There are a lot of website builders that exist on the Internet. When do you need one? Should I Make a Website with a Website Builder or Web Developer? Website builders make it easy for people that don’t know how to code to make their website. There are pros and cons of website builders.
Some popular website builders that exist on the Internet are:
- WordPress
- Squarespace
- Shopify
- Wix
- Weebly
- Webflow
My Experience
I have had the experience of using a website builder for a client’s website, and I was working with the church’s creative director to build their website. They recently had a WordPress site for their website, but the site needed to be updated, and the PHP code on the back end of that site was outdated, and I didn’t know how to update it either.
This site was slow, according to Google page speed insights. There were points in the process when we were frustrated because Webflow did not have all the needed features.
Cons
Limited Functionality. Website builders have limited functionality versus coding your website. The church listed its events through a third-party content management system.
This system stored all the church’s events, but you could not show the events on the Webflow site. I could have manually written the code to get all the events, and the events could have been displayed on the page if they went the custom route.
Lack of Customization. Using website builders is known as “What You See Is What You Get.” I am familiar with WordPress, which has templates for your website’s design, known as themes. However, since many websites use WordPress, you have similar themes and do not have the originality you do on a custom-built site.
Limited Storage. There is only so much you can store on the backend of the website builder and some website builders. If you want more storage, you have to cough up some money.
So you hit the storage quota for your chosen website builder, but unfortunately, you can’t store any more images, audio files, or PDFs, so you can’t keep the picture of your cute dog Fluffy.
May Have To Pay Monthy. When I was helping with the Webflow website, there was an upcharge for more functionality and having more than one person work on it simultaneously, and you had to pay more for extra features. They tried to make you buy more features.
Pros
No/Low Coding Knowledge. A website builder is your best friend if you have no or low coding knowledge. You can get running in minutes.
Easier to Maintain. A website using a web builder is easier to maintain if you have no coding knowledge.
Even though I was frustrated with Webflow, I realized that it was better for the client so that he could maintain it without having to come back to me.
Time. If you need a website soon and don’t want to wait for a developer to build your website from scratch, which can take many months, website builders make developing websites a breeze. They usually have a drag-and-drop interface to get you up and running with your needed content.
When to Use a Website Builder?
You should use a website builder if you need a website right away, and if you have a small marketing page, you should use it.
As a Web Developer, it sure was frustrating utilizing these website builders, but if it is better for the client, they are necessary.
Website builders, especially WordPress, are great for blogs and can get you rolling quickly. However, using a website builder for a business that wants to grow is a gamble because it might need extra functionality at some point.
When to Use a Developer?
It would be best to use a developer to build a website when you need advanced functionality, and many website builders may not have the features or integrations that someone needs.
As your business grows, you may need advanced functionality not supported by a website builder. Suppose those features are detrimental to your business. It can be a challenge to find a website builder that has all the features that you need.
Suppose you found out that the website builder does not have that feature. What do you do now? You are stuck and kicking yourself for not going the custom route.
You think you will hire a developer to make that feature and integrate it with the website, but unfortunately, the builder is closed source, meaning it is impossible to access the source code.
So you need to start from scratch and use a developer, which leads to more money because you spent a lot on the website builder.
The church I worked with wanted the events displayed on the website. Still, unfortunately, the website builder did not have any integrations for that content management system, and the events link took you to a different website, which is not great if you want to keep people on your webpage.
Conclusion
Be sure that if you decide to make a website, you weigh all the pros and cons. I hope that this article has helped you and others.
If you want to learn to code to make a website for yourself, friends, or freelance, check out my article on freelancing.
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Enjoyed this article—super informative! It’s great to see the pros and cons laid out so clearly between using website builders and hiring developers. Your insights help in understanding what might work best depending on project needs. Could you recommend any specific website builders or developers for small business sites? Thanks for breaking it down so nicely! Excited to weigh my options now.
I just completed a client website on Wix. it was really basic. Check it out:https://phillipsjt71.wixsite.c…. Not exactly optimized, but the client only gave me four days to do it, and they didn’t care about the optimization.
Hey Jordan, what a great article! I have been trying to figure out a few things about the design of my WordPress website. I have used a designer before and wanted to do it on my own. WordPress can be very impressive for most websites, but when it comes to implementing things like WooCommerce and inventory and such I am finding it gets difficult.
It’s absolutely essential to weigh the pros and cons before you build out your website so you can pick the best route to take. Bummer that the church wasn’t able to connect their events to their site with the web builder. I imagine the web builders are typically geared towards small or solo businesses that don’t have the same requirements a larger business would need. Of the builders you listed, which one do you feel has the most functionality?
I actually don’t have a lot of experience with web site builders because I do not like playing by their rules.
Like that quote from dirty dancing, “Nobody puts baby in the corner”.
You are correct, they are ideal for smaller websites. I just made a client website on Wix and the church website on Web Flow; however, Web Flow didn’t have the functionality that the church needed. That’s the downside of the website builder; you start using one, and then you realize it doesn’t have all the functionality you need.
Hello Jordan and thank you for this.
I enjoyed going through this breakdown of using website builders versus hiring a web developer. It’s helped me to clarify some of the options for my own website.
I have a couple of questions if you do not mind?
The first one is, do you think the type of product or service being offered should influence the choice between these two options?
And I was also wondering, given the significant cost differences between the two options, do you think the type of product or service you are offering should sway the decision towards one over the other?
I enjoyed my visit.
Thank you
Yes, depending on what you want. There is a difference. A website builder is usually not as scalable as a custom-made website. But if it’s just some marketing website, the website builder is the way to go. I just made a client website a the website builder.
Making a custom-made website will always be more expensive; however, you have more control over the code and don’t have to play by the website builders’ rules. Also, depending on the specific functionality you need, it could potentially cost the same amount of money as a custom-made website because there are a lot of plug-ins that cost money for that specific functionality on the website builder.
Thanks Jordan, I appreciate you getting back to me.
I have done some more research and yes, A custom made site can cost more, but in all honest you get what you pay for right?
This is the option I will probably go ahead with, there is a learning curve of course, but that goes with the territory.
Thanks again my friend. I was happy to hear back from you.
Chris
Ya there are pros and cons of each
Hi there!
This is a fantastic breakdown of the website-building dilemma.
As a web developer, I’ve navigated through various tools, and indeed, the capabilities of modern website creation tools often exceed expectations and they alone can often satisfy customer needs.
For immediate needs and simpler projects, they can be a perfect fit.
Thanks for sharing!