Andreas paid €3,500 for a custom website. He wanted something “unique” for his accounting firm.
Six months later, he’s on a call with us, frustrated:
“My developer disappeared. I need to add a simple page and I can’t figure out how. Everything’s custom-built. I can’t touch anything without breaking it. I feel trapped.”
Then he asks: “Can I use one of your templates instead?”
The “Custom Website” Fantasy
Every business owner starts the same way:
“I want something different. Something that stands out. Something custom.”
Developers love hearing this. Custom = expensive = profitable.
So they build you something “unique” using:
- Custom code only they understand
- Proprietary structures
- Complex layouts that look impressive
- Features you’ll never use
Result: A website you can’t modify yourself and nobody else can maintain.
Welcome to vendor lock-in.
What “Custom” Actually Means
Let’s be honest about custom websites:
What You Think You’re Getting:
- One-of-a-kind design
- Features built exactly for you
- Professional, impressive, worth the money
What You Actually Get:
- 80% the same as every other business site
- 15% unnecessary complexity
- 5% stuff that’s actually unique (usually just your logo and colors)
Because here’s the truth: Your customers don’t care if your website is “unique.”
They care if it:
- Loads fast
- Works on their phone
- Lets them book/buy/contact you easily
- Looks professional
That’s it. Nobody’s judging your WordPress theme choice.
The Restaurant That Learned This Hard Way
Sophie runs a small bistro in Paris. She paid €4,200 for a custom website in 2023.
The developer built her:
- A parallax scrolling homepage (slow on mobile)
- Custom menu animations (took 3 seconds to load)
- A unique reservation system (glitchy)
- Custom contact forms (didn’t work with spam filters)
Two years later:
- The developer stopped responding
- She can’t add a new menu item without calling someone
- The booking system breaks every few months
- She’s spent €800 on “emergency fixes”
She migrated to our restaurant template. It has:
- Standard layouts (that actually work)
- Tested booking system (used by 50+ restaurants)
- Easy menu management (she can update it herself)
- Mobile-first design (because that’s where her customers are)
Her quote: “I thought I needed something special. Turns out I just needed something that works.”
Why Templates Are Actually Better (For Most Businesses)
Here’s what nobody tells you about professional templates:
1. They’re Battle-Tested
Our restaurant template has been used by 50+ restaurants. Every bug has been found and fixed. Every mobile device has been tested. Every browser quirk has been solved.
Your custom site? You’re the beta tester.
2. They Follow Best Practices
Templates are built by designers who create dozens of sites. They know:
- Where buttons should go
- How navigation should work
- What colors convert best
- How to structure content
Custom developers? They’re figuring it out as they go.
3. They Get Updated
When web design trends change, templates evolve. When new WordPress versions release, templates adapt.
Your custom site? Frozen in time from 2023.
4. You’re Not Locked In
Template breaks? Switch to another one. Easy.
Custom site breaks? You’re hunting down the developer who built it or paying someone new to figure out their code.
The Conversation Nobody Wants to Have
You: “But I want my site to stand out!”
Us: “Why?”
You: “So customers remember us!”
Us: “They’ll remember you for your service, not your website design.”
You: “But competitors have custom sites!”
Us: “And they’re probably spending hours every week dealing with technical issues.”
You: “I want something unique!”
Us: “Your business is unique. Your website is infrastructure.”
What Actually Makes Your Website Unique
It’s not the code. It’s:
Your Content:
- Your photos (not stock images)
- Your story
- Your team bios
- Your customer reviews
- Your pricing
- Your unique selling points
Your Branding:
- Your logo
- Your colors
- Your fonts
- Your voice and tone
Your Business:
- Your services
- Your process
- Your guarantees
- Your customers
All of this works perfectly fine in a template. Actually, it works better—because the template handles the technical stuff so you can focus on the content.
The 70 Templates Advantage
We have 70+ templates now. Adding 5-10 per week. Goal is 300 by end of year.
Why this matters:
You’re Not Limited
Don’t like the first template you picked? Switch to another. No migration cost. No downtime. Your content stays the same.
We Keep Improving
When we make a template better, everyone using it benefits. Found a bug? Fixed across all 50 sites using that template simultaneously.
Industry-Specific Features
Our restaurant templates have menu features. Salon templates have booking features. Coaching templates have client portals.
Custom developers? They’re building these from scratch every time.
The Developer Team Advantage (This Is the Real Secret)
Here’s what changes everything:
With Custom Developers:
- They build your site
- They leave
- You’re stuck with what they built
- Changes require finding them again or starting over
With Our Templates:
- We built the template
- We maintain the template
- We improve the template
- We’re always here
Need changes? We know the code. We wrote it.
Need features? We can add them (we built the platform).
Need fixes? We’re monitoring 24/7.
What You’re Actually Paying For
Custom Website:
- Paying €3,000-5,000 for:
- Developer’s time
- “Unique” design
- Code that only they understand
- Hope they’ll be available later
StartYour.Website Template:
- Paying €20-50/month for:
- Proven design
- Continuous updates
- A development team on call
- Ability to change templates anytime
One is a product. One is a service.
