Insights

"We spent nearly 10 times as much developing our website with morphsites than we could have paid."

This was the comment made—cheekily—at the end of a very positive account management meeting. One of our long-standing clients, reflecting on the journey, smiled as we shook hands to leave.

"It’s true. Our ERP provider offers an out-of-the-box e-commerce solution for 10% of what we’ve paid morphsites in the last 18 months."

For a moment, it felt like a veiled complaint. After all, the meeting had gone well. We’d looked back on over 12 years of partnership and the reasons for its longevity. Why bring this up now?

But then came the glint in his eye.

"Instead, we’ve spent over six figures with you. Do you know why?"

"I think so," I replied. "But I’d like to hear it from you."

What followed reaffirmed something we believe deeply at morphsites: when done right, custom software development doesn’t cost more. It delivers more.

Why build bespoke? Why not just use what's already out there?

morphsites was founded on a core principle: your website or web application should work for your business and your customers — not force you to fit around the way a system works. That’s the heart of bespoke software development.

Of course, it's not always black and white. Many customer needs can be met with good UX, smart copy, and solid brand positioning. Not everything needs to be custom.

But for businesses that rely on their site not just for marketing but as a central part of how they operate—how they serve customers, manage orders, integrate systems—the limitations of off-the-shelf solutions often start to show.

The promise (and pitfall) of out-of-the-box platforms

Shopify, Wix, Squarespace… the world of templated platforms and plug-ins has matured. You can spin up a site with impressive speed and low cost. Even ERP providers now offer basic web solutions.

And to be clear: we're not anti-template. In fact, we've become more platform-agnostic for good reason. We work in Statamic, WordPress and Shopify as well as building custom web apps from scratch. Sometimes "out-of-the-box" is the right tool.

But that only holds if your business model isn’t being boxed in as a result.

As one client put it:

"We could have paid our ERP provider to make the changes we wanted. But then they would have rolled those features into their core product—and sold them to everyone else. Including our competitors."

So they came to us.

Custom means differentiation

"We sell commodity products. There’s nothing particularly special about them. Competing on price alone is a race to the bottom. We had to innovate to grow."

This is the tension faced by many B2B businesses: whether you're in wholesale clothing, cleaning supplies, or industrial tools, how do you stand out when your product isn't inherently unique?

Custom digital tools become the differentiator.

With morphsites, this client built unique features and workflows directly into their website and back-office systems. Tools that helped them win contracts they would never have been considered for before.

"Those contracts have paid for our investment more than 10 times over. It's been a complete no-brainer."