On first meeting to discuss a potential project I generally ask the new client, ‘What budget do you have in mind?’, sometimes this is not the most popular question, but a needed one. With this information coupled the the spec of what the website is required to do, this will the give me some indication of whether to use an off the shelf theme or a bespoke approach.
Using an off the shelf theme
Using an off the shelf theme can be a fast way to generate a WordPress site, which in turn lessens the overall cost for me to produce the site. Because WordPress is open source & anyone can create themes & plugins for it, there a literally thousands of well made off the shelf theme commercially available.
The themes usually come from a recognised “market place” that claims to have checked out the themes coding standards. However not all themes are equal & would suggest getting a developer to look at the theme specs before purchasing.
So the pros of using an off the shelf theme:
- There are literally 1000s of themes to choose from, giving many options for the look & feel of your site.
- The cost, off the shelf themes are generally quite cheap: £0 – £250.
- Free theme support is usually offered, but can sometimes not be the greatest of help.
- Mostly quicker to get live, as none or little development is required
And the cons:
- Your stuck with what the theme has to offer, in looks & functionality
- Can be difficult & time consuming to alter/add parts of the theme, this generally add extra cost
- Many unused featured on the site, but the code for these features still exists and will slow the load time of the site
Using a bespoke built theme
Nearly all of my recent builds have been using a bespoke theme, generally using GULP & SASS to minify the front end load time. The big advantage of this approach is you get exactly the functionality & design you require, with no unneeded extras.
The plugin count is drastically lowered when using a bespoke approach, as functions will be included in the theme to do most of the required tasks. But the time taken will be greater which makes the costs higher.
The pros:
- A design that is exactly what you require for the front end of the site
- A simplified admin area to make page building easier
- No limitations of the website functionality, just exactly what you need & want
- Final site more streamlined and efficient, fast load speeds etc
Cons:
- Generally higher costs because of the bespoke nature of the site
- Greater length of time required to create & test the site before it’s ready to be live
Your choice
Deciding between a bespoke theme is mostly a balancing act between cost & required functionality. Mostly it’s about what you want from the site and how far are you invested in taking it.