Template, Semi-Custom, or Custom Website?

Through many discovery calls with potential clients, I’ve noticed a trend of people believing that they have two choices when it comes to a website. Either make a large investment and go fully custom or spend absolutely nothing (except many hours) to create your own site from a free template that doesn’t work perfectly for you. Today I’d like to address this misconception. Just because you can’t afford custom doesn’t mean you can’t have a high quality design that fits your needs. 

When I first started freelancing on the side of my 9-5, I used a website template. And I’m a designer. I definitely could have designed my own custom site – and I have now that I’m years into my business – but at the time, that wasn’t a priority. I didn’t need a custom site then, nor did I have the time to create one. I found a website template that was exactly what I needed to showcase my work. As I grew my business and really narrowed in on what this was going to be, who I wanted to attract, and what I was going to offer, the template finally wasn’t right for me anymore. Only then was I able to imagine the path I wanted a user to take when moving through my site and able to create that. 

I don’t think there’s a magic number of years that determines whether you need a custom website or not. It has more to do with the phase you’re in and your short term goals. So, that’s why I broke down each website creation option, including the often goldilocks of website building; semi-custom. 

Custom

You…

• Want to make a serious profit from an online-based business and are ready to invest to get there
• Want to create an online membership or shop
• Have a clear idea of what you offer and who your target audience is (or are ready to go through a strategy session to figure that out)
• Are feeling stuck at your current level of income

Semi-Custom
(a website template customized for you)

You…

• Are early in your business with limited offerings, not yet ready to scale to custom programs or memberships
• Don’t need a custom website, but don’t have the time to customize a template yourself
• Don’t like the look of your current website and want design help
• Have been putting off working on your website

Template

You…

• Are early in your business
• Aren’t ready to invest in a custom website, but know you need an online presence 
• Have plenty of time on your hands to customize the site yourself
• Are confident you can create a website you’re happy with if you can find a template design that fits your needs and requires minimal design changes

No matter where you’re at in your business there is a website option that can work for you. Because a successful, high quality website isn’t only built from scratch. 

Which option is right for you? Explore the Site Shop for a template or semi-custom site or reach out for custom web design.