Guide
Website design templates or a custom design: the trade-offs
Harrowtech.ai · last checked 13 October 2026
For a simple small business site, a template is a reasonable start: website design templates are cheap or free (Wix lists over 2,000 free templates and WordPress.org over 15,000 free themes), and Whito, a UK research publisher, calls a do-it-yourself builder site “a perfectly rational choice” for “a business that just needs to be findable online”. The trade-offs are written into the vendors’ own help and licence pages. On Wix you cannot change template once you start editing, and Squarespace 7.1 has no template to switch to. Nobody can buy a Wix template for sole use, and Wix templates cannot be downloaded or exported. A paid Webflow or Framer template is licensed for one site or project. A Wix template arrives with sample content, not your words and pictures. A custom build is worth paying for when one of those limits stands in the way of what the site has to do.
What a website template is
Wix’s help centre says templates “serve as guides to help you structure your ideas and turn them into an accessible, engaging site”. Each Wix template is built by Wix’s designers and comes with sample content, colour themes, galleries, inner pages and built-in business features, and Wix says all of them are “responsive on different screen sizes”.
WordPress calls the same idea a theme: “a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with an underlying unifying design for a website”. A theme changes how the site is displayed “without modifying the underlying software”.
Squarespace’s current version, 7.1, works differently. Every 7.1 site has the same features and style options, so the design picked at the start of a trial “sets your starting layout and styling rather than locking in a set of features”.
In each case the template is a starting design that sits on a platform. The platform (editor, hosting, plan) is a separate bill. Plan prices for Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Framer and Webflow are in website design tools and apps.
Where templates come from, and what they cost
| Wix | “2000+” templates. “All of our templates are fully customizable and free to use.” |
|---|---|
| Squarespace | On version 7.1 you pick a starting design or build one with Blueprint AI. The older version 7.0 groups its templates into 22 families. Squarespace’s help pages give no price for a design; a new site is upgraded to a paid plan after its trial. |
| WordPress.org theme directory | “Over 15,000 free themes”. WordPress’s documentation says every theme in the directory “is reviewed by a dedicated team and tested against a wide range of rules”. Directory themes must be GPL-compatible, down to “anything in the theme zip file”. |
| Commercial WordPress themes | WordPress.org lists firms that sell GPL themes with paid services: “Some of them you may pay to access, some of them are membership sites, some may give you the theme for zero-cost and just charge for support.” On ThemeForest’s WordPress category page, themes were priced from $18 to $119, and the page says “Price is in US dollars and excludes tax and handling fees”. |
| Webflow | “7000+ Free & Premium” templates, “made by Webflow’s community of creators”. Paid templates on the gallery’s front page were priced from $29 USD to $129 USD, with free ones alongside. |
| Framer | Templates “from the community”. The first page of the marketplace showed 24 templates: 16 free and 8 paid, priced from $2 to $149 (the page does not name the currency). |
Template prices were read on one day and change often, so check the listing before you buy.
The limits the vendors state
- Changing template later on Wix. Wix’s answer to “Can I change the template of my existing website?” is: “No, once you select a template and start editing it, you cannot change it.” The route is a new site, with elements, pages and media copied across and the plan and domain transferred. Wix lists what cannot move to the new site, including the site theme, design and layout, Wix Stores, Wix Bookings, contacts and site members. It also warns that “Changing to a new site template can affect your site’s SEO” and says to set up 301 redirects if you reassign your domain.
- Changing template later on Squarespace. On 7.1, “there’s no separate template to switch to”; you change fonts, colours and layouts instead. Starting a new trial site instead means you “lose all content and style settings”, although products can be imported and a Squarespace domain moved, and other subscriptions may need cancelling and buying again on the new site. On 7.0, switching template “preserves all pages and content, except for some template-specific features like footers”.
- Changing theme on WordPress. Themes are switched from the Appearance menu, and a block theme can be previewed in the Site Editor before it is activated.
- Changing template on Webflow. “The design and layout of a chosen or purchased template will not automatically replace the design and layout of a pre-existing website in your account.”
- Where the site can live. Wix: “You cannot download or export Wix templates”, and Wix sites “must be hosted and operated on Wix’s servers”, though the domain can be bought and managed elsewhere. Webflow lets you download a paid template on a paid Workspace plan and host it elsewhere, still under its licence. A WordPress theme is files you upload to your own WordPress install.
- One site per paid licence. Webflow’s Single-Use License covers “one single End Product for yourself or for one client”; another client or project means buying the template again, and “no matter how much you modified a site that was based on this template, the resulting work is still subject to this license.” Framer’s paid licence is “solely for the purpose of creating one (1) end product or project”. Envato’s note to freelancers and agencies on ThemeForest: “you can’t use one of our Standard Licenses on multiple clients or jobs.”
- Free licences are looser. Webflow’s free templates may be used “for any number of projects and for any number of clients”. Framer’s free templates may be used for client work “provided the Free Content is incorporated into a broader end product”. WordPress.org: “The GPL doesn’t say that everything must be zero-cost, just that when you receive the software it must not restrict your freedoms in how you use it.”
- Templates can disappear. Webflow “gives no assurance that a particular template (free or paid) will remain available for additional purchases or downloads.”
What a template does not give you
- Your words and pictures. The sample content in a Wix template has to be replaced. Whito: “A beautiful template filled with vague copy still will not convert visitors into customers.”
- A design no one else has. Wix says “It is currently not possible to purchase a template and make it unavailable for others to use.” Webflow’s and Framer’s paid licences are non-exclusive, and in both cases the creator keeps ownership of the template.
