I recently participated in a WordPress experts panel, which allowed members of the community to ask us technical questions as well as to get our opinions on common practices. A lot of the questions that came in revolved around themes and page builders. Specifically, many attendees wanted to understand the pros and cons of custom versus out of the box themes. Here at illuminea, we have spent years curating our approach to development, and here are some of our thoughts on the matter:
- What’s the deal with custom versus out of the box themes?
It’s very tempting to click to your handy theme store, plunk down your $60 and buy a theme specifically designed for your site’s industry. It’s certainly a low-budget way to get a nice-looking site up quickly, but we found we ran into issues either with the implementation of the theme elements or extending it beyond to any custom design. When evaluating custom versus out of the box themes, out of the box themes also tend to be bloated with elements and modules for every type of site under the sun, which heavily weigh down your site.
We split our WordPress projects into 2 streams – custom and lightweight theme + Elementor. Our custom projects include our own barebones theme that we built, plus Advanced Custom Fields to provide the page structure. This approach works for clients who have very specific design requirements as well as third-party integrations that need to work seamlessly with elements of the site. These projects usually have a large budget for development to accommodate the extra time needed to build out the infrastructure to the client’s specific needs.
Website projects that do not require such a high level of customization usually fall under our second stream – lightweight theme + Elementor. For these projects, we use OceanWP as the base. By base, we mean controlling the typography, colors, and basic layout of the site. When deciding between custom versus out of the box themes, OceanWP strikes a great balance. It has many addons that can be added to increase the functionality of the site, but they are not required, which means they have stripped all the bloat and left you with just the functionality you need. For page design and layout, we use Elementor, which we’ll discuss in greater detail below. The advantage of this stream is that we can provide the client with a beautifully customized website that runs quickly and scales nicely for a reasonable budget.
- Page Builder is not a swear word
Over the years we have tried numerous builders – Visual Composer, Divi, Fusion Builder, Elementor…and have learned that while everyone swears by one or another, we have settled on Elementor. We found Elementor to be an excellent blend of complex enough to implement custom designs but simple enough to teach clients to use post launch. When deciding between custom versus out of the box themes, Elementor stood out as a flexible option that supported both approaches effectively. In looking for a page builder, we found Elementor didn’t weigh down our page load times. It also gave us front-end access to our page so we could visually build the page rather than adding an element > saving > going to the front end and seeing how it looked, which was a much faster workflow.
- How to deal with page builders + Gutenberg
There seems to be a misconception that WordPress’s newest version, Gutenberg, is a page builder. I think it would be better suited to call it a block editor – an easier way to add content to your page. A page builder acts as a layer on top of your WordPress editor that gives full control over page layout and design. If you have an older site that is using a page builder, you may be better off disabling the new Gutenberg editor using the ‘Classic Editor’ plugin available for download. If you are building a new site with a page builder, you’ll probably want to use your page builder to design and structure all your pages, but keep the Gutenberg editor for adding new post content. In my experience, until Gutenberg offers a more integrated workflow with page builders, this will give you the best of both worlds for now.
There are a lot of ways to build websites and for every expert you’ll get 7 different opinions. This methodology works well for us because it allows us to take into account:
- Client budget
- Client involvement in the site post-launch
- Design complexity
- Website scalability.
Need a website that works for you? Reach out to our experts and get started!
Hope this helps and happy building!
What is the difference between custom and out of the box themes?
Custom themes are tailored specifically to a website’s unique design and functionality needs, often built from scratch or using lightweight frameworks. Out of the box themes, on the other hand, are pre-designed templates available for purchase or free download, designed to meet general requirements for various industries or use cases.
Which is better for my website: custom or out of the box themes?
The choice between custom versus out of the box themes depends on your specific needs. If your site requires unique design, advanced features, or third-party integrations, a custom theme may be the best fit. If you’re on a tight budget and need a quick setup, an out of the box theme could work well.
How does the performance differ between custom versus out of the box themes?
Custom versus out of the box themes can affect your website’s performance differently. Custom themes are often lightweight and optimized for speed since they only include necessary code. In contrast, out of the box themes may contain extra features or unused code, which could slow down your site unless carefully optimized.
What are the pros of using an out of the box theme?
The main advantages of out of the box themes include affordability, quick implementation, and ease of use. Custom versus out of the box themes shows that out of the box themes are ideal for small businesses or personal websites that don’t need extensive customization or features.
How do I decide between a custom versus out of the box theme for my website?
When deciding between custom versus out of the box themes, consider your website’s complexity, budget, and long-term needs. If you need a simple website that looks great out of the box, a pre-built theme will be sufficient. For more advanced features, a custom theme would provide the flexibility and control required to meet your goals.
