WordPress vs a custom website
A fair comparison of WordPress and a custom-built website for small businesses: editing, upkeep, speed, security and cost over time.
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The short answer
WordPress is a flexible, widely used system with a huge choice of themes and plugins, and it is a good choice when you or your team will edit the site often. A custom, prebuilt site has less to maintain and tends to be faster and simpler, but you do not edit it in an admin screen. We build the second kind, so we explain the trade-offs plainly.
What each option is
WordPress is free, open-source software that runs on a hosting account and stores your pages in a database. A custom prebuilt site is a set of finished pages with no database, built to your content.
- WordPress: you or a developer choose a theme and plugins and keep everything updated
- Custom prebuilt site: pages designed and written for you, hosted without a database
Editing
WordPress has a built-in editor, and many people learn it quickly. That is its biggest strength if you want to add pages, posts or products yourself. On our sites you message us and we make the change; small edits are part of the care plans.
Upkeep
A WordPress site needs regular updates to the core software, the theme and every plugin, plus backups and security checks. Skipping them is the most common way WordPress sites break or get hacked. A prebuilt site has no database and no plugins to update, so there is much less that can go wrong; the care plan then mostly watches that the site and the form work.
Speed
A WordPress site can be fast when it is built carefully, but every plugin and heavy theme adds weight, and cheap shared hosting can be slow. Prebuilt pages start light, because they only send finished pages. We check the Google Lighthouse score before delivery.
Security
Any system that has a login, a database and third-party plugins has more to defend. WordPress is widely used, so it is a frequent target, and keeping it updated is the main defense. A prebuilt site has a much smaller surface to attack. No site is perfectly safe, and any provider who says otherwise is exaggerating.
Cost over time
WordPress itself is free, but you pay for hosting, a premium theme or plugins if you want them, and for someone to maintain it. A prebuilt site with us is $900, $1,900 or $3,200 one time, hosting is $0 a month, and care is optional at $39 or $89 a month. Compare the full-year total, not only the first invoice.
Ownership
With WordPress you own the files and the database if you host them yourself, and you can move them. With our sites the domain is in your name and you receive the code and all access at launch. In both cases, make sure that the domain and the hosting account are in your name.
When WordPress is the better choice
Choose WordPress if you will publish new pages or posts every week, if you need a plugin-based feature, a blog-driven site, a larger store or a team of editors, or if you already have a developer you trust.
When a custom prebuilt site is the better choice
Choose it if you want a fast, reliable site that rarely changes, with nothing to update, and you are happy to send us changes by message. That fits most local service businesses.
What your customers search for
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Questions
Is WordPress good for a small business?
Yes, when someone keeps it updated and secure and you need to edit often. If the site rarely changes, it can be more than you need.
Do WordPress sites need maintenance?
Yes. The core, theme and plugins need updates, and backups and security checks are part of keeping it healthy.
Is a custom site faster than WordPress?
Often, because prebuilt pages are light, but a carefully built WordPress site can be fast too. Test any site with Google PageSpeed Insights.
Can you move my WordPress site?
Yes. We rebuild it as a fast prebuilt site on your domain; see website redesign. Your old pages are redirected so search traffic is kept.
Can I edit a custom site myself?
Not in an admin screen. We make small edits for you under the care plans.
Which costs less over a year?
It depends on hosting, plugins and who maintains the site. With us it is a one-time price, $0 hosting and optional care from $39 a month.