- Cleared images. Webflow says graphics of real products, trademarks and other people’s intellectual property in its templates “have not been property released”, and that after purchase “it is your responsibility to consider whether your use of these graphics requires a clearance”.
- Support from one place. Webflow: “Technical support for a paid template is the responsibility of the designer”, and none is given once a template is exported. WordPress’s documentation says to contact the theme author if a theme does not work after its instructions are followed.
- A finished site. Webflow’s words: “Templates come as-is and may require customization.”
Template or custom build, side by side
The template column comes from the vendors’ pages above. Custom builds vary from one designer to the next, so the right-hand column gives our own terms, not the market’s; other designers’ prices are in what a website costs in the UK.
| Template | Custom build from Harrowtech.ai | |
| Cost of the design | Free on Wix and in the WordPress.org directory. Paid ones on the pages read: $2 to $149 on Framer, $29 to $129 USD on Webflow, $18 to $119 on ThemeForest. The platform plan is extra. | From £950 to redo an existing five-page site; from £2,500 for a new five-page site. Premium from £4,500, 3D from £7,000, cinematic from £12,000. Fixed written quote first. |
| Who else can use the design | Other buyers too: Wix templates cannot be bought for sole use, and paid licences on Webflow and Framer are non-exclusive. | A bespoke site for your business. |
| Terms on the design | The template’s licence: one end product for paid Webflow, Framer and ThemeForest templates. The creator keeps ownership. | You get the keys, with no monthly fee to keep your own site. |
| Words | Wix templates come with sample content to replace. | We write them. On the £950 redo the five pages are rewritten and rebuilt. |
| Changing the look later | Wix: a new site. Squarespace 7.1: restyle fonts, colours and layouts. WordPress: switch theme from the Appearance menu. | Changes at £90 an hour. |
| Time to go live | Wix says a pre-designed template helps you get online “as fast as possible”. None of these vendors gives a time. | A five-page site within a working week from the day we have your content or access to your old site. |
| Where it is hosted | Wix: on Wix’s servers only. Webflow: paid templates can be downloaded on a paid Workspace plan. | Hosting billed to you directly, with no mark-up. |
| Search | Wix warns that moving to a new template “can affect your site’s SEO”. | Built to be found by Google and ChatGPT. |
| When it breaks | Paid template support comes from its creator (Webflow), or the theme author (WordPress). | Free fix for 90 days after go-live if something we built breaks. Fixes for things that changed on your side, £90 an hour. |
When a custom build makes sense
Whito’s view of the market is that “A bespoke design built from scratch costs significantly more than a customised template”, and that “For most businesses, a well-configured template is indistinguishable from custom work to your customers.” So the case for custom rests on the limits above, not on looks alone. It is strongest when:
- the design has to be yours alone, since a template can be picked by anyone in your trade;
- you may want to move host or platform later, since Wix sites must stay on Wix’s servers and a new Wix template means a new site;
- you run more than one site or brand, since each paid template licence covers one end product;
- nobody in the business has time to write the words, since a template does not write them;
- the template you like carries product images or logos you would have to clear or replace anyway.
If none of those apply, a template on a builder is the cheaper route, and you can still hire someone to write the words.
Checks before you choose a template
- Read the licence on the listing. Does it cover this site only, and do you need a second copy for another site?
- Find the platform’s help article on changing template, and see what you lose if you change your mind in a year.
- Ask whether the site can be exported or moved to another host.
- Check who answers support questions: the platform or the template’s creator.
- Treat demo photos, logos and icons as placeholders until you know you are free to use them.
- Price the plan you will need once the site is on your own domain, using the tools and apps guide.
Having it built for you
We build sites to order, with the words written for you. Prices start at £950 to redo a five-page site you already have, and £2,500 for a new one of five pages. A five-page site goes live within a working week of us having your content or access to your old site, and it is built to be found by Google and ChatGPT. There is no monthly fee from us, and you hold the keys. Our builds include the website and app for Jo’s calorie counter and Christina Hutchings’ website. The full offer, process and payment terms are on our website design company page.
What this guide does not cover
It does not review or rank individual templates or name a best platform. It leaves out Shopify, Hostinger, GoDaddy, Canva and other sources of templates. It is not legal advice on licences: read the licence on the listing you buy from. Platform plan prices are in website design tools and apps, AI-generated sites in AI website design, and the legal details a UK site must show in the website launch checklist.
Sources, all read 13 October 2026
- Wix Help Center: About Templates, read 13 October 2026
- Wix Help Center: Switching Your Site Template, read 13 October 2026
- Wix: website templates, read 13 October 2026
- Squarespace Help Center: Find your site’s version and template (last updated 8 October 2026), read 13 October 2026
- Squarespace Help Center: Redesign or restart your site (last updated 6 July 2026), read 13 October 2026
- WordPress.org: theme directory, read 13 October 2026
- WordPress.org documentation: Work with themes (last updated 7 August 2026), read 13 October 2026
- WordPress.org Themes Team: required theme review guidelines (last updated 9 June 2026), read 13 October 2026
- WordPress.org: commercially supported GPL themes, read 13 October 2026
- ThemeForest: WordPress themes, read 13 October 2026
- Envato: standard licenses, read 13 October 2026
- Webflow: templates, read 13 October 2026
- Webflow: template licensing info and guidelines, read 13 October 2026
- Framer Marketplace: templates, read 13 October 2026
- Framer: community terms (version 1.0, effective 1 June 2026), read 13 October 2026
- Whito: Website design costs UK 2026 (last updated 12 October 2026), read 13 October 2026
Related: website design in the UK: a buyer’s guide · website design ideas · what to send for a quote · all Harrowtech.ai guides · Harrowtech.ai home