On the face of it, things have never been simpler for the web store owner. With so many templates available, all it takes to have an eCommerce store up and running is to download a template, upload your products and content to it, and launch it via a hosting platform. The cost is low and if the shop succeeds you can make strong returns.

However, ready-made eCommerce templates are not always the great deal they seem to be. In fact, those who run anything other than the most basic of web stores often find that templates are not fit for purpose and later make the decision to move towards a bespoke solution.

So why shouldn’t you use a template when you want to launch an eCommerce store? Here are just a few of the main reasons.

Very Little Flexibility

Over the course of a web development project, you may find that your requirements change. New ideas crop up and you may discover that a feature you didn’t think you needed previously has now become a priority. Unfortunately, with a ready-made template, you are generally stuck with the features that are already built into the template. In some cases, you may be able to get them added in, particularly when using an open source template, but that costs more money that could have been dedicated to creating an eCommerce site that meets and adjusts to your requirements from the off.

Security Issues

Not all template developers create their templates with security in mind. Some even go so far as to allow themselves access to the back ends of websites using the template, either through oversight or due to malicious intentions. Either way, this potentially opens up the site using the template to hacking and malware issues that could have been avoided. The damage of losing the personal and financial details of your customers far outweighs the extra initial cost of having a custom eCommerce website with security features developed.

On the face of it, things have never been simpler for the web store owner.

Ongoing Support

Most eCommerce templates will claim to offer support of some description but it is unlikely you will find out how comprehensive that support actually is until you try to use it. In the case of older templates, you may find that support doesn’t even exist. As the internet evolves, this lack of support will mean your template gets stuck in the past, rather than moving forward with modern technologies in the way that a custom website with full support can.

Bloated Code

There is no guarantee that the creator of a ready-made eCommerce template has met current efficient coding standards. In fact, many templates feature bloated code that causes an array of issues, such as slow page loading times. All of this will factor into your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, as the quality of the code used for your website is often a ranking factor for search engines.

Limited Designs

As you may expect, using a template limits your design choices enormously. You will find that you have to settle for the next best thing more often than not when it comes to color schemes, font sizes, and the types of media that you can comfortably upload onto the site. In many cases, you will find that the template doesn’t even have color schemes that match your company’s branding, meaning you end up putting out an inconsistent message to users that could lead to them bouncing away from your web store in the mistaken belief that it is not actually your company that runs it.

Long-Term Cost

The issues of poor site support and the need to update a site in-line with modern web technologies have already been touched on, however, it is important that site owners understand how this will affect their bottom lines over time. Yes, having a bespoke eCommerce website developed is more expensive upfront than using a template. But every update that you hire an external company to update and every sale lost because you can’t bring your template up to speed with more modern designs costs you more money in the long run. Consider a customized website as a long-term investment, whereas a template will begin to falter over time.

Customize to Perfection

With a customized eCommerce website you are in control. You can make changes as and when they are needed without having to slog through potentially non-existent support structures. Better yet, over time you will find that your custom solution actually saves a lot of money.

Templates, by their nature, are created to meet certain functionality goals while providing very little flexibility to the user. They restrict your creativity and place limits on your branding efforts, often making them less viable for companies that want to incorporate their web stores into larger marketing efforts.

Think long and hard about the future ramifications of template use when making our decision so you are sure that the solution you end up with is the one you actually want.