Web design
A template is a ready-made design you fill with your own content, while a custom design is planned around your business from the start. Templates suit simple, low-budget sites. Custom design suits businesses whose website must win enquiries or bookings.
By Look North Digital · Published
A website template, often called a theme, is a pre-designed layout. It sets the look of your pages: the fonts, colours, menus and where things sit. You add your own text, photos and logo, and change some settings.
There are thousands to choose from. At the time of writing (November 2026), the WordPress.org theme directory lists more than 8,800 themes. The Shopify Theme Store offers both free and paid themes. The paid ones we saw were priced from $170 to $420 (US dollars), but prices change, so check before you buy.
Online website builders also start you from a template. You pick a design, then edit it in your browser.
A custom design starts with your business, not with a layout. The designer works out who your customers are, what they need to know and what you want them to do. Then they design pages around that.
That might mean a booking journey built around your own booking system. It might mean service pages laid out so a worried patient finds the answer fast. Or it might simply mean a look that matches your brand rather than thousands of other sites.
Custom does not have to mean everything is built from nothing. Most custom sites still use a proven platform underneath. The difference is that the design, page structure and features are made for you.
The biggest difference is fit. A template asks your business to fit the design. A custom design is shaped to fit your business. Most other differences follow from that.
| Factor | Template | Custom design |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A ready-made layout | Your goals, customers and content |
| Upfront cost | Low, sometimes free | Higher, because of design and planning time |
| Time to launch | Can be quick if your content is ready | Longer, because of planning, design and testing |
| How unique it looks | Others may use the same design | Made for your brand |
| Fit with your services | You adapt your content to the layout | The layout is planned around your content |
| Links to other systems | Limited to what the template and its add-ons support | Can be built around your booking system, CRM or payments |
| Who maintains it | You, or the template maker for updates | Usually the designer, through a support plan |
Templates get a bad name, but they are often the sensible option. If you are just starting out, a simple template site gets you online cheaply while you learn what your customers ask about. You can always invest in a custom design later.
A template also makes sense if you enjoy doing things yourself and have the time. Website builders are aimed at owners who want to make changes without a developer.
A custom design earns its cost when your website does real work for your business. If most new customers find you online, small improvements in how the site guides people can matter a great deal.
It is also worth it when a template keeps getting in your way. Signs include fighting the layout to fit your services, adding plugin after plugin to get features, or a site that feels slow.
No. Google does not give extra credit for a custom design. Its guidance focuses on helpful, original content made for people, and on page experience. Page experience covers things like speed, working well on mobile and avoiding pop-ups that block the page.
Google recommends responsive design, which means one site that adapts to any screen size. Most modern templates and custom builds do this. What matters is how well it is done.
The bigger risk with templates is not the design itself. It is heavy code, too many add-ons and leftover demo text. Those can slow a site down or make pages less useful. A custom build can have the same problems if it is done badly, so test either way.
Before you buy any template, test its demo site. Run the demo through Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool and open it on your phone. If the empty demo is slow or awkward on a phone, it will not get better once you add your photos and content.
If a template is right for you, choose it carefully. A poor template can cost more to fix later than a good one costs now. These checks take less than an hour.
Yes, and it is where many small business sites end up. A designer can build a custom design on a platform such as WordPress or Shopify. You get a layout made for your business, with the familiar editing tools of a popular platform.
Another option is a template that a designer adapts heavily. This can work well, but ask how much will change. If the answer is new colours and a logo, it is still a template site, and the price should reflect that.
| Your situation | Likely best fit |
|---|---|
| New business, small budget, simple needs | Template on a website builder |
| Established business, few services, mostly word of mouth | Good template set up by a designer |
| Website is a main source of enquiries | Custom design on a proven platform |
| Bookings, payments or links to other systems | Custom design built around those systems |
| Large catalogue of products | Online shop on a platform such as Shopify or WooCommerce, with custom design where it helps |
We design custom small business websites, redesigns, online shops and booking websites, including sites built around a booking system you already use. We follow our ACCC Framework, so each design is planned around getting found and turning visitors into enquiries. Hosting, care and support come through our Website Care plan.
If a template would suit you better, we will say so. See our pricing page for packages, or tell us about your project and we will give you an honest view.
Not by itself. Google looks at helpful content and page experience, not whether a design is custom. A slow or cluttered template can hold a site back, so test speed and mobile use before you choose.
Yes. Many businesses start with a template and move to a custom design as they grow. If you do, make sure your old page addresses are redirected to the new ones so you keep your search traffic.
With a popular template, they might. Changing colours, fonts and photos helps, but the layout may still look familiar. A custom design avoids this.
Many are, especially from official directories such as WordPress.org, which checks themes for security and licensing before listing them. Avoid templates from unknown sites, and choose ones that are updated regularly.
Some are free and others are paid. At the time of writing (November 2026), paid Shopify themes we checked ranged from $170 to $420. Prices change, so check the current price before you commit.
It should not be. A good custom site built on a common platform lets you edit text and photos easily. Ask the designer to show you how before launch.
Often it can, if the booking system offers a widget or plugin for your platform. Test the booking journey on a phone before you commit. If bookings are central to your business and the fit feels awkward, a design built around your booking system is usually worth considering.
The template itself may be cheap, but paid add-ons, premium plugins and your own time can add up. Someone also needs to keep the template and its add-ons updated. Count these costs when you compare a template with a custom design.
People often use the words to mean the same thing. On WordPress and Shopify, a theme controls the design of the whole site. On some builders, a template is the starting design you pick when you begin.
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