Building and maintaining a website these days doesn’t have to be expensive. Though there are several free or budget-friendly platforms you can use, two of the most popular options are WordPress and website builders.
Both choices can provide you with a powerful and easy-to-use system for publishing and managing online content. The platforms are almost identical in the way they function; however, each can bring a few unique elements to the table that might convince you to choose one over the other.
WordPress vs. Website Builders
WordPress started as a platform for bloggers but over the years it gradually opened its doors to all kinds of online personalities. It has hosted every conceivable type of website. And today, WordPress has blossomed into a stellar content management system.
Website Builders do not have the same flexibility that WordPress offers but they are far easier to operate. A typical website builder comes with a drag-and-drop interface. If you see a design element you like, all you have to do is drag it towards the page you want. As you’re building your online platform, you are even allowed to see your progress.
Which One is Right for You?
That depends entirely on what you need and want. To make it easier for you to decide, we’ve laid out several key elements that are necessary to the development process. We’ve also determined the pros and cons of using WordPress and website builders.
- Ease of Use
A form editor like WordPress is designed for dynamic websites that feature ever-changing content. If you plan on building a platform that hosts rich media like videos, this might be what’s best for you. The downside is that you might have to tweak the code yourself to get the theme or plugin right. If you don’t want anything to do with that, you might want to consider the drag-and-drop interface of a website builder.
Though it’s easier to set up, most website builders’ visual editors work best for static pages. In fact, experts at BedRock IT company from Ottawa believe that this is the perfect choice for resumes and online photo albums. On the other hand, there are a handful of website builders that can already support media-rich content. Their interface may be up to par or even better than WordPress’s form editor.
- Flexibility
The massive WordPress community is responsible for thousands and thousands of plugins and themes that are available to all its patrons. These add-ons make the platform more flexible than any website builder. The only problem with this is that you occasionally have to tweak the plugins yourself.
Although website builders will never have a collection of plugins as large as WordPress’ selection, theirs will never need configurations.
- Hosting
Hosting is an inherent feature of a website builder. There’s no need to configure hosting if you choose to purchase a domain name with your chosen website builder. WordPress, on the other hand, requires you to install it on a PHP and MySQL web host. But this has its advantages. Since you upload WordPress to a host, it should be easy for you to export the platform you made and move it to another host of your choosing. With a website builder, you wouldn’t be able to do that.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you need and probably what you can afford. If you’re working with a tiny budget, maybe you can start with a free website builder and find out if it works out for you. If it doesn’t, then maybe it’s time to install WordPress.
as you as mentioned on your great post. i choose website builder cause they are far easier to operate and i really support this platform. but before i have confusing about to use wordpress or website. thank you very much. this is such a great post!