// Service

3D Portfolio Template vs Custom Build

Templates from Themeforest or Webflow start fast but look generic; custom build differentiates and scales with your career.

Get a quote All 3D services

3D portfolio templates (Themeforest, Webflow templates with R3F integrations, Notion + Spline) start at \$30-150 and ship a working site in a weekend. Trade-off: anyone who scrolls through 30 portfolios in a week recognizes templated portfolios immediately. For early-career creatives needing a presence quickly, templates are pragmatic. For mid-career and senior professionals where the portfolio has to differentiate among competing high-end candidates, custom build wins. Custom: \$3,500-\$8,000, 5-7 weeks, scales with your career (you keep adding projects to the same canvas) — versus rebuilding every 2-3 years when the template feels dated.

Concrete deliverable

What you receive at handover: a working 3D Portfolio Template vs Custom Build on production hosting, all source files committed to your GitHub repo, og-images for social sharing, basic schema.org markup, sitemap entry, and a 5-min walkthrough video. The site is yours from day one — I never hold code hostage.

Engagement model

Fixed price, fixed deadline, payment on delivery. The price covers up to two rounds of revision within original scope. Out-of-scope changes are quoted separately before any work happens. No retainer required, no monthly minimum. We agree once, I deliver, you pay.

Technical foundation

Stack: Three.js v0.170 with GSAP for animation timeline, Lenis for smooth scroll, Vite for build, GLSL for custom shaders when needed. Hosting on a Hetzner / DigitalOcean equivalent — fast first byte, HTTP/2, Brotli compression, CDN for static assets. Lighthouse mobile 85+ guaranteed.

Where it fits

This service is the right call when the brand needs a visual moment that ranks beyond the average competitor — agencies pitching new business, premium e-commerce, portfolios that need to look ahead-of-curve. If you need a basic content site or blog, a static-site generator without 3D is more economical and ranks just as well for simple keyword targets.

Frequently asked questions

Do you handle hosting?

First year of hosting is included in the project price. After that, hosting runs about \$10-30/month depending on traffic class. I don't lock you in — you can move to any modern provider at any time, all assets travel with the codebase.

What's your revision policy?

Two rounds of revision within original scope are included. Out-of-scope changes are quoted separately before any work happens. After delivery, I include 30 days of post-launch support for bug fixes and minor adjustments at no additional cost.

How long does this take?

Standard scope: 4-6 weeks from contract signature to live site. Larger scope (configurator, multi-scene scrollytelling) takes 8-12 weeks. Rush projects (2-3 weeks) are accepted with a 30-40% rush surcharge.

What does it cost?

Hero-section 3D upgrade: \$1,500-\$2,500. Full multi-scene 3D site: \$3,500-\$8,000. Configurator with custom shaders: \$5,000-\$12,000. All fixed-price, source code included. EUR equivalents on request.

What if my visitors are on weak phones?

The site detects device tier before the first scene loads and serves a lighter version on weak hardware (fewer particles, simpler shaders). Devices without WebGL get a static fallback that preserves the visual language and conversion path.

Ready to ship a 3D experience?

Tell me what you need — fixed price, fixed deadline, no surprises.

Get a quote +381 61 224 8989