The right decision isn’t about budget—it’s about clarity.
You’re planning a new website, portal, app, or digital product. And the first big fork in the road appears:
“Should we use an existing template or go custom?”
At first glance, templates seem like the faster, more cost-effective choice. And sometimes they are. But sometimes, a template is the expensive decision hiding in a cheap disguise.
At Refresh Ideas, we’ve helped clients on both sides of this decision, and we’ve seen what happens when it’s made without a clear strategy.
So let’s break it down.
When Templates Make Sense
Templates aren’t evil. In fact, they’re perfect—when they fit.
Here’s when they often make good business sense:
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You need to launch fast with minimal friction
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Your offering is standardized and matches common use cases
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You have tight budget constraints and low internal complexity
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You’re testing an idea and don’t need deep customization
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You have in-house content creators or marketers who can work within the template's structure
Think: early-stage landing pages, MVP sites, or simple product catalogs.
But here's the catch:
Templates assume your problem is generic. The moment your business stops being generic, the cracks start to show.
When Custom Is Worth It
Custom is not about bells and whistles—it’s about alignment.
You should consider going custom when:
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You’re building internal tools that need to reflect your unique workflows
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Your brand experience needs tight control and differentiation
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You’re dealing with complex permissions, data, or integrations
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You need the system to scale or evolve without painful redesigns
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You’re solving a non-standard problem for a specific audience
One of our clients—a nonprofit with unique volunteer workflows—tried off-the-shelf platforms for years. Each time, they hit a wall. Custom wasn’t the cheapest option upfront, but it paid off in reduced training time, fewer workarounds, and clearer reporting.
The Real Cost of a Mismatched Decision
Going template when custom is needed:
Expect plugin bloat, frustrated users, tech debt, and endless compromises.
Going custom when a template would do:
Expect wasted time, higher costs, and over-engineering a simple problem.
Still Unsure? Use Our Checklist.
We’ve created a simple, practical decision checklist to help you weigh your needs and make the right choice for your context.
It’s the same internal tool we use in our Discovery process.
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Evaluate your goals
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Flag key risks
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Understand trade-offs
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Clarify what your business needs
Because the right question isn’t “What’s cheaper?”
It’s “What works better for where we’re going?”
