Premade WordPress Theme vs. Custom Website Design: Which is Better?

What should you choose? A premade WordPress theme or custom WordPress website design. Find out why you should choose a custom WordPress theme over a pre-built WordPress theme. Here are the pros and cons of premade and custom WordPress themes.  Let’s dive into the article to decide which theme is best for your WordPress website.

The first impression is the last impression, and this sentence stands true when it comes to building a premade WordPress website as well. Unless and until you build a captivating and visually appealing website, the users might simply skip and move on to your competitors. However, such situations can be avoided by using vibrant WordPress themes. 

But the job does not stop there. Regarding WordPress themes, you stand at a crossroads with the premade WordPress theme vs. Custom theme debate. Either you can create a website with the premade themes or make it from scratch. Custom WordPress development will help you design a website that speaks your value and drive customers that are solely interested in whatever you are offering. 

If such a dilemma has captured your mind, we suggest going through the article as we shall explain the difference between the two and help you make an informed choice.

Why does your theme design for a WordPress site matter?

Before we get to the differences, let us understand the benefits that a good WordPress theme design brings to the table. 

First and foremost, the entire purpose of a theme design is to make the website pleasing to the eye. It includes the usage of the right kind of fonts and color palettes to create an alluring website, something that will catch the eye of the users. 

But a WordPress theme is more than just the appearance. The right WordPress theme holds the power to make your website user-friendly, flexible, and efficient. 

Since certain themes run faster than others due to their subjective file size, operational functionality, web hosting, etc. Moreover, the right choice can enhance website navigation and complement the mobile responsiveness factor of the website. 

What is a WP Theme? 

A WordPress theme is a group of files containing style sheets, graphics, and code responsible for the website’s overall appearance. While people consider a WordPress theme the “skin” of the website, it is much more than that.

Pros of premade WordPress Themes

1. Quick installation 

Premade WordPress themes can be installed in a jiffy since all you need to do is go to the official WordPress, download the required theme, and upload it to your website. 

2. Less expensive 

As of 2022, there are over 9000 free themes in the official WordPress repository. These themes differ in terms of functionality and efficiency. 

If you need to build a WordPress website within budgetary constraints, premade WordPress themes are the best options. 

3. Minimal knowledge required 

You need not require any kind of coding knowledge or experience to download and operate premade WordPress themes. It can be done effortlessly by a non-tech person. The process only includes downloading, installing, and uploading.

4. Customizable 

While premade themes do not offer 100% customization, you can still make the best of it by changing the font, text size, color, and overall layout. Changing such minute things can give your brand a fresh identity. 

5. SEO-Friendly 

Most of the premade WordPress themes come with SEO solutions. Even if they aren’t optimized, you can use SEO plugins to generate more traffic for your website. 

Cons of premade WordPress Themes 

1. Generic 

Despite the customizations provided, the chances of your website having similarities with another one are too high. This can rip off the uniqueness factor of your WordPress website. 

2. Slow website 

More often than not, premade WordPress themes contain unnecessary features. While this might be added to make them more practical, it might slow down your website. 

Read More: How to speed up your WordPress website

3. Lacks security 

Security is not guaranteed with premade themes. Themes made with badly-written code make it easier for hackers to attack your website. 

4. Questionable flow of updates 

While you might get some amount of updates with premium WordPress themes, the same is not guaranteed with free premade themes. This might cause more security breaches and make your website an easy target for malicious cyber attacks. 

5. Absence of responsiveness 

Premade WordPress themes might or might not be mobile-responsive. The layout might change on varying devices, making it difficult for your users to access your website freely.

What is a Custom WordPress Theme?

As the name suggests, a custom WordPress theme is made from scratch while keeping personalized requirements and functionalities in mind. It is one of the best ways to create a unique and distinctive brand image. 

Custom WordPress themes give you full freedom to customize your website as per the business requirements. Either you can build it with theme builders or hire a WordPress development agency to do it for you. 

Pros of Custom WordPress Theme 

1. Unique brand identity 

The level of distinctiveness that comes with a custom WordPress theme remains unparalleled. Your website will have a completely different layout, color palette, and font, as compared to your competitors, something that will appeal to your target audience. 

2. SEO-Friendly 

Getting a custom WordPress theme built from scratch can provide the necessary SEO optimization required to generate leads. It can help your website get traffic to boost sales and revenue. 

3. Built as per your Requirements 

Since a custom WordPress theme is built specifically for your business, it will not contain any unnecessary or generic elements. This can help you build a unique brand image with the required functionalities. 

4. Immaculate Support 

Hiring a custom WordPress developer can also benefit your website on a long-term basis with their regular updates, support, and maintenance. You can quickly contact the developer whenever there’s any hindrance. 

5. Responsive 

Like SEO, custom WordPress themes are built while keeping the mobile responsiveness factor in mind. In this way, your website will have a uniform layout, irrespective of the platform. 

6. Better Functionality and Efficiency 

Since a custom WordPress theme is made with the required elements, your website will have a better user experience due to its fast-loading feature. For example, custom WordPress websites will have faster loading and better navigation to ensure user experience. 

Cons of Custom WordPress Theme 

1. Requires Investment 

Unlike the free premade WordPress themes, custom themes will require some investment. For example, you will have to hire WordPress developers to create a WP theme from scratch. However, such an investment is surely worth it, given the benefits that you can derive from it. 

2. Time-Consuming 

Apart from the monetary investment, you will have to wait for the WordPress developer to build the theme. Unlike premade WP themes that can be downloaded from the repository, custom WordPress themes will have to be made from scratch, thereby making them time-consuming. This might delay the process of launching your WordPress website. 

Custom Website Design or WordPress Themes? What is better?

Now that we have discussed the varying aspects of premade and custom WordPress themes, which are you going to go for? 

Our suggestion would be to side with a custom WordPress website design. This is because of the number of benefits that come with it in terms of appearance, layout, efficiency, functionality, and support. Yes, it requires you to shell out some money, but this investment is quickly offset against the advantages.

But wait, wouldn’t that require technical expertise? Yes, and that’s what Creole Studios is here for. We can help you build an exclusive, unique, and interactive WordPress theme from scratch, with all the security and flexibility factors. Contact us today to get started!

---