The honest answer nobody wants to give you
Ask a web designer and they'll say custom. Ask a Squarespace salesperson and they'll say template. Neither answer is wrong — but neither is complete. The real answer depends on what your business actually needs.
Here's the framework I use when a Melbourne business owner asks me this question.
When a template is the right call
Templates get a bad reputation they don't always deserve. A well-configured Squarespace or Webflow site can outperform a badly built custom site every day of the week. Templates make sense when:
You're just starting out
If you've been operating for less than a year and don't yet know what your customers respond to, a template lets you get online fast and learn. You can always upgrade later when you know what you need.
Your budget is under $2,000
Custom development below this price point usually means corners are being cut somewhere. A properly configured template at $800–$1,500 will serve you better than a rushed custom build at the same price.
You want to manage content yourself
Squarespace and similar platforms are built for non-technical users. If you want to update your own photos, write your own blog posts, and change your own copy without calling a developer every time — a template platform makes this easy.
Your needs are standard
Homepage, services, about, contact. If that's your site, a template does the job. The problems start when you need something the template wasn't built for.
When custom is worth the investment
You need specific functionality
Quote calculators, booking systems, lead scoring forms, suburb-level SEO pages — these things either don't exist in templates or they exist as expensive third-party plugins that add complexity and slow your site down.
SEO is a serious priority
Custom sites give you complete control over site structure, page speed, schema markup, and technical SEO. Template platforms have improved but they still carry overhead that limits how well they perform in competitive local search.
Your brand needs to stand out
If you're in a competitive Melbourne market and your site looks like three of your competitors — because you all chose the same Squarespace template — that's a problem. Custom design removes that risk entirely.
You own your site completely
Template platforms charge monthly fees forever. If Squarespace raises prices or shuts down — which has happened to other platforms — your site goes with it. A custom-built site hosted on your own server is yours permanently.
The bottom line: Template if you're starting out, budget-conscious, or need to self-manage. Custom if SEO matters, if you need specific functionality, or if you're ready to invest in something that performs and scales. The platform matters far less than the strategy and execution behind it.
What to do next
If you're not sure which direction is right for your Melbourne business, I'm happy to give you an honest answer — even if that answer is "start with a template." Get in touch here.