Squarespace's templates are genuinely well-designed out of the box, which is exactly why this comparison is less obvious than people expect.
The built-in templates have real design polish, which is a meaningful advantage for businesses without a design budget.
It's a reasonable, low-maintenance option for portfolio-style sites with limited functionality needs.
A site built specifically around your brand and customer journey converts better than a well-designed template stretched to fit.
Custom builds allow deeper SEO structuring, integrations, and functionality that a template platform's constraints don't easily accommodate.
Is the goal a nice-looking presence, or a website that's actively expected to generate a specific number of leads or sales?
The more the second applies, the more a custom, conversion-focused build tends to outperform a template, even a well-designed one.
Tell us about it and we'll follow up with a free, no-obligation consultation.