WordPress Themes & Templates
A 1-off bespoke WordPress design theme template could cost you an arm and a leg – starting somewhere around $5000 – with the final cost dependent on the degree of complexity required. And then, you’ve got a liability instead of an asset… It won’t have an update path for security enhancements, bug fixes and new features. There won’t be any documentation either…
WordPress CMS Premium Themes are the fast answer to creating a uniquely different Content Management System that reflects your business image.
I like to use the Generatepress platform which is “a lightweight WordPress theme that focuses on speed, stability, and accessibility”
Generatepress.com
Adding a GP child theme allows the main theme to be updated without impacting any custom layouts. These are based on the latest WordPress versions which feature the Gutenberg Page Editor, eliminating the need for clunky page builders like WP Bakery’s Visual Composer, Elementor, Beaver Builder etc. Generatepress has documentation, tutorials, support forums and a theme update process.
An experienced freelance web designer will start with a design theme platform that provides a good fit for the proposed layout, and then customise your website redesign so it matches your business – that’s a very cost-effective web design option.
Page Builders
It is easy to get sucked into using proprietary page builders like Elementor but in my years of experience, it’s damned hard to escape out of one! Those with minimal experience and lack of coding knowledge like the ease with which Elementor can build a website. Never mind that it’s also capable of introducing fatal errors into page content… Like uploading multi-megabyte camera images into a layout… and then it is damned hard to find and eliminate them.
And until you NEED to do a “search and replace” across the site, you won’t realise that is impossible in Elementor because of the way the data is stored.
The default Elementor theme and page builder can certainly be used to create very fast-loading websites. But unfortunately, most people don’t understand the concepts and elements of page load speed. Those who turn to Elementor Pro for very complex layouts often end up with a clunky website that runs like a 3-legged dog…
There are exceptions: a talented and experienced web designer/developer is capable of building very complex sites that harness e-commerce and external corporate databases AND have it load fast. That’s very rare though…
In my experience, the best way forward for the average DIY website owner/designer is to grit your teeth, knuckle down and learn how to use the built-in Gutenberg Page Builder. In conjunction with the Generatepress, Astra or Kadence theme platforms, WP & Gutenberg can build exceptionally fast websites.
E-commerce Templates
osCommerce, Zen Cart, Prestashop, Virtuemart, and CubeCart e-commerce websites can be custom-designed. As for WordPress, off-the-shelf templates are available and can be modified to match your business at a far more modest cost.
Contact the reliable web design agency and let us give you a quote for your website development or website redesign services, based on a conventional HTML or WordPress CMS system.
Page last Updated on 22nd February 2025 by the author Ben Kemp