Are you struggling to decide between WordPress and online website builders like Wix, Squarespace or Weebly for creating your website?
With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to choose the right platform that aligns with your needs and goals.
WordPress, the most popular website-building tool and offers amazing flexibility and scalability for anyone looking to build website.
On the other hand, website builders provide an all-in-one solution with a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, making them ideal for beginners seeking a fast and easy way to build a simple website.
This comprehensive guide will explore the key differences between WordPress and website builders, their strengths and weaknesses, and recommended use cases for each. Whether you’re a business owner, blogger or developer, you’ll gain valuable insights to make an informed decision and choose the platform that best suits your specific requirements.
Video: Should I Use WordPress or a Website Builder to Create My Website?
Why and When To Use WordPress?
Since it’s start in 2003 as a blogging platform, WordPress has evolved into the most dominant CMS in the market, powering over 43.2% of websites as of 2024. One of the key strengths of WordPress is its user-friendly interface, empowering you to easily navigate the backend, edit pages, and upload new content.
WordPress Features and Flexibility
WordPress offers unparalleled flexibility with nearly 60,000 free and paid plugins available, allowing you to customize and enhance any site’s functionality. It’s also SEO-ready, with robust plugins like Yoast SEO to optimize content, target keywords, add page titles and meta descriptions, and more. Responsive websites are crucial, and WordPress themes like Kadence are built with responsiveness in mind, ensuring your site looks great on any device.
Customization options
Being an open-source software, WordPress allows you to study, change, and redistribute its source code, saving development time and costs by utilizing existing code. This open-source nature also provides flexibility when working with third-party partners or agencies, as you’re not stuck with proprietary software.
Plugins and themes
While regular updates are vital for security, they can sometimes cause issues, requiring you to revert to an older WordPress version. Additionally, some themes may contain unnecessary code, decreasing site speed. However, frameworks like Kadence offer a compelling array of lightweight features suitable for most clients.
SEO Capabilities
WordPress is widely regarded as superior for SEO due to several key features and capabilities that enhance a website’s visibility on search engines. It’s technically designed to be search engine optimized, generating clean code, providing options for optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs, and supporting SEO plugins, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site.
One of the strongest advantages of WordPress is the availability of powerful SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, and Rank Math. These plugins provide a suite of tools that help optimize on-page SEO elements, including meta titles, descriptions, XML sitemaps, breadcrumbs, and keyword optimization. They also offer insights and suggestions for improving the content’s SEO score.
WordPress Visual Builders
If you’re still hesitant to dive in and use WordPress Builder, there is another great feature that this platform offers. It’s the use of visual builders which are somewhat similar to website builders. These visual builders like Elementor and Bricks Builder that can be added as a plugin to WordPress are known for their user-friendly interfaces and powerful features, making website building easier for both beginners and experienced users.
WordPress builders offers a visual drag-and-drop development environment that allows users to build, edit, and preview web pages in real-time without the need for coding or switching between screens.
The drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to create entire pages from scratch or edit existing pages by simply selecting elements from the sidebar menu, dragging them onto the desired location, and customizing as needed.
They also pack a ton of functionality reducing the need for multiple third-party plugins, which can weigh down a site.
Pros & Cons of Using WordPress
Pros of WordPress include its beginner-friendly interface, ability to create almost any type of website (blog, online store, wiki page), handling high traffic volumes, frequent updates for increased security, and a vibrant community.
There are however some disadvantages especially for beginners. Potential cons include the overwhelming number of options, challenges in keeping up with updates, security vulnerabilities, optimizing site speed, and the potential high cost of custom WordPress solutions.
Video: Best Website Builders. Top 5 Recommendations
What are Website Builders and When To Use Them?
Website builders are tools that allow users to create and design websites without needing to write any code. These platforms typically offer a variety of pre-designed templates and drag-and-drop interfaces, making it easy for individuals and businesses to build professional-looking websites quickly and with minimal technical knowledge.
