Template or custom website: which do you need?

Most small businesses start with Template or Custom. The difference is not quality: both are fast on a phone, set up on your domain and built with the search basics in place. The difference is how much is designed for you from scratch. This guide sets out what each one includes, who each one suits, and how to decide. You can also see all four cuts and what each includes.

Side by side

• Template, US$500 flat. A proven layout, set up with your words, photos and brand. Up to 5 pages, copywriting included, mobile, fast and secure, a contact form and the search basics, three rounds of changes. Usually live in about a week.
• Custom, from US$1,500. Designed from a blank page around your business, with your own design system. Up to 10 pages, copywriting included, three rounds of changes. Two to six weeks.

When Template is the right choice

• You need a site soon, or your current one is slow, broken or out of date.
• Customers mostly need the basics: what you do, where you are, your hours, and a clear way to call, book or ask for a quote.
• A clean, proven layout in your colours and with your photos is enough to look professional next to your competitors.
• You would rather start lean and upgrade once the site is bringing in work.

Every industry has its own Template sample site. You can find your industry and open it to see what yours could look like.

When Custom is worth it

• Your brand is part of what you sell, and a layout other businesses also use would undersell it.
• You need more than 5 pages, for example a page for each service, location or team.
• The site has to explain something a standard layout does not handle well: a process, packages, a menu that changes, or a product people compare.
• You want a design system of your own: colours, type and page parts that stay consistent across every page.

And 3D or Cinematic?

If you sell something people want to explore, such as a product, a space or a place, 3D adds scroll-driven scenes people stop to play with, from US$2,500. If your business is sold on feeling, such as hospitality, beauty, property or a launch, Cinematic opens on a short film made for your business, from US$5,000. Both include everything in Custom.

You can start small

A site can move up later, for example from Template to Custom or 3D, and you pay only the difference between the two flat prices. Starting with Template is not a dead end.

The easiest way to decide

Every website starts with a free demo of your site, made before you pay anything. Seeing your own business in a real layout usually settles the question faster than any comparison. If you like it, you get one flat fee in writing within 24 hours of us having what we need. For the full picture on prices and monthly costs, read how much a small business website costs.

Questions

Is copywriting included on both?

Yes. Every tier includes copywriting and three rounds of changes.

How many pages do I get?

A Template site has up to 5 pages. A Custom site has up to 10.

How long does each one take?

A Template site is usually live in about a week. Custom, 3D and Cinematic websites take two to six weeks, depending on the pages, the 3D work and the film.

Can I start with Template and upgrade later?

Yes. A site can move up later, for example from Template to Custom or 3D, and you pay only the difference between the two flat prices.

Do both start with a free demo?

Yes. Every website starts with a free demo of your site, made before you pay anything. You only pay if you go ahead.

Do I own the site either way?

Yes. You always own your domain, your content and your site files.