# Choose between a template, a build and a plan

> The one question that decides it is who edits the site in month three, and the answer points at exactly one of the three lanes.

Start here · noboringsites documentation · https://noboringsites.com/docs/start-here/choose-between-a-template-a-build-and-a-plan/

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A template is a finished site you buy outright and install yourself. A custom build is designed around your business and handed to you finished. A plan is the AI Site Builder: we host it and you change it by typing what you want.

## The question that decides it

If you are unsure, the difference that matters is who edits it in month three.

- **You have a developer, or you are one** - a template. You get the source and you run it.
- **Nobody in the business touches code** - a plan. You type the change and it publishes.
- **You want a design nobody else can buy** - a custom build. It is drawn for you and it is not resold.

## Buy a template if

The marketplace suits one specific kind of buyer.

- **You want it today.** The download link is emailed as soon as your payment settles.
- **You are comfortable at a command line.** It is a code project, not a drag and drop editor.
- **You do not mind a shared design.** The licence is non-exclusive, so another business can buy the same template.
- **You want to host it yourself.** No plan is required and none is implied.

## Commission a build if

A build is the answer when the site has to be yours alone.

- **The design must be exclusive to you.** A build is drawn for your business and not sold again.
- **The scope is unusual.** Anything the builder will not do is a build question, not a plan question.
- **You want it handed over finished.** You approve a live preview, not a mockup.
- **You want it hosted afterwards.** A build includes [the first two months of hosting](/docs/custom-builds/hosting-included-with-a-build/).

## Start a plan if

The plan is the lane for a site that keeps changing.

- **The site changes often.** Text and photo edits are free and unlimited.
- **You want no maintenance.** Hosting, SSL and updates are ours.
- **You want to type, not click.** Describe the change in plain English and approve what it drafts.
- **You want it looked after.** If a site we host breaks, email us and it is ours to fix.

## You can hold more than one

The three are not exclusive.

- **A template plus a plan** - buy the template, then let us host and edit it.
- **A build plus a plan** - the build is yours outright, the plan keeps it hosted and editable.
- **Neither renews the other.** Cancelling a plan never touches what you own.