Why We Refuse Web Design Templates: An Open Letter to UK Businesses
From Mitchell Brown, Co-Founder and Director at Temple Brown
At Temple Brown, we’ve made a clear decision that shapes every project we take on: we don’t use web design templates. Not now, not ever.
Templates strip businesses of their uniqueness, make sites harder to trust, and often cost more in the long run. For SMEs and larger firms alike, that choice matters. In an industry where “bespoke” is slapped on recycled work, we think it’s time to be honest.
This isn’t a new story. Other industries have faced the same fork in the road. Remember when Apple refused to support Flash on the iPhone? Critics said they were wrong. Competitors said they’d regret it. But Apple knew Flash was bloated and unreliable, so they backed HTML5 instead. It wasn’t popular at first, but it was the right call.
Our stance on templates is much the same. It’s not the easy route, but it’s the right one.
The sameness problem
Picture a high street where every shop window looks the same. Only the logos above the doors change. That’s what happens when you’re sold a “custom” website that’s really a reskinned template.
The result isn’t neutral. It’s harmful. Customers can’t see what makes you different. And for SMEs, who live and die by reputation, sameness online erases the credibility you’ve built offline.
For the full breakdown of why sameness costs sales, we’ve written a comprehensive guide on bespoke vs template websites.
What bespoke means to us
We use “bespoke” carefully. For us, it starts with your story, your market, and your ambitions. We fold in your brand guidelines, market positioning, and design language so the site feels like a natural extension of your business.
That means designing flows around how your customers actually buy, not where a theme drops a button. It means choosing typefaces that echo your tone of voice and layouts that suit your photography, not whatever the demo template offered.
Bespoke isn’t about decorations, it’s about decisions. Decisions made for you, not for everyone.
Why we refuse templates
Templates look quick and cheap on day one. Underneath they’re bloated, inflexible, and stuffed with features you’ll never use. Try to adapt them and you end up fighting with code you didn’t ask for.
Whether you’re doing it yourself or paying an agency to “customise” one, templates will always fight back. They stumble on mobile, break with updates, and worst of all, make your brand look like every other brand.
That isn’t custom web design. That’s catalogue work dressed up as craft.
Proof, not placeholders
Visitors don’t land on your site to admire theory. They want proof: that you exist, that you deliver, that choosing you makes sense.
This is where stock photos damage trust. Reverse-search your homepage hero and you may find the same image on a retailer's site in Manchester, a pub in Scotland, and a start-up in Amsterdam. What does that say about you? That you borrowed. That you’re generic.
It’s worse when the imagery is obviously American. Roads on the right hand side that we don’t have, hospitals that look nothing like the NHS, families in cavernous kitchens. People notice, something isn't right, even if they can’t say why.
That’s why we champion authentic photography: your team, your space, your clients. Proof persuades in a way placeholders never can. (See our guide on authentic photography.)
Fit matters
Design isn’t just surface-level decoration. High-end brands need space around their imagery. Fitness brands need energy in tighter frames. Fonts carry centuries of associations...choose badly and you undermine your message.
Templates can’t account for brand DNA. We build from your guidelines and strategy so design and brand work seamlessly together.
Our approach
Every project starts with discovery. We ask awkward questions, listen to your data and your team, and build journeys you can test before we add colour.
We code lean, set performance budgets, and design for accessibility from the ground up, guided by the UK Government Digital Service.
And we treat devices seriously. If a section doesn’t work on mobile, we redesign it. Sometimes the mobile version is simpler, sometimes bolder, but always deliberate. We’re agnostic about technology, but devoted to user experience. (You can also read our take on accessibility.)
When bespoke works
Take Grocott & Murfitt, respected Norwich builders. Their old site was dated and heavy. We rebuilt it with galleries tailored to their photography and project pages written like short stories. Bounce rates dropped, enquiries rose, and their digital presence finally matched their physical reputation.
That’s what bespoke delivers: alignment between promise and proof. See more in our portfolio.
Cost and value
Bespoke costs more upfront. But templates cost more in the long run: patches, rebuilds, lost trust.
For SMEs, that false economy bites hardest. Smaller firms can’t afford to keep rebuilding. They need something that works properly and lasts.
The good news is, help exists. Through initiatives like the New Anglia Growth Hub’s Go Digital programme, eligible businesses can access funding to invest in digital improvements, including websites. Our approach is designed to align with this kind of support, making it easier for SMEs to invest in a site that’s truly bespoke without compromise.
A call to the industry
Templates will always exist. But we urge businesses to ask harder questions. Is this really bespoke, or just a theme with my logo? Does this imagery prove my proposition, or is it borrowed? Does my website feel like my business, or someone else’s catalogue?
The web deserves better. Businesses deserve better. Customers deserve better.
Our conviction
At Temple Brown, refusing templates is about protecting experience. Templates are the past. Bespoke is the future.
We believe in originality. We believe in fit. We believe your website should be yours and only yours.
Because in the end, this isn’t about design. It’s about trust. And trust must always be bespoke.
If you’re an SME or larger business tired of templates and ready for a site that fits properly, let’s talk.
And if you’d like to explore the details, comparisons, SEO implications, and cost breakdowns, see our full bespoke web design vs templates blog post.
