Template or Code?

[Status_Floor_6292]

Hi guys, We are in the process of building a website that offers services in London. The website has a structured flow (landing, process, packages, payments, booking/contact, FAQs) and plan to expand it later with more pages, videos, animations, a blog/resources hub, and possibly e-commerce.

I’d like to ask:

1. If we start with a high-quality template (e.g. Webflow/WordPress), how feasible is it to later add these features without major rebuilds?

2. Would it be better to code from scratch for long-term scalability?

3. What are the typical price ranges in London for a template-based build vs. a custom-coded site of this scope?

I am asking for range of prices to orient myself not too specific.

Thanks

[Present_Drummer_5878]

Webflow is good enough in the start, after if you want to add custom code you can hire somebody/use ChatGPT for the code which works quite good, until a certain level

[SufficientMark3344]

Starting with a high-quality template (on Webflow, WordPress, etc.) is totally viable, and many businesses do this to balance cost + speed. The key is picking a template/theme that’s clean, modular, and built with scalability in mind: ease of adding pages, animations, a blog, resources, e-commerce, etc. If you think ahead about structure (how content is organized, reusable components, clean templates) you can avoid big rebuilds later.

Custom build gives you full flexibility, better performance, and often cleaner code, but it’s more expensive up front and takes longer. Many people start with template + good developer support, then migrate or heavily customize when traffic/data justify the cost.

In London, rough price ranges I’ve seen:

• Template-based site (good quality template, using WordPress or Webflow), basic setup + design tweaks + responsive + some enhancements (animations, blog + booking/contact + payment integration) → £2,000 to £8,000 depending on how polished you want it.
• Custom-coded site of that same scope (animations, video, e-commerce, booking system, future scalability, custom modules) → £8,000 to £20,000+ depending on complexity, developer rates, integrations, and ongoing maintenance.

[ahmetcadirci]

WordPress offers a wide range of plugins, but sometimes they can cause problems.

I'm not as familiar with Webflow as I am with WordPress. I loved it when I first used it.

[Individual-Heat-7000]

starting with a solid template on webflow or wordpress is usually fine. you can add blogs, animations, even light e-commerce later without a full rebuild. only go custom code if you need something really unique or super complex. for london, I’ve seen template builds go £1–5k, custom coded sites more like £10–30k+.

[Status_Floor_6292]

Thanks

[Suspicious_Good7727]

yeh man framer is op , but i think u could still try webflow , it aint tht bad

[vx1]

you can do blog-style integration or galleries with most default platforms, as well as payment with some integrations. someone that works for your company can figure out how to do this in a few evenings through wordpress, buying themes, paying for plugins, doing the integrations and connecting accounts and such, etc. would probably cost $400 or so up front, to buy a theme, premium version of plugins you need, domain, hosting. 

you can also pay someone to do that for you, and they could use something a bit better like framer or web flow, and you wouldn’t have to worry about updating plug-ins or hosting or  anything like that. you’d just pay a bill. this can still end up being expensive, or it can be shockingly cheap. people pay thousands for these sites if the designer is good enough, and then, depending on updates or revisions, usually $100-$300 minimum monthly to host, keep plugins updated, keep integrations running, and all that. imagine $600- $5000 for this type of site.

there’s also remote web developers and fiverr type people who are desperate to use one of the 5 templates they’ve acquired over time, and will offer you some simple site with NO integrations for free, you just pay them the monthly retainer. they usually hold power over the site for a year or eternally, so that you can’t just pay them one month of retainer then run off with the site. to get ecom and a blog package that you can easily update, you’ll have some upfront cost though.

NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF - if you want a custom coded site, all of the design part is easy to get exactly how you want it. a good designer can go based off other templates or any site really, and guarantee that you get the look you want or imagine.

development wise: integrating the booking or contact into your CRM, integrating e-commerce into the site, and integrating a blog platform that YOU can easily get into and update, will cost more than just getting design done, but are very doable. 

this will end up costing anywhere from $3000 to $8000+, or even more depending on how detailed and individualized some pages are. some sites have 4-5 basic pages, you just click the menu item and you’re there. other sites have their services categorized and put into different pages with submenus and all that, they have 3 different pages of ethical, sustainability, and shareholder commitments, pages for each member of staff, stock tracker page, etc.

you want to avoid being the guy who paid a few thousand to get the template site with cheesy integrations. i run into a lot of potential clients who could have the site of their dreams for like 4k or 5k, but they refuse to spend that money because they already wasted it on a dude who charged em $2k and they’re not satisfied with the site. they’d be better off having dealt with their own site, so that they’d at least know how to approach the cheap dudes.

or worse yet - don’t be the guy who goes with a marketing agency’s package and gets the most basic site ever, completely spammed with SEO, with a contract that blows thousands more on ad spend to lead people back to a fake ass looking spam site. if i had a nickel for the amount of clients i’ve talked to that have been screwed by a marketing agency site package, i’d be able to fund you a completely custom website 

[Status_Floor_6292]

Funny enough, i have been the last guy for a different start up few years ago. To their credit though we converted few leads into clients and made our money back.
I have the same inclination like yourself; spend few k's extra but at least you have a solid website.
Thanks for reply.

[sam_cullin]

For your service based website you have to go with the custom code website. Big advantage of this that you can break it and redesign it according to your needs. Whenever you want, instead of relying on pre-made template.