When starting a WordPress site build, one of the most important decisions you’ll encounter is choosing between custom templates and pre-made themes. Like everything in life, each option has its pros and cons, and understanding how these apply to your project can help you make the best choice in guaranteeing a rad end result no matter which direction you choose.

The Lowdown on WordPress Themes vs. Templates

WordPress themes are a complete, pre-designed package that makes it really easy to set up a WordPress site with little to no coding experience needed. Themes essentially dictate the functionality and appearance of your website, coming in a variety of styles and features. WordPress themes control the overall look and feel of your website, whereas a custom WordPress template is a single layout used for a specific landing/homepage or post on your website.

Think of WordPress themes as the overarching design to your website, and WordPress templates as the individual files within a theme that can override the default template for different parts of your website. So, if you’re looking for a little something different on individual pages of your website, WordPress custom templates might be the way to go.

Custom templates allow for greater flexibility, performance optimization, and personalization which is what every developer or business owner is looking for in 2025, right? If your budget allows you to hire a professional developer, then opting for a custom WordPress template can take your website to the next level.

While we won’t count WordPress themes out altogether, we do issue caution when considering purchasing a pre-built theme from companies that make their money selling WordPress themes, such as ThemeForest or Template Monster. Take it from one of Camber’s engineers, Jon, who relays “They always have terrible performance issues and are so bad that you can’t do a whole lot without rebuilding the site altogether.” Yikes! We know cutting your budget where you can is important, but we wouldn’t recommend cutting when it comes to the look and feel of your website. Your website is a crucial part of your business and should be treated as such.

Our suggestion is to opt for a custom WordPress theme built from scratch with only the functionality that is actually required to get you started, if you have the budget. However, there are a few five-star generic themes out there that put a big focus on performance. Jon recommends Astra and Kadence WP for those that don’t have the budget to invest in a theme built from scratch and prioritize performance and quality above all else.

Page Builders: Just Don’t Do It

Lastly, we’ll touch on page builders, a popular tool in the WordPress ecosystem, that offers a user-friendly way to customize and design your website. Unfortunately, page builders often move at a glacial pace, especially the ones that run off of short code. Camber engineer, Jon, says he’s never seen a WordPress site get a 90+ on Lighthouse Metrics that wasn’t built using anything other than core WordPress editors, block editor or classic editor.

Remember, once your WordPress site is built, it’s too late to change themes or page builders without rebuilding your entire site, and nobody wants that. Be sure to prioritize quality and performance from the very beginning of your site build, this will help you avoid unnecessary costs and poor site performance, leading to a loss in customers and ROI. If you have the budget, choose custom builds always, and if you don’t then check out the aforementioned Astra and Kadence WP for your generic theme needs. Are you exploring WordPress website development and in need of a kickass team to get the job done the right way, the first time? Drop the Camber Creative crew a line and see how we can help you make magic with our website development solutions!