Custom website design versus a template.
What a designed site changes in practice, where a template is perfectly fine, and what the price difference really buys.
Quick facts
Custom vs template: the short answer
- A website for your business costs £350 all in, with no per-page charges.
- That covers design, build, your domain name, a business email address, SSL and the first three months of hosting.
- After that, hosting, updates and support are £19.99 a month, with no minimum term.
- Your site goes live within 48 hours of you approving the design. Payment is a 50% deposit to start, balance on completion.
- I work from my Nuneaton studio with businesses anywhere in the UK.
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Price breakdown
What small businesses get for £350
| Custom design and build | Included |
|---|---|
| Domain name, registered in your business name | Included |
| Business email address on your domain | Included |
| SSL certificate (secure padlock) | Included |
| Hosting for the first three months | Included |
| Mobile layout, tap-to-call and WhatsApp buttons | Included |
| Page titles, descriptions and sitemap for Google | Included |
| Total to launch | £350 all in |
| Hosting, updates, backups and support afterwards | £19.99 a month, no minimum term |
Need online booking? That is £479 all in. A website with a new logo, flyers and business cards is £679 all in.
Before you buy anywhere
Five things to check
- 1.Is the domain registered in your name, or the designer's?
- 2.Is business email included, or an extra monthly cost?
- 3.Is there a per-page charge or a setup fee on top?
- 4.Is there a minimum contract before you can leave?
- 5.Can you see real websites they have built for businesses like yours?
Custom design is sold as though templates are shameful, and templates are sold as though design is a luxury. Neither is true.
A template is a starting layout. Design is the decision about what goes where, what gets said first and what gets cut. Here you get the second one at £350 all in, which is roughly template money.
What design changes
The differences that show up in enquiries.
What comes first
A template decides the order of your page for you. A designed page leads with the thing your customers actually need to see — a price, an area covered, a phone number.
Pages that match your services
Templates encourage one long scrolling page. A designed site gives each service and each area its own page, which is what Google has to rank.
Your own look
Colour, type and spacing chosen around your business and your logo, rather than someone else's demo content swapped out.
Speed
Templates carry code for features you will never use. A built site carries what your pages need, which is why it loads faster on a phone.
Where a template wins
The honest case for not paying a designer.
You need something today
A placeholder page with your phone number on it beats no page at all, and a builder will do that in an afternoon.
You enjoy doing it
Some people genuinely like building their own site. If that is you, a builder is the right tool and you should keep your money.
The site is temporary
A one-off event or a short campaign does not need a designed site behind it.
Common questions
Straight answers.
Is custom web design worth it for a small business?
Do you use templates?
Can you redesign a template site I already have?
Let's design the websiteyour business deserves.
Leave your name and number and I’ll come back to you personally with a clear, fixed quote. Websites are £350 all in. No obligation.