Key facts
- Shopify's Theme Store listed 24 free themes in October 2026; paid themes are one-off purchases (themes.shopify.com).
- Multipurpose templates often load features you never use, such as sliders, animation libraries and page builders, which can hurt Core Web Vitals.
- Google's Core Web Vitals targets are LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP within 200 ms and CLS under 0.1 (web.dev).
- A custom design starts from your content and calls to action; a template starts from someone else's layout and asks you to fill it.
- On Wix, an existing site cannot be switched to a different template, per Wix's Help Center, so template choice is long-lasting there.
- Custom does not have to mean expensive: our Starter package is a custom design from £250 + VAT.
The short answer
A template, or theme, is a ready-made design you buy or download and fill with your own words and photos. A custom website is designed for your business first, then built. Templates are faster and cheaper up front. Custom sites tend to fit better, load faster and look like you rather than like hundreds of other sites using the same demo.
The real question is how much your website needs to stand out and persuade. For a simple online presence, a good template is fine. For a site that has to win work against local competitors, the fit matters.
Template and custom side by side
| Template website | Custom website | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Free or a one-off theme fee, plus setup | Design and build fee; ours from £250 + VAT |
| Time to launch | Days, if content is ready | Typically 3 to 6 weeks with us |
| Fit to your content | You bend content to fit the layout | Layout built around your content |
| Brand | Shared look with other users | Distinct to you |
| Page weight | Often heavy with unused features | Only what the site needs |
| Calls to action | Wherever the demo put them | Planned for how your customers buy |
| Updates | Theme updates from the author; risk if abandoned | Maintained by your developer |
| Flexibility later | Limited by the theme's options | Extend in any direction |
Where templates cause problems
Templates are designed to sell to as many buyers as possible, so they include everything: five header styles, sliders, parallax effects, portfolio grids, icon libraries and often a page builder. You might use a tenth of it, but visitors still download much of the rest. That is a common reason small sites miss the Core Web Vitals thresholds that web.dev sets out: Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint within 200 milliseconds and Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1.
The other problem is fit. A template designed for a creative agency asks a roofer to fill a portfolio grid and an "about our philosophy" section. The result looks polished but does not answer the questions customers have: do you cover my area, how much roughly, can I call now? A custom layout starts with those questions.
Finally, abandoned themes. If a theme author stops updating, you can be left on outdated code that clashes with new WordPress or plugin versions.
When the other option is better
We build custom designs, but a template is the better choice when:
- You need something online within days, for example for a launch, an event or a funding application.
- The budget is very small and the site's job is simply to show you exist.
- You run a standard online shop on Shopify. Shopify's own themes are well built, fast and tested on mobile, and a well-chosen one, carefully set up, can be a sensible base.
- You are testing a business idea and expect to redesign within a year anyway.
Custom is the better choice when you compete in local search, need a page per service or location, have a distinct brand to express, or have had a template site that gets visits but no enquiries.
Templates on each platform
Template quality varies a lot by platform. Shopify's Theme Store listed 24 free themes made by Shopify when we checked in October 2026, and those are generally lean and well maintained. WordPress has thousands of themes of very mixed quality; the safest are block themes that use the core editor rather than a bundled page builder. On Wix, the template you start with stays with the site, because Wix's Help Center says an existing site cannot be switched to a different template. Squarespace templates share one underlying system, so the look can be restyled more freely.
Custom does not mean starting from nothing
Custom design is about the plan and the layout, not reinventing the platform. We still build on proven systems such as WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Webflow, Wix and Squarespace. What changes is that every page is planned around your services, your customers and the action you want them to take, and the code carries only what it needs. See custom website design, our small business websites, or a website redesign if you are moving off a template.
Frequently asked questions
Is a custom website worth the extra cost?
If your site needs to win enquiries, usually yes, because fit and speed affect how many visitors call or enquire. If your site only confirms you exist, a template may be enough. With us the gap is smaller than you might think: a custom-designed Starter site begins at £250 + VAT.
Are templates bad for SEO?
Not in themselves. Search engines read content and structure, not where the design came from. Templates can hurt indirectly when they are heavy and slow, use headings for decoration rather than structure, or push you into a layout with too little useful text. A lean, well-used template can rank fine.
Can you customise my existing template instead?
Yes. Sometimes that is the best value: tidy the layout, strip unused features, fix headings and calls to action, and improve speed. We charge small changes at £45 an hour + VAT. If the template is the root of the problem, we will say so and quote for a rebuild.
How do I tell if a website is a template?
Signs include layouts you have seen on other sites, placeholder sections that do not quite fit the business, a footer credit to a theme author, and very heavy pages for a simple site. None of that is wrong in itself, but it often means the site was not planned around the business.
Do custom websites take longer to build?
Yes, a little. Our Starter sites are typically live in 3 to 4 weeks and Business sites in 5 to 6 weeks, compared with days for a template if content is ready. Most of that time is planning and content, which also improves results.
Will I be able to edit a custom website myself?
Yes. We build on editable platforms and set up the editor so you can change text, images, pages and posts without breaking the design. Business package clients get a training session and a recorded walkthrough. You are not dependent on us for everyday changes.
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