If you run a small business and need a website, the question comes up early: a template (WordPress, for example) or a website built to fit you? There is no single right answer. There are questions that help you decide.

When a template is the right answer

A template is a good choice when you need something simple and quickly, the budget is tight and what you want looks like what many businesses already have: an introduction, a contact page, maybe a blog. There is no point building from scratch what already exists.

What a template-and-plugins site asks of you afterwards

The work does not end at launch. The template and every plugin receive updates, and someone has to apply them and check the site still works. When you want something the template cannot do, you add another plugin, and that is one more piece to maintain. If nobody looks after this, the site slowly falls behind.

What changes with a custom website

With a custom website, the site does what your business needs. You have no plugins or templates to maintain, and a new feature is built for you instead of adapted.

With me, every project comes with an admin panel and a guide in plain words, so you can change text, pages and photos without writing to me. When you need a change from me, small ones usually take days; bigger ones we agree case by case, with a clear timeline before we start.

The cost is that you start from a blank page: it takes longer than installing a template and means talking to someone about what you want.

Questions to help you decide

  • Is what I need similar to what many businesses have? Then a template is probably enough.
  • Do I have someone to handle updates? If not, plan for it from the start, whichever you choose.
  • Will I want features that do not exist ready-made? That is where a custom website pays off.
  • Do I want to change the site myself, without depending on anyone? Ask any studio to show you an example of the panel you will get.

See what it looks like in practice

If you want to see what running a custom website is like, try the demo panel. It has an invented restaurant's data, and whatever you change stays in your browser. The manager's guide shows what you can do there, one task at a time.