Off-the-shelf platform or custom-built?
An off-the-shelf platform is the fastest and cheapest way to start. Custom-built pays off when the business does not fit the template. Here is how to tell which is right for you, and why it often ends up a mix.
Short answer
An off-the-shelf platform is right for most people starting out. Custom-built is right when you have a need the platform cannot meet without you starting to fight it.
Off-the-shelf platform
Tools such as WordPress and Shopify solve common needs straight away: pages, blog, products, payment.
Advantages
- Quick to get going.
- Lower cost at the start.
- Many people can work with them, so you do not depend on a single supplier.
Disadvantages
- Whatever does not fit the template needs add-ons or compromises.
- Many add-ons make the site slower and harder to maintain.
- You pay running fees that grow with use.
Custom-built
Here the site or system is built around how you in particular work.
Advantages
- Does exactly what you need, no more and no less.
- Can be connected to your own systems on your terms.
- No unused features weighing it down.
Disadvantages
- Costs more at the start.
- Takes longer.
- Someone has to look after it afterwards.
Side by side
| Off-the-shelf platform | Custom-built | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost at the start | Lower | Higher |
| Time to launch | Short | Longer |
| Fit | Within what the template allows | Around how you work |
| Running cost | Fees that grow with use | Operation and maintenance |
| Suits you when | Your needs are common ones | You do something the platform cannot |
Three questions that decide it
- Do you do something others in your trade do not? If the answer is no, a platform is usually enough.
- Will the site talk to other systems? The more connections, the more often custom-built pays off.
- How long should it last? A campaign site and a system you will live with for ten years are different decisions.
Usually it ends up a mix
It does not have to be one or the other. A web shop can sit on an off-the-shelf platform while the part that is unique to you, such as a configurator or a customer portal, is built separately and connected to it.
We work with both: off-the-shelf platforms such as WordPress and Shopify, and custom builds with, for example, Next.js and Payload. Which one suits you is something we go through before you get a proposal.
Read more about how we build websites and systems and integrations.