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GOV.UK Frontend vs GOV.UK Template

Based on 13 and 10 real audits

View GOV.UK Frontend details | View GOV.UK Template details
MetricGOV.UK FrontendGOV.UK TemplateWinner
Performance7580GOV.UK Template
Accessibility9999Tie
Best Practices100100Tie
SEO9898Tie
Security7881GOV.UK Template
TTFB216ms207msGOV.UK Template
Composite8486GOV.UK Template
Performance
GOV.UK Frontend
75
GOV.UK Template
80
Accessibility
GOV.UK Frontend
99
GOV.UK Template
99
Security
GOV.UK Frontend
78
GOV.UK Template
81
SEO
GOV.UK Frontend
98
GOV.UK Template
98
Composite
GOV.UK Frontend
84
GOV.UK Template
86

GOV.UK Template outperforms GOV.UK Frontend in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (86 vs 84). GOV.UK Frontend leads in no categories.

When to choose GOV.UK Frontend

GOV.UK Frontend doesn't clearly lead GOV.UK Template in any category on the sampled sites — pick it based on developer experience, ecosystem, or existing team skills rather than the audit scores.

When to choose GOV.UK Template

Choose GOV.UK Template when your primary concern is server response time and performance. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 13 audited GOV.UK Frontend sites and 10 audited GOV.UK Template sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

FAQ

Which is faster, GOV.UK Frontend or GOV.UK Template?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, GOV.UK Template sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (80 vs 75 on average).
Which has better security, GOV.UK Frontend or GOV.UK Template?
GOV.UK Template sites score higher on security analysis (81 vs 78 on average).
Which has better accessibility, GOV.UK Frontend or GOV.UK Template?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor GOV.UK Frontend (99 vs 99). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, GOV.UK Frontend or GOV.UK Template?
GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (98 vs 98 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), GOV.UK Frontend or GOV.UK Template?
GOV.UK Template sites show lower Time to First Byte (207 ms vs 216 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose GOV.UK Frontend or GOV.UK Template for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. GOV.UK Template scores higher on overall composite score while GOV.UK Frontend may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
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