I’m trying to get a team of non-coders up to speed with browser automation. Rather than having everyone build from scratch, I thought templates would be the way to go. Found a template for extracting product listings from websites, another for form filling, and I figured we could just adapt them to our use cases.
But I’m wondering what the reality is. Do templates actually save time, or do you end up spending just as much time customizing them as you would building something from zero? I’m specifically interested in data extraction and form filling since those are our main workflows.
Has anyone actually used templates successfully, or do they end up being more hassle than they’re worth?
Templates are huge time savers if you pick the right ones. For data extraction, a good template handles the browser navigation, element targeting, and data formatting already. Your team just swaps in their specific site URLs and field names.
Form filling is similar. A template shows you the flow structure, error handling, and how to map data into form fields. Then you customize just the part that’s unique to your forms.
The key is that templates let non-coders focus on the business logic, not the technical plumbing. You still need some customization, but it’s maybe 20% of the work instead of 100%.
Templates saved us probably a month of learning curve for our team. The thing that made the difference was having templates built specifically for the type of work we do. Generic templates? Less helpful. Domain-specific ones? Game changer.
For data extraction, we used a template that already handled pagination, dynamic loading, and error states. We just had to adjust the CSS selectors and field mapping. Maybe four hours per template instead of forty.
But I’d say 30-40% of our templates still needed tweaks because our sites had weird edge cases the template didn’t anticipate.
The real value of templates isn’t eliminating work—it’s eliminating unknowns. When your team starts with a blank canvas, they don’t know what they don’t know. A template shows them the patterns, the gotchas, and the structure of a working automation.
For form filling specifically, templates are excellent because form interactions follow predictable patterns. You’re filling fields, handling validation errors, and submitting. A template demonstrates all of that. The customization needed is usually just field names and submission logic.
Data extraction is trickier because every website is different. Templates help more if they’re from similar sites in your industry.
Templates provide a foundation but require domain knowledge to customize effectively. The customization effort depends on how similar your target sites are to the template’s original use case. If you’re extracting from sites with similar structure, customization is minimal. If the structure is significantly different, you’re rebuilding substantial parts.
For form filling, templates typically require less customization since form interactions are standardized. The bigger challenge is usually field validation and error handling specific to each form.
Templates save maybe 50-70% of time for basic tasks. Customization usually takes 10-20% additional effort. Worth it if you have multiple similar workflows.