When you first think about creating a website, you probably don’t know that you can create a website in just a couple of minutes. For this, ready-made templates are used, which have already been developed by someone. But are there any disadvantages to this method of creating a website?
Ready-made WordPress templates
Advantages
- Fast — the template installation takes only a few minutes, and the site can be ready to launch in a few hours. All you need to do is fill it with content.
- Savings — ready-made themes are often free or cost from 30 to 100 dollars, they are much cheaper than individual development. You can put the rest of your budget into advertising.
- A wide range of templates. — thousands of themes for every taste are available on marketplaces such as ThemeForest and in the official WordPress catalog.
- Ready — made design and functionality – templates often contain stylized elements, widgets and plug-ins, which greatly simplifies the initial configuration of the site.
- Updates and Support —premium themes are usually updated regularly and have developer support, which ensures relevance, stability and security.
Disadvantages
- Limited customization — if you want to radically change something, then you are unlikely to succeed without the help of developers. The basic functionality of any theme is created by code.
- Unnecessary code — many templates are overloaded with unnecessary functions, which can slow down the site.
- Compatibility issues are quite rare, but it happens that a theme may not support any plugins or widgets.
- Non-unique design — templates can be used on thousands of websites, which reduces individuality. However, a truly unique design is needed when building an expensive brand. For most website owners, the uniqueness of the design is not so important. The content is important.
Development from scratch
Advantages
- Freedom in design — a unique look created according to your desires.
- Optimized code — only the necessary functions, which can make the site faster.
- Flexibility of integrations — the ability to adapt the site to any services and plug-ins, which expands its functionality.
- Good security — the absence of unnecessary code reduces the likelihood of vulnerabilities.
- No restrictions — in fact, when developing from scratch, there are no restrictions at all on what you want to get in the end.
Disadvantages
- High cost — developing from scratch is significantly more expensive than using a ready-made template.
- Long-term creation – the creation of a website can take weeks or even months, during which time you can change your mind many times.
- Developer Requirements — it is not always possible for a specific developer to cover your development needs. It can also take a long time to find someone with the right level of knowledge.
- Support and updates are on you — the responsibility for maintaining the site lies with the owner, since only you know how your site is built.
What should I choose in the end?
If you are a small business owner, a specialist, a blogger, provide certain services in a limited area and at the same time only try yourself in the Internet space, you definitely should choose an option based on ready-made templates. If this brings you the desired result, you can always rebuild the site from scratch. But only after you know exactly what you need.
You should choose development from scratch if you already own a well-known brand and want your website to match the design and general idea of the company. Also, developing from scratch is important for any narrow task, when you need to build a really convenient and understandable functionality that cannot be implemented with ready-made templates.