Custom WordPress Site or Out-of-the-Box Theme?

Lots of people know that they want a WordPress site because they are easy to update and great for SEO. However there are many different kinds of WordPress sites. You can have an out-of-the-box site with WordPress or a fully-custom designed and built site.

I wrote a little bit about the difference between the two here but to recap: A custom WordPress theme means that you can have the site look and do almost anything you want whereas a out-of-the-box WordPress site, means that you have to find a WordPress theme that looks and does what you want already.

Deciding Between a Custom-Theme and an Out-of-the-Box Theme

How do you decide between the two? Most people want a website that looks like some version of the perfect site they have visualized in their head. And that’s great! I think, however that if your website isn’t going to make the designer’s and developer’s fees back for you (good ol’ return on investment), it may not be worth going the custom route. Often, you can find a great theme that will do everything you want and look great, that will take your business through several years without looking dated. An out-of-the-box website will cost much less than a fully custom site. I charge $500 to install WordPress, the premium theme, some top notch plugins and point your domain in the right direction, whereas custom designed and developed themes start in the thousands of dollars.

A WordPress Theme Quiz

Here’s a quick quiz to help you decide if your business would be better served by an out-of-the-box theme or a custom theme (note that either option can hand a blog):

• What is the purpose of your website?
  1. Informational: It will tell my clients/customers what we do, where we are what our philosophy is, how to contact us.
  2. Interactive: It will do something to help me in my business. (e.g. Customers can buy something form the website.)
• What is your budget?
  1. Less than $1000.
  2. More than $1000.
• What do you want your customers to do when they encounter your website?
  1. Read about us, contact us, get our address, read our menus, learn what we do, look at images.
  2. Buy something from the site, complete a quiz, give us feedback, sign in to a members only area.
• What would a successful website do for your business?
  1. Increase the amount of people contacting us about our services, reduce the amount of time we spend explaining our services, reduce the amount of time we spend giving directions to our business.
  2. Increase our passive income, reduce the amount of time maintaining our website, reduce the amount of time we spend learning about how to make our website do what we want, give us a place to share members only content.
• How technologically saavy are you or your staff?
  1. I know my way around!
  2. Ugh, not at all. I want the site to just work and not spend time maintaining the site myself.
• How much time are you willing to dedicate to the site (not including writing content and gathering images) initially?
  1. I’ve got some time! Maybe ten hours?
  2. Very little time. I just want someone to do it for me.

If you answered mostly number 1s, you probably want an out-of-the-box website. If you answered mostly number 2, you’re probably right for a custom design and build. Regardless of this quiz, you’ll need to talk to a developer about what your options are. There are somethings that an out-of-the-box theme just can’t do. On the other hand, if you just can’t live without a beautiful, one-of-kind design, ROI be damned, then a custom designed and built site, might be the only option for you.