Custom vs Template Themes: What’s Best for Your Shopify Store?

(The Honest, Founder-Friendly Breakdown)

Every Shopify brand hits this crossroads sooner or later:
“Should we use a ready-made theme… or build something custom?”

Both options work.
Both have pros.
Both have limitations.
But only one truly supports how your brand wants to grow.

At WTF Media, we’ve built and rebuilt stores for brands like The Plated Project, Zookeeper, Let’s Earth, and more and the right choice always depends on your product, scale, and ambition.

Here’s the simplified version, without the tech jargon.

Template Themes

Think of template themes as renting a fully furnished apartment.
You move in, adjust a few things, change the colours, and you’re good to go.

Pros

• Quick to set up
• Budget-friendly
• Designed for standard e-commerce features
• Easy for beginners
• Good for early-stage brands

Cons

• Limited flexibility
• Your store may look like many others
• Performance can vary
• Extra features require apps (which slow the site down)
• Hard to scale long-term

Best For - New brands testing the market, simple catalogues, tight budgets, quick launches.

Custom Shopify Development

A custom theme is like building your space from scratch.
Everything is designed around your product, customer journey, brand identity, and long-term scale.

Pros

• Unique brand experience
• Faster performance
• Cleaner code
• Fewer third-party apps needed
• Easy to scale
• Tailored sections and features
• Better SEO & UX

Cons

• A little expensive
• Longer development timeline
• Needs an expert Shopify development company (Hi, WTF Media can help you)

Best For - Growing brands, premium brands, complex products, and companies ready to scale beyond “template limitations.”

Why This Decision Matters

Your theme decides:

• How fast your store loads
• How easily you can customise pages
• How much you depend on apps
• Your future development costs
• Your brand perception
• Your SEO performance

A template theme works for now.
A custom theme works for the long run.

So… Which One Should You Choose?

Here’s the quick WTF rule:

If you’re starting out → Template
If you're growing or rebranding → Custom
If you’re scaling aggressively → Custom, 100%

Brands like The Plated Project and Let’s Earth saw massive improvement once they moved to a cleaner, customised setup - fewer apps, faster speed, stronger conversions, and a brand experience that finally matched their identity.

Why Consider WTF Media for Custom Or Template Builds?

Because we don’t force you into either. We evaluate…

And then develop what’s best for your brand.

With our Shopify theme design, custom Shopify development, Shopify website redesign, and Shopify page development, we ensure your website is built with strategy, speed, clarity, and scale in mind.

Final Word

Templates are great starters.
Custom builds are long-term winners.

If you want a Shopify store that performs beautifully, loads quickly, feels unique, and scales effortlessly, WTF Media can help.

Bring your brand vision.
We’ll bring the architecture, development, UX and the fun.

WTF Media - Websites That Don’t Just Look Good, They Grow With You.