Have you decided to build a new website for your running business? If so, then you have made a wise decision by taking your offline business and shifting it to online. But before moving ahead you need to know whether you are going to select a pre-built template or custom-built WordPress website for your business?

In today’s competitive marketplace, competing with a pre-existing website in your nice can be difficult. But with an appealing and research-based website design, you can outperform your competitor and create a strong online presence. Most of the business commits a mistake by making a quick decision about their new WordPress website design.

Building a new website for your business can be difficult but with the right suggestions from the right WordPress website design experts, you can avoid the mistakes committed by most of your competitors. Before you move ahead with the design and development process you need to ensure what’s right for your website? A custom-built design or pre-built designs?

Whether you are creating a new website for redesigning your current website, knowing what’s best for your website will offer more effective and lucrative results. With hundreds of options available selecting the right one can be difficult. Most of the website owners tend to divert more towards the pre-built template. But after they start facing difficulties with the pre-built template they prefer to go with a custom coded WordPress website.

So, why not make the right decision in the initial planning phase?

In this article, we are going to differentiate between what is best for WordPress websites? a custom-coded WordPress website design or a pre-built template. Whether you are building a WordPress website from scratch or planning to redesign your current website this article is going to offer you a detailed idea about what is best for you?

Custom Built WordPress Website

What are custom WordPress themes?

Custom Built WordPress Websites are websites built from scratch following every small aspect of the website design and development process. To build a custom WordPress website design, businesses either prefer to go with in-house designers or hire a reliable and experienced WordPress website design company that can help them to build an attractive and conversion-centric website for their business.

If we compare pre-built themes with custom made then businesses always prefer to go with a customized WordPress website. Because they get the liberty to build websites that relate to their brand or business functioning and appearance. Developing a new WordPress website from scratch requires a lot of technical knowledge and experience that’s the reason why businesses prefer to partner with experienced WordPress website design companies who have already worked for their niche as well as different industries.

Building a website from scratch means you have access to a blank page where you can place any image, video, sidebars, featured article section, and other elements that can make your website look simple and appealing. When the front end code is written from scratch the speed and performance of the website automatically increase.

Undoubtedly the custom is built keeping the client and their needs at topmost priority, so it becomes easy for the site owners to manage the backend of the website. So a custom coded WordPress website is the best option for both small and enterprise-level businesses. Below we are going to highlight the pros and cons of using custom coded WordPress websites so that you are able to make more wise decisions.

Pros of using a Custom-built WordPress website

1. Full Control

Opting for a Custom built website means you get full control over your website design, content structure, layout, and more. As mentioned earlier, building a website from scratch offers you a blank page that means you get to create websites of your choice that meet your business requirement and budget.

Not only that but a custom-built WordPress website allows you to have full control over your website starting by editing cell content to the whole structure of the website. With the help of an experienced and reliable WordPress website design company, you can build a website interface that makes you season in the driving seat of the website.

2. Better Speed & Performance

A custom-built WordPress website loads faster and offers better performance compared to pre-built WordPress themes. It happens because custom-built websites are created using a pre-planned structure and keeping business requirements first priority. Not only that but website developers also ensure that they write clean and lightweight code to optimize website speed and performance.

When the code is clean and light-weighted then it automatically reduces server response time improving your website load time. Partnering with an experienced WordPress website design company will help you to create a custom website that will contain limited features that meet your business requirement. Creating a website that contains only the features you need on the website will automatically improve its performance.

3. SEO Friendly Website

To perform well on online platforms you need to have an SEO friendly website so that your website is able to outperform competitors. WordPress offers an SEO friendly environment but when it’s integrated with various addons the theme starts facing various SEO related issues. That is the reason why brands and businesses prefer to build a custom website design for their business.

A custom-built WordPress website is considered to be more SEO friendly, compared to pre-built WordPress themes. That means a custom-built WordPress website can rank higher on the search engine result page and can outperform other WordPress websites that are using pre-built themes or templates. When you hire a WordPress website design company to build a custom-coded WordPress website for your business then make sure they are working with an in-house SEO team for better results.

Better Security

In today’s digital world, with most businesses shifting to online platforms privacy and security have become the primary concern. Mainly for ecommerce and subscription selling business models when users have to share their personal information to purchase the product. Undoubtedly WordPress offers a secured environment to websites, but with various add ons and other features sites can be still vulnerable to different malicious activities.

A custom-built WordPress website can be created as a closed source network keeping security the first priority. That is the reason that most businesses prefer to go with a custom-coded website because a custom-built website can be less vulnerable to different security threats. Not only that but if the website comes across any security threats after launch then it can be tackled quickly.

Having A custom-built website for your business helps you to keep your business running online without affecting the performance of the website during tough situations. That’s the reason why it’s recommended to hire a reliable and experienced WordPress website design company that can help you create a custom-coded WordPress website with builtin security features.

