, go for a template based one – it can definitely provide the must have features and it will work. But if you are looking for a more complex solution and if you are trying to outperform your competitors and wow the customers, the thing to do is look for a professional team and have them build a custom website.

Time invested

Timewise there are two aspects to consider: how much time and whose time. To create a website using a template should save you time. But it really depends on how tech savvy you are and how much time do you invest per day. You could be done in days or in a couple of weeks, or what we have seen: never done, ending up, looking for someone else to finish the project. If you hire a company to develop your web site, all you need to do is to negotiate the time frame.

When we are saying whose time it is being invested in a website project, things are pretty much straight forward. For a template solution you will invest your own time, which you know is never enough and you can wisely invest in developing your business and making more money. If you choose a custom-based website and to contract a company, it is the time of the contracted company team, which you pay for, meanwhile you can focus on other tasks at hand.

Professional versus DIY project

We all have seen DIY projects gone wrong. The result is wasted time and resources. Before you start a DIY web site project, be sure to know your limits and decide whether you can pull this off or not. The other option is to have a professional team on your side, which can consult you and provide an excellent web product.  

Price

It is a widespread notion that template website are significantly cheaper than custom solutions. This is true to a certain extent. If you are building a simple website you can have it for negligible amount of money (if not free) but you will also have other companies’ advertisements on your own website which will deflect traffic. Next step is to be a little bit more demanding and come up with a really good looking website (still template based). Now this will cost you money. How much? The different template providers have different pricing methods, but for most of the cases, they will start with cheep packages and as you add more features the price will go up. In the end you will have a price completely comparable with a custom solution. Other web site template providers will “hook you up” with a relatively small initial payment and then you will pay a monthly fee for the time you have that website online. The life time of a website is somewhere between 3 and 5 years. After that it is considered outdated. So calculate the initial payment and the monthly fees for the next 3 years. Again you will come up with a sum that you can invest in a custom solution, which for most of the cases will be better than the template and you won’t have to invest your own time into it and you will have a professional team working on it.

As a conclusion, up to a certain project scale, you are good on your own with a template-based website. This is with some compromises and your own time invested. After a certain point, look for a professional web site development team to help you out with this project. You will have a custom design and unique business selling features at a competitive price. Here is a simple comparison: if you need to repaint a certain window frame in your house, because the paint is peeling, you do not call the construction company; you simply buy some paint and a brush and you do it on your own. But if your daughter is getting wed and the party is going to be in your house and all windows, walls and ceilings have to be repainted, you call the professionals and have them work for you in a professional manner and speed.

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