You know how people win the lottery and they buy themselves expensive things like boats and cars and then they realise they can’t afford to maintain those expensive things and end up having to give them back?
You might have the money for a custom build, but what about after it goes online?
A website, specifically an e-commerce website, is a long-term investment. While people often come to us with a decent budget that would allow us to build a custom solution for their company, they often forget what they are getting themselves into. Specifically, they are unaware of the maintenance costs that come with a custom build.
We have seen it time and time again that clients get sold a custom build (not by us, but someone who then outsources the development to us), and they are not aware of what that means for their bank account after it goes online. The thing about a custom build is that the functionality is limited to whatever goes online after the initial contract is completed. So while yes this means endless flexibility initially, it also means anything added after launch needs to be added by a developer and that costs money.
Theme vs. custom build
A Shopify theme that you purchase in the theme store will probably have too much functionality for someone who is launching their brand for the first time. The good thing about this though, is that functionality can be added without the need of hiring a developer as the brand grows.
Tbh a website is going to cost you money after the initial build whether it is a custom solution or not, but it is much cheaper to hire a designer to maintain your website than a developer. Web designers who are versed in Shopify will know how to edit a theme, but they will not know how to add functionality with custom code.
Maintenance is a lot of work and it’s pricey
We tend to see maintenance work as “low value” work, meaning we charge an hourly-rate for it. For a project-scope we mostly bid value-based prices. The reason for this is that maintenance work rarely requires strategic thinking, and therefore we don’t see the need to charge based on value.
If you are familiar with pricing in the creative industry you probably know that hourly-based pricing is not the best when it comes to making a lot of money and getting paid on time. The thing is though, when you take that hourly rate and you create a retainer based on it, it is quite a lot of money at once. Not only can you get the money billed up front, but if the work you do is good and the client renews it, you can guarantee liquidity over long periods.
Fun fact we basically financed the whole of 2023 (our worst financial year) at Same Same through maintenance work, because we had built so many websites by then and suddenly all our clients needed updates. We negotiated retainer agreements that allowed us to charge in full before starting any work, and that saved us for months of zero leads.
Why am I suddenly talking about pricing? Well, while it may seem like investing in a website is a one-time, big budget thing, it will require continued investments after it goes online and they won’t be cheap. Some of our clients have spent more money on maintenance over the years than they did on the initial build, lol. Great for us, and great for the client if they can afford it.
Is the money worth it?
There is immense value in keeping your website maintained, it is quite literally our whole philosophy. Invest once and continue to invest and you’ll continue to see a return. Do testing, find weak points based on data and fix them so that customers can navigate and buy more easily (conversion rate hello?).
Yes a well-maintained custom solution is great. Is it better than a ready made theme you can purchase for $100? Yes, of course it is, but only if you have the budget to invest in it regularly. If you don’t it’s a waste of money.
Let’s look at an analogy here. If I buy a five bedroom house is it going to be better than a one bedroom house? Yes. Is it going to be more expensive? Yes. Are the heating and electricity costs going to be higher? Yes. Does everyone need a five bedroom house? No.
And not everyone needs a custom website build.
Let’s say I do win the lottery and I am able to buy the five bedroom house, but it costs the entire amount I won. So now I have this house I can’t afford to heat, I can’t afford repairs, I can’t do it myself because I don’t have the skills. My beautiful new house will become unusable, and the same will happen to a custom built website if you put it online and never touch it again.
When does it make sense to go custom?
Honestly, mostly never lol. Jk, if that were true we would be out of business. To put this question into perspective, the clients that we build custom solutions for are all big corporate brands that use Shopify to merchandise and sell products. On top of the basic e-commerce stuff, they also need complex tech integrations to support custom experiences, fulfilment stuff, tracking inventory etc..
Without getting too technical here, this means that customising an existing theme is not an option, because the themes cannot support the integrations needed. In addition to the technical requirements they value bespoke design and do not want to use generic templates. Most importantly, and I cannot stress this enough, they have the budget for on-going maintenance and the teams to support it.
At the end of the day it depends entirely on the client
While we love a custom build, we don’t recommend it to all our clients. These are the three most common website clients that contact us and what we would recommend to them:
Small budget – and launching for the first time:
This client hasn’t tested their product in the market yet. This is their first e-commerce website. They need it to stand out and make an impact. They don’t have money or a team to invest in maintenance. They will probably be doing most of it themselves.
Solution: purchase a ready to go theme. Optionally have a designer make small tweaks to enhance branding elements like fonts and colors.
Budget allocation: save on the initial build and instead invest small amounts regularly in maintenance and optimisations after launch when there is data to support it. These clients will most likely be making changes on their own if they can and if not have a freelancer help them.
Mid budget – has a website and wants to take the next step:
This client has tested their product and made significant sales. They have been able to save up a decent amount for a redesign and build. They want to relaunch the brand with an enhanced experience, but have no plans to scale significantly anytime soon.
Solution: ready to go theme customized to the needs of the client. This may include some custom elements, meaning a developer is probably needed. Optimisations based on data from the existing site should be made.
Budget allocation: mid investment for the initial build and continued smaller investments in maintenance and optimisations after launch. They will most likely need an agency or a team for both design and development, or a freelancer skilled in both fields.
Big budget – has a website that is not meeting brand goals:
This client has a website that is either not performing well or does not meet the current business requirements. They have a budget allocated that needs to be spent and they have budget for ongoing maintenance, and a team dedicated to keeping the website up to date and performing well.
Solution: custom build
Budget allocation: large initial investment, with big yearly investments for maintenance and optimisations that follow launch. They will need an agency that understands the complex tech requirements, and has multiple people dedicated to the project.
Ready to go themes are legit and people need to stop hating
It is totally valid to purchase a theme and run with it. There are a lot of people out there in our field that like to hate on these types of solutions (looking at you Canva haters), but the thing is, for many clients it is not only all they can afford it is quite frankly all they need. It is important to remember that not every client seeking creative solutions is the client for you. It is also important to note that while one solution may be “better” than another that does not mean it is the best option if the client can A: barely afford it and B: not maintain it.
As a service provider it is our obligation to recommend a solution that will solve the client’s problem and we SHOULD turn them away if we feel like we cannot offer an appropriate one.
We have clients come to us all the time with websites that do not meet their needs. More often than not the final product does not put their requirements first. Some people really be out there creating something that yeah looks pretty great in a portfolio, but it is neither user-friendly nor easy or cost-efficient for the client to maintain. How is that a win or a success?
It is an important discussion for the design community to reflect on – are you selling this option because you think it is best for your client or because you think it is best for you? If it is the latter then maybe you should consider referring the client to someone else.