Custom Coded vs Off-The-shelf

This is a ques­tion that comes up reg­u­larly — when do you code a cus­tom website and when do you use an exist­ing solu­tion like an off-the-shelf theme? I’m sure lots of other peo­ple in the web industry have struggled with this at times too; so if some­thing is avail­able, does the job and fits the project bud­get, I prefer not to rein­vent the wheel – I’m confident this is an all to common approach…. Do clients know the difference, is this ethical?

I believe effort should be put into into making the design and functionality of the site more bespoke to fit seamlessly with my clients existing brand. However, if you are openly selling template based web solutions then you are hopefully selling them for less than custom solutions and the client is aware they are not getting a bespoke website.

I make a point of reassuring my clients that the websites I create for them will be a custom design and not an off-the-shelf theme and won’t cost the earth! When you are contemplating a website I recommend you ask your web designer/agency if you will get a custom website or an off-the-shelf solution.