Is custom website development worth it?

What a tailored build really means—and the security and value it can deliver.


Custom website development – what’s the point? 

There’s an AI for that after all!

We have explained here why all our websites are built on WordPress, but why do we custom code them? Well, some might argue it’s unnecessary, or too costly a solution but at Rubber Duckiee we’re firm believers in the value it brings to our clients, and that it can be cost-effective.

But first of all, what do we mean by custom coding?

For us, when we talk about custom WordPress development, we mean websites that are built from scratch, by our team, with code they have written.

But aren’t their faster ways of building websites these days?

Yes and no. One alternative to custom building a website is to purchase and populate a website theme. These are packages of files which give you a framework essentially to enable a website to be built at pace, and without necessarily any need to write any code. This is possible owing to it having been written by a website developer, but not with one, specific, unique client in mind. Instead they contain a ready-made framework of layouts, styles, and features, so you’re able to get a website up and running without needing to know how to code.

The Case for Themes

Let’s begin by being clear that we fully recognise there’s a place for website themes. For a startup in the early days of exploring the viability of an idea, or for people with a side project/s where speed and cost-efficiency are the priority, pre-made themes can be a great place to start.

However, as with anything there are trade offs and these are why we think for most organisations custom coding makes more financial sense in the long run.

Speed

You don’t need a website developer to tell you how much of a pain slow loading website pages are. And how slow load times will negatively impact user experience and so your visitor conversions.

We’ll be looking in more detail about website speed but in the meantime a common reason why websites load slowly is because they’re bloated – which essentially means they’re carrying code they don’t need.

This is common in websites built using themes as a theme won’t have been designed bespoke and so will carry elements you don’t necessarily need.

A custom built website however, will only contain precisely what you need – no clutter. When we custom build we are also able to better optimise everything for fast load times. This makes for a positive user experience, leading to lower bounce rates, and a greater number of conversions.

Security

Custom development is not by any means the only way to achieve a secure website, but it does offer distinct advantages. Chief among them is accountability: when you know exactly who has coded your site, you know where responsibility lies. This clarity reduces the chances of overlooked updates or neglected components—a common risk when a site is built from many moving parts without clear ownership.

Going further into how we use custom development to ensure security – by doing so we can minimise useage of third-party plugins. Plugins can be a risk, as we explained here.

In writing the code for websites ourselves we can also be confident it’s clean and audited before launch. When vulnerabilities do emerge, as they inevitably do in a sector where updates are continuous, we can be confident in our ability to make the necessary patches as we know exactly what we’re working with.

SEO

Most, but by no means all, DIY platforms are optimised, to an extent, for SEO. Custom website development though means we can give our clients a head start by optimising all the elements which contribute to SEO specifically for them, their marketing plans and general plans for the website and how they’ll use it.

SEO is, after all, about more than just keywords in your content. It’s about, to name only a few factors listed in Google’s search fundamentals, the speed of your site, mobile first responsiveness, structured data, meta fields and logical URL and heading structures.

Custom coded = built for you

As we touched upon above, DIY platforms and pre-built website themes can be great at getting you going. In the long term however, real value can be delivered from a website custom coded for you. Not only for the 3 reasons we’ve listed already but because you won’t be constrained by the website theme when you find yourself growing and evolving as an organisation.

If you’re starting to feel the limits of your current site, then we reckon you can do no better then getting something built bespoke for you.

Want to explore what custom website development could mean for your organisation?

Then click here to email us and let’s talk. No jargon. Just honest advice