The Questions Smart Customers Ask
“Can I customize the template?”
Yes. Colors, fonts, layouts, images, content—all editable. Need more? Our design team can help (project pricing).
“What if I want something the template doesn’t do?”
Tell us. If it’s common enough, we build it into the template (everyone benefits). If it’s specific to you, we quote custom work fairly.
“Will my site look exactly like someone else’s?”
Only if you use the same photos and copy the same text. Your content makes it unique, not the code underneath.
“What if the template gets outdated?”
We update it. You get the updates automatically. Your site stays modern without you doing anything.
The Math That Matters
Custom Website Investment:
- Initial build: €3,500
- Annual maintenance: €1,200
- Emergency fixes: €400/year
- Total over 3 years: €9,300
After 3 years: Outdated design, probably broken, looking for a rebuild.
Template Investment:
- Business plan: €600/year
- Total over 3 years: €1,800
After 3 years: Still modern (we’ve updated it 50 times), still working, still supported.
Savings: €7,500
When Custom Actually Makes Sense
Let’s be fair. Sometimes custom is the right choice:
You Need Custom If:
- You’re a 100+ employee corporation
- You have specific compliance requirements
- You need complex custom functionality
- You have a full-time team managing the site
- You have €10,000+ budget
You Need Templates If:
- You’re a small business (1-50 employees)
- You want something that just works
- You’d rather spend time on your business
- You value support over uniqueness
- You’re realistic about budget
Most small businesses are in category two but get sold category one.
The Template Evolution Story
We add 5-10 templates per week. Here’s why:
Week 1: Restaurant template launches Week 3: Customer requests wine pairing feature Week 5: We add it to the template Week 6: 50 restaurants now have wine pairing (they didn’t ask for it but love it)
With custom sites, that customer pays €300 for that feature. With us, they suggest it and everyone benefits.
That’s the power of templates + a development team.
What “Industry-Specific” Really Means
Our templates aren’t just “pretty restaurant themes.”
They’re built with:
- Features your industry needs (booking, menus, portfolios)
- Layouts that convert in your industry
- Mobile experiences optimized for your customers
- Integrations your competitors use
Example: Restaurant Template Includes
- Digital menu display (dietary filters, prices, photos)
- Table reservation system
- Online ordering integration
- Google Reviews display
- Event calendar
- Instagram feed
- Chef bio section
- Private dining requests
A generic template would have… a contact form?
The Support Difference
With Custom Sites:
You: “The booking form stopped working.”
Developer: “I’ll look at it next week. That’ll be €200.”
With Our Templates:
You: “The booking form stopped working.”
Us: “We see it. Issue with the latest WordPress update. Already fixing it across all sites. Should be live in 20 minutes.”
Because we built the template, we can fix it everywhere at once.
The Real Reason Developers Push Custom
This is uncomfortable but true:
Custom websites are more profitable for developers:
- Higher upfront payment (€3,000-5,000)
- Lock-in effect (only they can maintain it)
- Ongoing “maintenance” fees (€100-200/month)
- Change requests (€150-300 each)
Templates are more profitable for you:
- Lower monthly cost (€20-50)
- Can switch templates anytime (no lock-in)
- Changes included (or clearly priced)
- Updates automatic (no extra fees)
We make our money by keeping you happy long-term, not by locking you in.
What Your Competition Is Actually Using
Here’s a secret: Most of your competitors’ “custom” websites are templates too.
They just paid €3,000 for a customized template from ThemeForest that:
- Their developer marked up 300%
- Is no longer supported (theme author abandoned it)
- Has security vulnerabilities
- Breaks with WordPress updates
At least with us, you know it’s a template and we’re supporting it.
The Migration Reality Check
Every week we migrate businesses away from “custom” sites.
Common story:
Year 1: “Love my custom site!” Year 2: “My developer is hard to reach…” Year 3: “I can’t make any changes myself…” Year 4: “Everything’s broken and I don’t know who to call…” Year 5: “Can you just start over?”
They spent €8,000+ and ended up back at templates anyway.
Start with templates. Save the money. Keep the sanity.
What We’re Actually Promising
We’re not promising your site will win design awards.
We’re promising:
- It’ll look professional
- It’ll work reliably
- You can make changes yourself
- When you can’t, we will
- It’ll stay modern automatically
- Your customers won’t notice it’s a template
Because your customers care about your business, not your WordPress theme.
The Question That Settles This
Ask yourself:
“Do I want to spend my time managing a unique website, or running my business?”
If you answered “running my business,” templates are your answer.
If you answered “managing a unique website,” you might want to consider becoming a web developer.
Ready to stop worrying about website uniqueness and start making money?
Start your free 48-hour demo – Pick any template. Try it. Switch to another if you want. See how it feels when your website just works.
P.S. – Yes, we built this entire platform using templates as the foundation. Because templates work. That’s not a bug, it’s the entire point.
