Template Websites: What You're Actually Getting for $5,000

The $60 Website Sold for $5,000

Here’s a scenario that plays out thousands of times a year in Australia:

1. You hire an agency for a “custom website” — quoted at $5,000-$15,000
2. They buy a WordPress theme from ThemeForest for $60
3. They change the logo, swap the colours, and add your content
4. They deliver it as “custom-built” in a few days
5. You pay $5,000 for a $60 product plus a few hours of work

This isn’t illegal. But it isn’t transparent either.

What Templates Actually Cost

The most popular WordPress theme on ThemeForest — Avada — has over 858,000 sales. It costs $60 per site with 6 months of support.

Other popular options:

With an Envato Elements subscription ($198/year), an agency has unlimited access to every theme on the platform. That’s $198 for every client they serve that year.

How to Tell If Your Website Is a Template

Check 1: The Footer

Look at the very bottom of your website’s source code (right-click → View Page Source). Search for “theme” or the name of any popular WordPress theme. Many templates leave fingerprints.

Check 2: The Page Builder

If your site runs on WordPress, check the backend. If you see “Elementor,” “WPBakery,” “Divi Builder,” or “Avada Builder” — your site was built with a page builder that comes bundled with a template. Not custom code.

Check 3: The Design

Search Google Images for “WordPress [theme name] demo.” If your website looks remarkably similar to a demo site with different colours and photos — you have your answer.

Check 4: Ask Directly

Ask your agency: “Was this built from scratch, or does it use a pre-built theme or template? If so, which one?”

An honest agency will tell you. If they deflect or get defensive, that tells you something too.

Why Template vs Custom Matters

The Markup Problem

There’s nothing wrong with using templates — if the pricing reflects it. A template-based build with content setup, customisation, and training is worth $500-$2,000. That’s fair.

But selling a $60 template as a $5,000-$15,000 “custom website” is a markup of 80-250x. The client deserves to know what they’re buying.

Our Position

At Striking Web Design, we handcode every website from scratch. No ThemeForest themes. No Elementor. No Divi. No page builders.

Every site is built with Astro and Tailwind CSS — modern frameworks that produce fast, lightweight, SEO-optimised websites. The code is clean, readable, and yours upon full payment.

We charge $2,499-$6,999 for genuinely custom-built websites. That’s the real cost of real work — not a $60 theme with a 100x markup.