Pre-Built WordPress Themes v/s Custom WordPress Development Services – What Should You Choose?

Whether you want to build a simple or enterprise-level website, WordPress always comes with endless possibilities. When you first decide to develop your website on the WordPress platform, your mind must ask whether you should go with the pre-built WordPress themes or opt for custom WordPress development services. If you don’t know what will be best for you, this article will be your complete guide to find the pros and cons of both aspects and the keen difference between them.

Basic difference?

Pre-built WordPress themes are those which have already been designed and developed. Some pre-designed themes are free, and others are paid, which are meant to be sold frequently to fulfil the basic website requirements. On the contrary, the custom WordPress website development lets you build the entire website from scratch along with proper wireframing, web design, and development.

Pros & Cons of Pre-Designed WordPress Themes and Custom WordPress Development Services:

We have been serving in the WordPress website development sphere for many years and working with plenty of clients to this date. Whenever any client comes to us to develop a stunning WordPress website, we always ask them what they want to choose: pre-built themes (templates) or a 100% customized WordPress solution.

We have received various responses and reasons from our clients regarding this question. Herewith, we will showcase those responses in the form of the pros and cons of these two different worlds! So, without much delay, let’s get started…

Pre-Built WordPress Themes:

Pros:

1. Budget-Friendly Solution:

Are you running a small-scale business and want to take it online with a customizable WordPress website? If yes, a pre-built WordPress theme is the best pick for you! Today, plenty of marketplace offers ‘N’ number of pre-designed themes at just $40 to $70. Purchase any of such themes that best fit your business requisites. Moreover, they are fully customizable and give various possibilities to change elements as per your requirements.

2. Time-Savvy Solution:

If you want to get your WordPress website ready as soon as possible (maybe within a few days or weeks), choosing the pre-designed WordPress theme is the ultimate solution. You are just required to purchase the theme (if it is paid) or download it (if it is free); install it on your website, and your website will be live in just a few clicks. Moreover, you can also play with the in-built settings that come with the pre-designed theme to bring your envisioned WordPress website to reality.

3. Varieties:

As we told you earlier in this article, there is a plethora of marketplace such as ThemeForest; that sells millions of industry-specific WordPress themes. This is where you get the benefit of varieties. You will have multiple options in front of you, and you need to choose the one that best fits your business website requisites.

4. Zero Coding Skill:

This is one of the fundamental reasons people prefer to choose pre-designed WordPress themes rather than custom ones. One can easily develop a fully functional website without having zero technical or coding skills. Yes, it’s possible only if you pick the pre-built theme, but not possible in the case of customized WordPress website requirements.

5. Frequent Updates:

The well-known pre-built WP themes often bring their latest updates to make it compatible along with the latest version of WordPress. It makes your WordPress site fully secured. Moreover, each update brings up considerable new features that let you make your website more and more rich-featured in just a few clicks.

Cons:

1. Security Risk:

At a certain point, it may be possible that the theme developers may stop supporting and updating their themes. Subsequently, your website will be incompatible with the latest WordPress updates frequently released. Now, at this point of time, you are left with just two options either you redesign your entire website using the new WordPress theme or don’t update the WordPress version. Ultimately, some of the plugins you are using right now will be incompatible, and the whole structure of your website will collapse in no time. Apart from that, the security risk in your WordPress website increases the time and again.

2. Bad Code Practice:

Undoubtedly, pre-designed themes look the most enticing at first sight, but it’s not guaranteed that it entails good code practice in the backend. The themes built using the bad/malicious code practice will 100% impact the site’s performance and functionality. As a result, the search engines like Google will downgrade your website ranking on SERP.

3. Page Loading Time:

Sometimes you may find unnecessary Javascript libraries, CSS, and other components used to build a feature-rich theme that attracts people to purchase it. However, such themes may be alluring from its surface; they will definitely spoil your website’s ranking in the future as heavy components enhance the page load time that is the biggest enemy of search engines like Google. So, it’s recommended to be very careful about all these factors before purchasing any pre-designed themes if you don’t have a technical background.

4. Limited Personalization:

Undoubtedly, WP themes are full of customizable options and settings that let you design your WordPress website according to your requirement. But it’s also true that pre-built themes can’t keep pace with the customization you can implement in fully customized WordPress websites.

100% Customized WordPress Design and Development:

Pros: 

1. 100% Unique:

Customized WordPress web development lets you develop your website from scratch, considering your complete business model. This is how you can have a fully unique website that can attract your potentials like never before.

2. Clean Code & Best Performance:

Your code will be clean without ambiguity when a website is developed from scratch by professional hands. The professional WordPress developers know very well which coding technique will work better to increase your website performance and reduce its page load time. The more you insist on customized website modules, the less you need to install external plugins.

Cons:

1. Time Consuming:

Custom development involves website development from scratch. Developers have to pass from certain phases such as client communication, wireframing, UI & UX, web designing, development, and website testing. All these take pretty much time and give a fully functional and feature-rich website at the end. Thus, it is a time-consuming process compared to websites developed using ready-to-use WordPress themes and plugins.

2. Costly:

As we discussed, 100% custom WordPress website design & development passes from various stages, and each stage asks for professionals such as web designers, web developers, UI/UX designers, graphics designers, testers, etc. Thus, the web development process becomes lengthy and costly compared to the pre-built theme, where everything is ready-to-go.

Pre-Built WordPress Themes v/s Custom WordPress Development Services: Final Thoughts

Ready-to-use WordPress themes and custom WordPress solutions have their own advantages and disadvantages depending on various aspects and situations. 

But we can understand that it becomes challenging to choose the one for your website if you have zero technical knowledge.

Considering this, we have listed out ten questions following that it will be easy for you to decide which option will be best suitable for your business:

1. How your competitors have developed their websites?

2. Which kind of products or services do you want to offer your customers?

3. How frequent changes will you require in your website?

4. What elements do you want to add to your website?

5. Do you have any technical or coding skills?

6. Is SEO your primary concern to develop your website?

7. What is your business requirements?

8. What do you expect from your website in future?

9. Does a pre-designed WordPress theme fulfil your requirements?

10. What is your budget to develop your website?

Still have any question? If yes, quickly get in touch with our team of Custom website development services providers who are ready to listen your queries and business requisites; basis on that, they will guide you the best option for your business website.