A biotech website template is the right starting point for many founders and venture firms, and the wrong one for others. The deciding factors are how complicated your story is, how soon you need to be live, and how much of the thinking you want to do yourself.

This guide walks through both options honestly, including what a template leaves for you to do, so you can decide before you spend time or money on either.

Why the choice matters more for biotech

Most websites need to look professional. A biotech or life sciences website has a harder job. It often has to explain complex science to people who are not scientists, and it has to feel credible to the people deciding whether to take a meeting, join the team or back the company. Investors, partners and candidates tend to look at your website before they speak to you, so it carries weight early.

That is why the template-or-custom question deserves a real answer instead of a default. Our post on what people actually look for when they are deciding if you are legit covers the credibility side in more detail.

When a template is the better choice

A template is usually the better choice when:

• You need to be live soon. The design and structure already exist, so you are filling in content instead of starting from a blank page.
• Your site is fairly standard. Most biotech companies and venture firms need the same core pages: home, about, team and news, plus a portfolio for a firm. If that covers you, there is no need to invent those pages from scratch.
• You can write your own content. A template gives you the structure. The words still come from you, so this works best if you can describe your science or your investment thesis clearly.
• You want to manage the site yourself. Squarespace 7.1 lets you edit text, images, colours and layout without code, so updates do not wait on anyone else.
• You want a fixed, smaller cost. A template is a known price up front, while a custom project is scoped and quoted individually.

When custom design is worth it

Custom design is usually worth it when:

• Your story is hard to explain. A platform company with several programs or partnerships may need the messaging and structure worked out before anything is designed.
• You are repositioning or rebranding. If the brand is changing, the website should be designed with it, instead of squeezed into a layout built for someone else.
• You need something a template does not offer. That could be unusual page types, special functionality or a site much larger than a standard layout.
• You do not have the time or the words. A senior designer can shape the content and make the calls, not just apply a layout.
• The stakes are high. If a funding conversation, partnership or launch depends on the site, expert judgement can be worth the extra time and cost.

If that second list sounds like you, a custom project is the better route. Our post on what to look for when hiring someone to build your website covers how to choose a designer.

Three worries about templates, answered

Most hesitation about templates comes down to the same three concerns.

Will it look like a template? Any template looks generic if you leave the demo content in place. What makes a site feel distinct is your own imagery, your own words and a few considered choices about colour and type. We cover this in Will my Squarespace site look like everyone else’s? Here’s how to avoid that.

Can I change it enough? With a Squarespace 7.1 template built on Fluid Engine, you can edit the colours, fonts, images, copy and layout. What you cannot do is turn it into a different kind of site. A biotech template fits a biotech company or a venture firm better than it would fit a restaurant, and that is the point.

Will it really save time? It saves the design time, which is the biggest part. Nucleus, for example, is delivered as a pre-installed site within 24 hours of purchase. The time that remains is yours: writing the copy, choosing images and replacing the placeholder logo. Plan for it, because writing good content is usually the slowest part of any website project.

What a biotech-specific template does differently

A general template gives you a nice layout. A template built for one audience gives you the right pages in the right order. Nucleus is designed for biotechnology companies and biotech venture capital firms, so it includes the pages those audiences usually need: Home, Portfolio, About, People, News and Insights, plus individual People Bio and News pages.

That matters more than it sounds. Starting with the right structure means your time goes into content, instead of into deciding which pages a biotech site should have. If you want to see how the design choices work, a look inside Nucleus walks through them.

What you still need to do yourself

A template gives you the design and the structure. The finished website still needs your input. Before you buy any template, ours included, check these:

• Hosting and domain. Nucleus does not include them. You need a paid Squarespace plan to publish, plus a domain.
• Your content. Replace the demo images and text with your own, and swap the placeholder logo. Our guide to replacing demo content in your Squarespace template without messing up the design shows how.
• The license. One license covers one website.
• Support. Nucleus includes 60 days of email support for template questions.

If you are still weighing it up, what to consider before buying a Squarespace template is a useful checklist.

Which route fits you?

Four questions usually settle it. Answer them for your own situation.

1. How soon do you need to be live? If the answer is weeks, a template is hard to beat. If you can wait, and the site is central to a raise or a launch, custom design becomes realistic.
2. Can you explain what you do in a few plain sentences? If you can, a template’s structure will hold your message. If you are still working out your positioning, that thinking has to happen before any design, and a designer can lead it.
3. Do the standard pages cover your story? Home, about, team, news and, for a firm, a portfolio. If you need pages beyond those, or something more unusual, lean towards custom.
4. Do you want to write and edit the site yourself? If so, a template suits you. If you would rather hand the work over, hire a designer.

If your answers mostly point to a template, start there. As a rule of thumb, if two or more point to custom, talk to a designer before you buy anything.

Where to go from here

Pick the route that matches your situation, and you will not spend time or money on the wrong one.

Leaning towards a template? See Nucleus, our Squarespace template for biotech companies and biotech VC firms →

Leaning towards custom? Tell us about your project and we will help you work out what fits, even if the answer turns out to be a template.