Hiring a Designer·7 min read·July 2026

A template website setup typically costs $1,000 to $2,500. A custom build runs $2,500 to $7,500. The price gap is real, but it's not always buying what people think it's buying. It's not a question of which one is "better." It's a question of which one matches where your business is right now.

I sell both, which means I have no reason to push you toward either. Here's the honest version. This is part of my complete guide to hiring a web designer.

What a template setup actually is

A template is a pre-designed website layout that a designer selects for your business type, then customizes with your branding, content, and configuration. On Squarespace, this means choosing from their template library and adjusting colors, fonts, images, page structure, and content blocks.

What you're paying the designer for is not the template itself (Squarespace includes those for free). You're paying for:

• Knowing which template works best for your type of business and goals
• Customizing it so it doesn't look like every other site using the same template
• Setting up your pages with real structure and hierarchy
• Configuring integrations (forms, scheduling, email signup)
• Basic SEO setup
• Making sure it works well on mobile
• Training you to maintain it

A good template setup looks professional, loads fast, and does the job. Most visitors will never know or care that it started from a template.

What a custom build actually is

A custom-designed website starts from a blank canvas. Nothing is pre-made. The layout, spacing, visual hierarchy, and user flow are all designed specifically for your business, your audience, and what you need the site to accomplish.

What the extra money buys:

• A strategy conversation before any design. Who your ideal clients are, what the site's primary goal is, what path a visitor should take. This shapes everything.
• A unique layout that doesn't share its bones with thousands of other sites.
• More intentional design decisions. Typography, spacing, color, and imagery chosen to evoke a specific feeling and build trust with your specific audience.
• More flexibility. Custom code where the platform's defaults fall short, unusual page structures, interactive elements, or complex functionality.
• Deeper SEO work. Content structure designed around what your audience actually searches for, not just default page names.
• Longer support. Most custom builds include a more generous post-launch window because the designer knows the site intimately.

When to choose a template setup

You should seriously consider a template if:

• Your business is in its first year or two and you're still refining your offer
• Your budget is under $2,500 and you'd rather launch well now than wait for perfect
• Your needs are standard: services, about, contact, maybe a blog or simple shop
• You want to be online this month, not in two months
• You're testing a new direction and don't want to invest heavily until you know it's working

There is nothing wrong with this choice. A well-configured template outperforms a poorly planned custom site every time, and launching is almost always better than waiting.

When to choose custom

Go custom when:

• Your business has a distinct identity that a template flattens or dilutes
• Your website is a primary sales tool, and small improvements in trust and conversion are worth real money
• You need functionality templates handle badly: complex booking systems, gated content, multilingual pages, directories, intake workflows
• You've had a template site for a year or two, you know what your visitors do, and you're ready to build around that knowledge
• Your competitors' sites all look the same and you want to stand apart

The honest tiebreaker

If you're genuinely torn, start with a template. Here's why:

A custom redesign is a normal, healthy upgrade path. Many of my best custom projects are for clients who started with a template, used it for a year, learned what their audience actually responds to, and then invested in custom design armed with real information instead of guesses.

The worst outcome is spending $5,000 on a custom site before your business model is settled, then needing to redo it a year later because everything changed. I'd rather save you that.

What the price difference does NOT buy

A few things people assume come with custom that often don't:

• Better SEO, automatically. A properly configured template with good content can rank just as well as a custom site. SEO is mostly about content, structure, and consistency over time, not how the design was built.
• More pages. A 5-page custom site and a 5-page template site have the same number of pages. Custom gives you better pages, not more of them by default.
• Copywriting. Unless the proposal explicitly says so, most designers at either tier expect you to provide the words. Ask.
• Ongoing updates. Both template and custom sites need maintenance. Neither tier typically includes that past the initial support window.

How I handle both

I offer template setups from $600 and custom builds from $1,800. In our first call, I'll tell you honestly which one I think you need. Sometimes that means recommending the cheaper option, which is a terrible sales strategy and a very good way to build trust.

For full pricing at every tier, see How Much Does a Squarespace Designer Cost in 2026. Either way, here's what to prepare before you hire anyone.

Frequently asked questions

Will people know my site is a template?

Not if it's done well. A thoughtfully customized template with good content and real photos is indistinguishable from custom work to your visitors. They care about finding what they need, not how the site was built.

Can I switch from template to custom later without starting over?

On Squarespace, a redesign does involve rebuilding the site, but your content (text, images, blog posts) carries over. It's less "starting over" and more "moving into a better house with the same furniture."

Is custom worth it for a brand new business?

Usually not yet. Your business model, messaging, and audience understanding will evolve significantly in the first year. A template lets you launch quickly and affordably, then invest in custom once you know what actually works.