Cons of Custom built WordPress website:

By now you might be aware of the pros of using a custom-built website for your business. And by looking at the above-mentioned point you might be convinced to create a custom coded WordPress website for your business. But before you make your decision it’s important to know the other side i.e. cons of a custom WordPress website. Below we are going to list some of the disadvantages of using a custom-built website for your business:

1. Takes Time (Design and Development)

When we say custom design then it means every element in the website has to be designed from scratch which means writing codes from scratch. For that, you need to have patience because the custom design and development process is time-consuming. It takes a minimum of

2-6 months to complete a full website design from scratch. The fewer number of pages on your website the quicker you will get your website delivered.

Most of the time the ecommerce website takes more time to build as it involves various product pages and category pages. The design and development take time compared to the pre-built website but once you successfully create a custom coded WordPress website then it brings lots of advantages on the table. Make sure you hire an experienced WordPress website design company that is prompt at delivery and values time.

2. Expensive

Compared to pre-built themes, a custom coded WordPress website is considered to be more expensive. Building a custom website from scratch involves a lot of planning and research, that is the reason why custom-built websites are expensive. But the features and advantages it brings to your company are worth spending money on.

Some of the businesses prefer to hire a web developer to create a custom-coded website for their business. But if you are looking to have a research-based WordPress website that brings more traffic and conversion then we recommend going with an experienced WordPress website design that can bring their professionalism and expertise to create a custom-coded web design for your business.

Pre-Built Templates/Themes

Compared to custom coded templates, pre-built themes are considered to be the most widely adopted option for their website. Because it offers front-end styling of the website including page layout customization, fonts customization, colors, and more without touching a single bit of code. But is it right for your business? We will discover it in the coming paragraph.

With a hundred thousand options available purchasing a pre-built temple can be difficult and confusing. One can find those pre-built themes either in the WordPress dashboard or you can integrate it from a third-party provider. Depending on your business category you can find themes built specifically for your industry.

WordPress offers both free and paid themes, compared to free themes. Paid ones come with an abundance of advanced customization features that can help you to build a business website that meets your expectations. Most of the time business owners go with the appealing design and function of the template, but there are other factors involved when it comes to selecting a suitable template for your business website. There are a few factors that we are going to list below:

Select a theme based on overall performance not on looks
Before making you find decision make sure you read the reviews from other users
Select a light coded theme for better performance and results
Make sure you check whether the theme is compatible with WordPress plugins or not
Select a theme that offers users a friendly interface with good customer support
Take a look at the widgets whether they are maintainable and do not break
Whether the features offered by them

Above we have listed some of the important factors that you can consider while selecting a pre-built theme for your WordPress website. But before that let’s identify whether pre-built themes are right for your business website or not.

Below we are going to highlight the pros and cons of using pre-built themes for your WordPress website.

Pros of having pre-built WordPress themes:

1. Cost Efficient:

WordPress offers both free and premium themes among them the themes that cost $0 are the most preferred one by WordPress users. But when you compare premium themes with custom coded themes then premium themes are cheaper and it will save a lot of money. Mainly if you are a beginner starting a business with a tight budget then a premium theme can be the best option for your website.

You can easily get the premium theme between $40-$80 on various of their party platforms like Envato, ThemeForest, and more. The price range differs depending on the category and the themes feature. So if you plan to buy a premium theme then you can always find one within your budget. Apart from then setting up new themes is very easy and you don’t have to do any manual work when it comes to designing or developing.

2. Time-Saving:

WordPress pre-built themes allow users to create fully functioning websites within a short period of time. All the premium themes come with a pre-built demo that you can integrate into your WordPress theme and customize it depending on your needs. Compared to custom made themes, pre-built WordPress themes take less to set up. Because the design and pattern have already been developed, you have to spend time customizing the logo, sideboards, background color, and more.

Once you are done customizing your website then you can easily add content using the CMS to make your website ready for users as well as search engines. If you are in a rush and looking to make your website up and running sooner for your potential customers then we recommend you go with pre-built WordPress themes.

3. Variety of option to select from

When you find a plethora of options you get to select the best one for you. The same goes for WordPress themes, there are hundreds and thousands of pre-built themes available for WordPress among them you can select the best one for your website. You also get an option to select a theme depending on your industry and business model.

You can either check the list of the theme in the WordPress dashboard or visit third party sites like Envato, ThemeForest, and more to select the right theme for your WordPress website. All the third party theme providers allow users to search themes either using keywords or through categories. Depending on the category your business falls into, you can explore various themes and select the best one for your business.

Cons of using WordPress pre-built themes

1. Risk Involved

If you are planning to buy pre-built themes for your WordPress website and are going to deal with user data or integrate payment gateways for users then we recommend not using pre-built themes. According to recent research, there are a lot of risks and security breaches related issues involved when it comes to using pre-built WordPress themes. In short WordPress themes lack security features making your website vulnerable to hackers.

WordPress itself is a secured platform but due to third-party add-ons, it becomes vulnerable or chances of cyber attack and other malicious activities increases. While selecting a theme for your WordPress website make sure you keep security first priority and check whether the selected theme is offering a secured environment or not.

