Custom Website vs Templates: ROI Breakdown

Item	Low	Medium	High
Discovery	$1,000	$3,000	$10,000
Design	$3,000	$10,000	$30,000
Development	$5,000	$15,000	$50,000
Content	$1,000	$5,000	$15,000
Testing	$500	$2,000	$10,000
Total	$10,500	$35,000	$115,000

ROI Analysis

Scenario 1: Local Service Business

Business: Plumber with $200K annual revenue

Template Option:

Cost: $2,000
Monthly leads: 20
Conversion rate: 3%
Cost per lead: $8.33 (first year)

Custom Option:

Cost: $15,000
Monthly leads: 25
Conversion rate: 4%
Cost per lead: $50 (first year)

5-Year Analysis:

Factor	Template	Custom	Moydus Custom
Total cost	$3,000	$17,000	$8,000
Total leads	1,200	1,500	1,600
Cost per lead	$2.50	$11.33	$5.00
Revenue generated	$240K	$300K	$320K
ROI	7,900%	1,665%	3,900%

Winner: Template (for this scenario)

Scenario 2: E-commerce Store

Business: Fashion retailer targeting $1M revenue

Template Option:

Cost: $5,000
Conversion rate: 1.5%
Average order: $85
Annual revenue: $600K

Custom Option:

Cost: $50,000
Conversion rate: 2.5%
Average order: $95
Annual revenue: $1.1M

5-Year Analysis:

Factor	Template	Custom	Moydus Custom
Total cost	$15,000	$70,000	$35,000
Annual revenue	$600K	$1.1M	$1M
5-year revenue	$3M	$5.5M	$5M
ROI	19,900%	7,757%	14,186%
Additional revenue	-	+$2.5M	+$2M

Winner: Custom (revenue increase justifies cost)

Scenario 3: B2B SaaS Company

Business: Software with $50K MRR goal

Template Option:

Cost: $3,000
Trial signups: 100/month
Trial-to-paid: 5%
Annual revenue: $300K

Custom Option:

Cost: $75,000
Trial signups: 150/month
Trial-to-paid: 8%
Annual revenue: $720K

5-Year Analysis:

Factor	Template	Custom
Total cost	$8,000	$100,000
Annual revenue	$300K	$720K
5-year revenue	$1.5M	$3.6M
Difference	-	+$2.1M

Winner: Custom (significantly higher revenue)

When Templates Win

Best Use Cases

Limited budget (under $10K)
Quick launch needed (under 4 weeks)
Testing business concept
Simple requirements
Local/small business
Personal projects

Template Advantages

Lower initial investment
Faster time to market
Proven designs
Regular updates
Lower risk

Template Limitations

Design constraints
Shared with competitors
Limited functionality
May need replacement
Less scalable

When Custom Wins

Best Use Cases

Competitive market
Strong brand requirements
Complex functionality
High customer value
Long-term investment
Unique user needs

Custom Advantages

Unique brand expression
Optimized user experience
Competitive differentiation
Scalable foundation
Full ownership

Custom Limitations

Higher initial cost
Longer development time
Requires expertise
Maintenance burden
Higher risk if done poorly

The Hybrid Approach

Strategy: Template Foundation + Custom Elements

Process:

Start with quality template
Customize branding thoroughly
Add custom features as needed
Evolve based on data

Cost: $5,000 - $20,000

Best of both:

Lower initial investment
Faster launch
Room for customization
Data-driven evolution

Decision Framework

Choose Template If:

Question	Template Answer
Budget?	Under $10K
Timeline?	Under 4 weeks
Competition?	Low-moderate
Requirements?	Standard
Long-term plan?	Uncertain

Choose Custom If:

Question	Custom Answer
Budget?	Over $25K
Timeline?	8+ weeks OK
Competition?	High
Requirements?	Complex/unique
Long-term plan?	Clear growth

Making the Decision

Questions to Ask

What's your realistic budget?
How competitive is your market?
What's the lifetime value of a customer?
How important is brand differentiation?
What's your growth plan?
Do you have technical resources?

The Math That Matters

Calculate your break-even:

Break-even = (Custom Cost - Template Cost) / Monthly Revenue Increase

Example:
($50,000 - $5,000) / $5,000 = 9 months

If break-even is under 18 months, custom often makes sense.

Conclusion

Neither option is universally better. The right choice depends on your specific business situation:

Template ROI is better for lower budgets, simpler needs, and faster launches
Custom ROI is better for competitive markets, high customer values, and long-term growth

Calculate your specific numbers before deciding. Sometimes a $5,000 template delivers better ROI than a $50,000 custom site—and sometimes it's the opposite.

Moydus: Custom Quality, Better ROI

What We Deliver	Traditional Custom	Moydus Custom
Design quality	Excellent	Excellent
Price	$20K-$100K+	$8K-$50K
Timeline	3-6 months	4-8 weeks
Conversion focus	Variable	Core priority
ROI tracking	Rare	Built-in

Why pay more for custom when you can get the same quality for less?

We specialize in high-ROI custom websites that outperform both templates and overpriced agencies.

Calculate Your Potential ROI →

Learn more about website design costs or explore professional web design services.