Popular examples of website builders include Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly, GoDaddy builder, Shopify, Hostinger, Webflow & Duda.
Features and Usability
One of the key advantages of website builders is their ease of use. They provide a drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to add and rearrange elements on your website without writing code. Additionally, website builders offer a wide selection of pre-designed templates, enabling you to achieve a unique and professional look for your site.
Some website builders, like Squarespace, are known for their clean, modern, and mobile-friendly templates. Wix, on the other hand, is known for its powerful design tools and customization options. However, it’s important to note that website builders have limitations in terms of SEO capabilities and advanced features compared to self hosted Content Management Systems like WordPress.
Pros & Cons of Using Website Builders
Website builders offer a multitude of advantages that make them an attractive option for individuals and businesses looking to create a professional online presence quickly and efficiently.
Website Builders Pros:
- No coding skills required
- No design skills required
- Free or cheap packages available
- Fast website creation
- Minimal need for training
While website builders offer numerous advantages, they also come with certain disadvantages that can impact their suitability for specific needs and goals.
Website Builders Cons:
- Various customization limitations
- Restricted features & plugins
- Not custom-designed
- Poor Google rankings & SEO
- Lack of customer support
- Not suitable for large businesses
- Slow website loading times
- Limited functionality for e-commerce
While website builders offer a convenient and user-friendly solution for creating a website, it’s essential to consider their limitations and weigh them against your specific needs and goals.
The Main Differences Between WordPress and Website Builders
Website Builders and WordPress Comparison
While WordPress and website builders share the common goal of creating websites, they differ significantly in terms of features, flexibility, and overall capabilities.
Here are some key factors that distinguish WordPress from Website Builders:
- Ownership and Control: With WordPress, you have full ownership and control over your website’s content, design, and functionality. Website builders, on the other hand, often impose restrictions and limitations, as you’re essentially renting their platform.
Winner: WordPress - Customization and Flexibility: WordPress offers unparalleled customization options through its vast ecosystem of themes and plugins. Website builders, while user-friendly, tend to have limited customization capabilities, especially for advanced features.
Winner: WordPress - Scalability and Growth: WordPress is highly scalable, allowing your website to grow and evolve as your needs change. Website builders may not be as suitable for large-scale or complex projects due to their inherent limitations.
Winner: WordPress - Cost and Pricing: While WordPress itself is free, you’ll need to factor in costs for hosting, themes, and potentially premium plugins or development services. Website builders often have monthly or annual subscription fees, with additional charges for advanced features.
Winner: WordPress - Technical Knowledge Required: WordPress requires some technical knowledge, especially for more advanced customizations. Website builders are generally more beginner-friendly, with drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-designed templates.
Winner: Website Builders - Search Engine Optimization (SEO): WordPress is widely regarded as more SEO-friendly, providing greater control over on-page optimization factors. Website builders may have limited SEO capabilities or require additional plugins or services.
Winner: WordPress - Ecommerce Capabilities: WordPress, combined with ecommerce plugins like WooCommerce, offers robust ecommerce functionality. Website builders may have more limited ecommerce features or require additional paid plans or integrations.
Winner: WordPress
These are just a few of the key factors to consider when choosing between WordPress and website builders. Ultimately, your decision should be based on your specific needs, goals, and technical expertise.
Specific Uses
Using WordPress is more complicated than website builders, yet it provides more possibilities for website customization. Here are a few cases when you should choose WordPress over a website builder:
- Websites with dynamic interactive content: Websites that display different versions depending on the visitor’s location, time, user account, and input require server-side scripting or a WordPress plugin.
- Membership sites: Another good use of WordPress is creating a membership site. Many membership plugins, such as MemberPress, offer great user registration and member management features.
- Large-scale eCommerce websites: Building a large-scale eCommerce website is better with WordPress. There’s no product limit, so you don’t have to worry as your business grows and the product listing increases. Additionally, you will have more options to use a suitable hosting service to accommodate the growing traffic.
