Two quotes for the same website can be far apart, because one studio starts from a finished template and the other draws every page from scratch. This article helps you pick the route before you ask for a quote.
Quick summary
- Choose a template when you need a site that introduces the business, takes enquiries, and sells a modest catalogue, and you want it within a few weeks.
- Choose custom website design when the site has to run your own process, connect to software you already use, or when the brand is already well established.
- Cost: template packages have a listed price, from VND 4.99 million (GOLD). Custom work is quoted after the scope is agreed.
The two ways start from different places
Template website design
You pick a design whose layout is already finished, then swap the logo, colors, photos, and copy. The homepage, the services page, the contact form, and the mobile version are already there, so most of the time goes into the business’s own materials.
Custom website design
This runs the other way. You talk through the goal and how you sell, and only then come the page map, the layout sketch (a wireframe), the interface, and the development. Each step has a review, so the site stays closer to the business. It also takes longer, and more people have to take part.
Template website design and custom design, on four points
| Criterion | Template | Custom |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 7 to 15 working days once the materials are complete | Its own schedule, set after the scope is clear |
| Cost | A listed package price, known before you sign | A quote after the briefing |
| How unique | Your identity on a layout that already exists | Each page drawn new, including your own user flow |
| Your side | Send the materials and approve the preview | Several review meetings, and someone who can decide |
When you compare two quotes, put them on the same scope: number of pages, features, who writes the copy, who takes the photos, hosting, and maintenance. A template site that runs late is usually waiting on photos and copy, as the article why a template site often stalls on photos and copy sets out.
What you can change on a template, and what you cannot
- Easy to change: colors, type, logo, photos, the text on each block, the order of the blocks, and extra pages built from blocks that already exist.
- Hard to change: the overall layout of the homepage, how the menu behaves, and effects that belong to that template.
- Depends on the package: a cart, payment, more than one language, an AI assistant (see website features).
If you want to redo most of the layout, pick another template that is already closer to what you have in mind. On the template library you can filter by industry, open the demo on a computer and on a phone, and try the menu, the form, and the call button.
Example: a dental clinic needs to present its services and its dentists, and take appointments. The Denty template already has those blocks. What is left is to replace them with real dentist photos, the price list, and the brand colors.
When custom design is the right call
- The site runs your own process: a customer tracks a shipment by code, a parent reads notices for their child’s class, or a dealer logs in to see wholesale prices. Bolting a plugin onto a template for this kind of work usually ends up patched together.
- The site connects to software you already use: sales, accounting, a CRM, or an ERP. The data on both sides has to be surveyed before the build starts.
- A large brand, with many people approving: you need your own design rules so dozens of later pages still look like one system.
Outside those three cases, a template covers nearly all of it. Put the rest of the budget into real photos and real copy.
Building it yourself on a drag-and-drop platform such as Wix, Sapo, Haravan, or Ladipage is fine if someone on the team has the time. Sapo and Haravan are Vietnamese store platforms. Ladipage is a Vietnamese landing-page builder. Check the subscription fee, how far you can customize, and whether you can take the data with you if you change platform. If you only need one page for ads, a landing page is the leaner option.
Six questions before you ask for a quote
If most of your answers lean to the first option, a template is enough:
- Do people come to the site to look, call, and send a form, or to look something up and log in?
- Do you only need enquiries by email and Zalo (Vietnam’s most widely used messaging app), or does the site have to connect to other software?
- Do you have a logo and a main color, or a full visual identity?
- Do you need the site within a few weeks, or can you wait for a long project?
- Have you budgeted for photos, copy, hosting, and maintenance?
- Who follows the project, and who updates the site after handover?
The last question is the one people skip. A site can look polished, and a few months later it is out of date because nobody updates it.
Template websites at 123Website
123Website has built WordPress sites from templates since 2013, with a library of more than 4,300 templates grouped by industry. Three examples:
- Price: GOLD from VND 4.99 million. The closest to a fully custom build is DIAMOND (VND 14.99 million, a design built around the brand). See website design pricing and the article what all-inclusive website design includes.
- Process: four steps covering template choice and scope, customization, then testing and handover (website design process).
- Warranty: lifetime support (with 123Website hosting). Other hosting follows the contract (warranty policy).
- Your own workflow, or a custom integration: see custom website design.
Common questions
Will a template website look the same as another business’s site?
What is shared is mainly the layout frame. After you change the logo, the colors, the real photos, and your own copy, visitors rarely notice that two sites started from the same template. A larger library also makes it easier to pick an interface that is uncommon in your industry.
Can a template website do SEO?
Yes. Rankings depend on the content, the speed, the page structure, and regular updates. They do not depend on whether the site was drawn from scratch or started from a template. WordPress lets you edit the title, the description, and the URL of each page, and add posts yourself after handover.
If we start with a template, can we move to a custom site later?
Yes, and it is a common path. A business uses a template to get online early, gather content, and see which pages people actually open. When the sales process is clear, or the site needs to connect to other software, that material is a solid input for a custom project.
How long does custom website design take, and what does it cost?
There is no single figure. It depends on the number of pages, the rounds of review, the extra development, and the connection to software you already use. The schedule and the cost can be fixed only after the scope is clear. Ask for a quote that lists each item, so the comparison is fair.
Choose by what the website has to do
Template or custom is not about premium versus cheap. It is about what the site has to do. If you are not sure, send us your industry and a few reference sites, and we will suggest a route plus the closest templates. Call the sales hotline 0932 092 002, see website design, or request a consultation.
Jollie specializes in business digitalization, advising on digital solutions and management software suited to each stage of a company's growth. With more than 5 years of experience running online marketing for…
