custom web design vs template web design

Web Design Theme Vs. Custom Web Design

July 4, 2022

Are you looking to build a new website design and wondering; Should I invest in a custom theme, a Simplistics Theme or a third-party theme? A theme is the foundation of your WordPress website design which determines the general look and functionality.

Regardless of your decision, the theme choice that you make will have its own unique advantages and disadvantages. In this blog we will review the options to help you decide how to proceed with your next website project.

Custom theme

A custom theme allows you to plan and build custom sections that meet your needs for your website. We build your website design around your content and requirements. This makes for an optimal user experience since the website is being designed around your content, audience and brand.

Our goal will be to develop a clean, cohesive, and consistent design throughout your website that not only engages all users, but helps them to easily navigate your website. We accomplish this by kicking off with an in-depth discovery and planning phase where we learn about your business so your new website perfectly reflects your brand. We then start developing sitemaps and wireframes to ensure a successful plan is in place to meet your online goals.

Some disadvantages for a custom theme includes:

  • Have a longer turnaround time.
  • More expensive than a pre-built theme.

Simplistics theme

A Simplistics theme uses pre-built layouts that were custom designed and developed by the Simplistics team. Since the design is pre-existing, one of our in-house themes can help you get a website launched quickly and affordably.

The cost includes using only the pre-designed sections that have been built as part of the theme, and we would be placing your content where convenient within the existing sections. An example of a pre-designed section would include items like a slider, image gallery, standard content section or two-column section. You will have the ability to add, remove or re-order the sections on every page. Sections will allow you to create custom page layouts and can be reused as needed per page.

Even though you will have the ability to re-use these sections as needed on most pages, adding new sections would incur additional costs. We recommend choosing a template that includes all of the sections that you like!

Some disadvantages of a Simplistics Theme includes:

  • Limited by existing sections that come included in the theme. Any additional sections would incur additional expenses.
  • Have less flexibility because the theme was pre-built.
  • Not unique, and have been used by other brands.

Third-party theme

Third-party themes are made to be sold to as many businesses as possible. To do this, the developers make them very robust, which means all the features they add will slow down your website. This also results in a confusing admin interface and a difficult experience with updating your content.

Third-party developers also don’t necessarily have strict coding standards, which can lead to numerous issues. The website may not meet accessibility standards (AODA compliance), plugins may have compatibility issues and the themes may not be optimized for search engines.

Finally, third-party themes use page builders, which uses code that generates code. This means the website will never be pixel-perfect and have obvious design flaws, usually with page inconsistencies. Page builders automatically add a lot more unnecessary code to each page which can also slow down your website.

As such, Simplistics will not build a website using a third-party theme, and only offers Custom themes or Simplistics Themes.

So, what’s the best option?

If you are in a rush to launch your new website, we recommend using a Simplistics Theme. Otherwise we always recommend going the custom theme route because even though there is a larger upfront cost, it almost always offers a better return on your investment.

​​Some advantages for a Simplistics theme or custom theme includes:

  • All our custom sites are backed by our bug-free guarantee. This is because we believe in the quality of work we deliver, and you should never have to worry about having to fix issues on your site.
  • Our websites use our strict in-house coding standards, so they are built to be very search engine friendly. We will submit your website to Google and get your website ranked.
  • We’ll use the latest security standards to ensure your site is protected when we launch it.
  • Your website will be responsive so it adapts to all modern mobile, tablet and desktop devices.

Whether you’re looking for a Simplistics theme or a custom theme, the Simplistics team is here to help. See examples of our work and let our team make your next project a success! Get an instant quote here.