2. Bulky Code

Pre-built WordPress themes might help you to get started sooner but it’s important to know that sometimes pre-built themes slow website speed and performance. Premium themes are packed with various advanced features to make it look more attractive and featureful. But the fact is that more the features, the more heavily coded theme will be.

Integrating a heavily coded theme will slow your front end as well back end of your WordPress website. Try to look for a light weighted theme for your website. Or you can go with a custom-coded WordPress website they are built keeping speed and performance in consideration.

3. Limited Design and Functionality

Undoubtedly pre-built themes offer advanced customization features using which you can make your website look appealing. But these themes are pre-coded and have pre-installed plugins which mean at some point you will have to limit yourself in terms of design customization and functionality.

Most businesses wish to have a website that delivers their message and relates to their potential customer expectation. But the pre-built theme offers a minimal scope of creativity and customization. You will have access to the other parts of customization like adding different elements, typography, background images, videos, and more but it will be difficult for you to customize every small aspect of pre-set design.

4. Available for everyone

Every business wishes to separate its website from its competitors, but the pre-built themes are available for anyone in the market. Even though after customization there will be a similarity between two times functionality and layout.

After setting up a WordPress website business, create a plan to customize the theme including logo, content inside the theme, structure, and more so that it offers an attractive and unique look to users. Most of the themes come with advanced customization features, but to make your website layout look different you need to edit the PHP and CSS program.

Not only that but if you wish to match your website look with your brand then also you need to make changes in the code. Pre-built premium themes that are publicly available can be used by any of your competitors as well. Customizing these themes can change the appearance but the layout and other structures are going to be the same. That is the reason why most businesses prefer to go with custom-built WordPress websites.

So if you are planning to buy a pre-built theme for your WordPress website then make sure you take a look at their pros and cons, to make a more wise decision.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is the difference between the WordPress theme and template?

Most of the site owners get confused when asked about the difference between WordPress themes and templates. WordPress theme is generally the foundation of the entire website or controls your whole website. In short, it controls your website’s general look and functionality like your color palettes, background, header and footer, page layout, element positioning, and more.

On the other hand WordPress, templates describe or define a single page on your website (not the entire website). Breaking it, even more, simpler templates are part of the theme. It is a single-page layout that is available within the WordPress themes. Most of the themes in WordPress (mainly the paid ones) come with various templates like templates for the blog post, pricing page, and more.

2. How much does it cost to build a custom-coded WordPress website?

The cost of a custom-coded WordPress website totally depends on the type of website you wish to have for your business. Hiring an experienced WordPress website design company can cost you between $5000 to $30000 depending on the number of pages you are going to add to your website. If you are looking to build a research-based e-commerce website for your business then it can go up to $100,000 as well.

Backend research plays a crucial role in the website design and development process. Partnering with a reliable and highly experienced WordPress website design gives access to their which you can use to build a highly responsive and conversion-centric WordPress website for your business.

3. How can I create a custom template in WordPress?

To create a custom Page Template in WordPress you can start a default template. Instead of writing code from scratch, you can copy the existing template that is in use, then modify the code.
Once you successfully identify the default template file you can copy and rename the template.
Next, you can start by customizing the file header. As you have to tell WordPress that the new file you are going to create is a new template
After creating a file header next comes the important part i.e. customizing the code. Depending on your requirement you can add and remove sidebars or any other elements in the template.
Once you are done customizing the temple next you can upload the template. You can save it either in your child theme or create a folder in the main parent theme and upload it in the separate subfolder.
After uploading the custom template you can activate it and add more elements to it.

Creating a custom-coded template that meets your expectation and offers your desired results can be a difficult job. But with the help of an experienced WordPress website design company, you can redesign your current website and get a number of custom coded templates for your future use.

4. What are the most popular free themes in WordPress?

There are hundreds of free theme offers by WordPress but below we are going to list some of the best free WordPress themes that you can use for your WordPress website:

OceanWP
Astra
Simple
Neve
Hestia
Foodica Lite
North Shore
Ascend
Prolific
Minimal Magazine
Nothing Personal
Riba Lite
and many more

WordPress offers free themes to its users but all themes come with limited features. Building an appealing and conversion-centric website that meets your business, as well as your potential customer expectations, can be difficult. That’s why it is recommended you hire an experienced and reliable WordPress website design company that can help you to build a custom website design for your business.

No matter whether you are a mid-cap or an enterprise-level business having a custom coded website allows you to work more efficiently and effectively. Investing a small amount in building appealing and conversion-centric website design can offer you lucrative results.

5. Is it worth buying WordPress Themes?

Most WordPress users wonder whether it’s worth spending money on WordPress themes or not. WordPress premium themes come with various advanced features that can help you to build an appealing website for your business. But sometimes business websites require in-depth customization which can be only done with custom code. Many businesses, in the beginning, go with the premium theme but once they start getting traffic and sales then they plan to hire a WordPress website design company to build a custom-coded website for their business. So why not do it in the beginning?

WordPress premium themes are good but if you plan to create a website for your business then it’s always recommended to hire an experienced WordPress website design company that can help you to create an attractive and result-driven website for your business.