Template kits vs building from scratch

Template kits vs building from scratch
Import a kit or build clean? The tradeoff is speed vs bloat.

Template kit (Envato/builder library):
— Pros: full site live in an hour, designed sections, great for fast client mockups and pitches
— Cons: imports unused global styles, drags demo CSS/images, often 2-3x the DOM nodes you actually need

Build from scratch:
— Pros: only the markup you use, predictable page weight, no orphan CSS to debug later
— Cons: slow, you're re-solving solved layouts, easy to skip accessibility states

Best for: kits when speed-to-pitch wins and you'll prune after; scratch builds when the site must hit Core Web Vitals targets long-term.