This is one of the first choices when building a website — and one of the most confusing, because both sides sound convincing. “Why pay more when there are ready-made templates?” versus “Why look like everyone else?”
Both questions are valid. The right choice depends on one word we’ll get to — but first let’s see what each of the two actually is.
What is a template?
A template is a ready-made design, made once and sold to many people. You fill it with your text and photos. Like an off-the-rack suit — you put it on straight away, but it’s cut for the average person, not for you.
Pros: cheap, fast, does the job for a simple presence. Cons: looks like thousands of other websites, is limited in its structure and is rarely designed for your specific business.
What is a custom website?
A custom website is designed for your business — your services, your clients, your goal. Like a tailored suit: it costs more and takes longer, but it fits you exactly.
Pros: sets you apart, is structured around your services, prepared for SEO and for growth. Cons: more expensive and slower than a template.
A direct comparison
| Criterion | Template | Custom |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €50–200 | €400 + |
| Speed | Days | Weeks |
| Standing out | Like everyone | Only yours |
| Flexibility | Limited | Full |
| Readiness for growth | Low | High |
The word that decides: competition
Here’s the rule that makes the choice easy. Look at how many competitors you have online:
- Little or no online competition → a template does the job. The client has nothing to compare you against, and you save money.
- A saturated market (restaurant, salon, lawyer, accountant, hotel) → the custom website wins. Here you stand next to dozens of competitors, and a template that looks like theirs works against you.
The simple test: search Google for your service plus your town. If lots of competitors come up with decent websites, a template will melt you in among them. If you’re almost alone — a template is a sensible start.
The trap of “I’ll start with a template and upgrade later”
It sounds reasonable, but it rarely works out. Upgrading a template is often more complex and more expensive than a new custom website, because the foundation was never designed for change. So you pay once for the template and a second time for the real website.
If you know from the start that the business will grow and the website will have a real role, it’s usually cheaper to lay a good foundation right away than to replace it a year later.
The myth that a template is always faster
A template sounds like a fast start, but there’s a catch rarely talked about. The ready-made design has to be fitted to your content — and when your text and photos don’t match the planned slots, a fight with the template begins.
Sometimes fitting a template takes almost as long as a well-organised custom website — but the result still looks like someone else’s, just adjusted. The template’s speed is only real when your content sits exactly within the planned frames, which rarely happens completely.
What the client asks, and what the business should ask
Most people choose between a template and custom by asking “which is cheaper.” The more useful question is a different one: “What does my website need to achieve?”
- If you only need to exist online so people can find you by name — a template is enough.
- If the website has to convince clients to choose you over a competitor — custom wins.
- If the website is a main source of clients — custom isn’t an expense, it’s an investment.
The price is a consequence of the answer, not a starting point. First decide what job the website does, then choose the tool for it.
The middle path
There’s also a third option, rarely talked about: a custom website at a reasonable price. Not the cheapest template and not the most expensive bespoke project, but a website designed for you, with a streamlined process that keeps the price affordable.
That’s exactly where our Starter package at €525 sits — a custom design, structure built around your services and SEO preparation, without the price of a large corporate project. For most small businesses this is the balance between “like everyone else” and “too expensive.”
Summary: A template is fast and cheap, but looks like everyone else and is limited. A custom website sets you apart and is designed for you, but costs more. The choice depends on your competition — in a saturated market custom wins, in an empty niche a template is enough. “I’ll upgrade later” rarely works out cheaper. And the middle path — a custom website at a reasonable price — suits most small businesses.