- Unique functionality or design: WordPress is the best solution to build a website with unique functionality or design, such as a corporate website. With thousands of plugins available, you can cherry-pick them to enable advanced features like live chat support and website caching.
- Full control and ownership: WordPress lets you control various aspects of your website, such as the type of hosting you use. Moreover, the website is completely yours, and you can easily download all the website files as a backup or when you want to move to a different web host.
A website builder is a more straightforward solution to create a website. It’s easy to set up and beginner-friendly, but it also has more limitations compared to WordPress.
That said, using a website builder is a good option in the following cases:
- Beginners: Website builders are best for people with no experience in building websites. Their all-in-one subscription solution cuts some steps in the web creation process, such as getting web hosting and installing a CMS.
- Basic websites: Website builders are great for creating a basic website to provide information to visitors and create an online presence, such as portfolios, online catalogs, and landing pages.
- Quick website creation: A drag-and-drop website builder is better than WordPress when you have little time available for the site creation process. With just a few clicks, you can create a functional and beautiful website.
Why WordPress is Superior. Personal Recommendation
While I used both WordPress & Website Builders, personally I prefer to use WordPress.
I have full control and ownership over WordPress websites I create. I can easily download all the website files as a backup or when I want to move to a different web host. The same cannot be said for website builders. If you stop paying or the company decides to close down, the website files are lost or held by the company. There is no way to move a website from Squarespace to Wix or between any other website builder platforms.
Unlimited Customization Possibilities
With WordPress, you have unparalleled flexibility to expand your website’s functionality. You can install thousands of free and paid plugins to enable advanced features like live chat support and website caching. Additionally, there are plenty of options to customize the site’s appearance to suit your preferences.
If none of the available plugins or themes satisfy your requirements, you can customize the open-source WordPress software’s code itself. For example, use a WordPress framework to create a custom theme or edit the PHP files to modify a plugin’s functionality. You can even hire a WordPress developer to build a bespoke website from scratch.
Third-Party Involvement and Extensibility
Unlike website builders that limit you to their proprietary add-ons and extensions, WordPress allows seamless third-party involvement. You can integrate any external service or tool with your WordPress site, enabling endless possibilities for growth and scalability.
Considering these factors, I strongly recommend choosing WordPress over website builders, especially for businesses seeking a robust, customizable online presence with room for expansion. While website builders are beginner-friendly, their limitations become apparent as your needs evolve. WordPress offers the perfect balance of user-friendliness and versatility, making it the superior choice for long-term success.
WordPress & Website Builders FAQs
Q: Should I opt for a website builder or WordPress for creating a website?
If speed and ease of use are your priorities, and you prefer not to engage in frequent updates or maintenance, a website builder is recommended. However, if you require more customization options and features and are willing to handle a steeper learning curve and more hands-on management, WordPress is the better choice.
Q: What are some alternatives to WordPress that might be better for certain uses?
For online eCommerce stores, Shopify is a strong alternative to WordPress. It is a dedicated platform that offers robust features tailored specifically for eCommerce, making it an excellent choice for store owners.
Q: What is the most popular website builder?
According to website builder statistics and market share data, Wix is the most popular website builder and has over 200 million users worldwide and powers over 5.5 million live websites. Other popular website builders include Squarespace, Weebly, GoDaddy Website Builder, Shopify, Duda.
Conclusion
Deciding which platform to use is a major decision when it comes to building the website.
While website builders offer a beginner-friendly and straightforward approach, WordPress emerges as the superior choice for businesses seeking long-term growth, customization, and scalability. Its open-source nature, vast ecosystem of plugins and themes, and robust ecommerce capabilities make it the ideal solution for creating unique, dynamic websites tailored to your specific needs.
Ultimately, the decision between WordPress and website builders depends on your goals, technical expertise, and the complexity of your project. If you require a simple, informational website or have limited resources, website builders can be a viable option.
However, for those seeking complete control, flexibility, and room for expansion, WordPress is the way to go. If you need assistance in building or updating your website, don’t hesitate to contact us for expert guidance and support.
