Do you want to start a business, have a website, or get your brand out there? To launch your business online, you must create an innovative and smooth website. And that’s not even the first step. The website’s performance and visuals must be optimized for both mobile and desktop views. But should you contact a website developer to create a custom website or use a website builder tool?
In this article, we’ll explore the field of web development. We’ll evaluate the positive and negative aspects of both CMS-based website builders and custom websites. Let’s learn more about website-building tools and custom website design.
What is CMS Based Website Builder?
Website builders are web-based tools. Those tools enable the development of websites without any need for special Programming skills or manual coding. Website builders have a simple interface with drag-and-drop features. And Help users to select from a bunch of preset designs and modify the visual appearance of the site however they want.
Websites created with a content management system (CMS) are easier to customize and maintain. Website builders have all the advantages of traditional website builders, also the additional power and flexibility of CMS.
Examples
Some Popular Websites Builders based on Content Management Systems:
WordPress– WordPress is a content management system for making a website. WordPress is popular for its flexibility and a large number of plugins.
Shopify– Shopify is a CMS-based website builder that features drag-and-drop store customization and powerful content management options.
WiX– Wix.com Ltd. offers site design and development in the cloud. Online drag-and-drop tools make it possible for anyone to make an HTML5 website or mobile site.
What is a Custom Website?
A custom website is created on the basis of a business’s unique needs. A custom website is the opposite of a website builder. It is designed from beginning to end for satisfying the specific style, visual, and functional requirements of the business.
A custom website is built mainly by a professional Web Designer. It would be created by either one person or a web development team.
Examples
A custom website is developed with markup languages such as HTML and CSS, JavaScript, etc. Besides, Python, Ruby, etc are used as a back-end programming language.
If you need to create a website using any approach, Contact- Debuggers Studio
Website Builder VS Custom Website
At this point, we are gonna discuss what are the similarities & Differences between these two approaches.
Similarities between Website Builder & Custom Website
We know that website builder & custom website design both have different approaches. But there are some similarities between them as well. In this part, we will talk about how these two approaches are similar.
Creating a website– A website can be created using either a website builder or a customized technique. But they both have the same intention of making a new website based on product, service, and target audiences.
Responsive Design– Both can make sure that the websites they make are responsive. Also, those look good on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.
Flexible Design– Website builders typically offer a variety of pre-designed themes that customers can change, but custom websites offer more design flexibility. But at the end, Both approaches give the flexibility to design the visual look of their websites.
Capabilities to handle E-commerce– Both custom websites and website builders can have e-commerce features added. You can use their tools to open an online store, manage inventory, accept payments, and monitor purchases as well.
SEO Friendly- If you can optimize properly, they both can be SEO friendly. Many website builder tools provide basic SEO tools like meta tags, URL redirection, and picture alt text.
They often create code that is organized and simple to crawl, which is beneficial to index by search engines. However, with a customized website, the coding is entirely under the control of the developer.
As a result, you can get improved features and search engine friendliness.
Differences between Website Builder & Custom Website
As they are two different approaches to make a website, It is obvious that they have some key differences. Now we are gonna talk about the key differences between them.
| Difference Point | Website Builder | Custom Website |
| Customization Level | Website builders provide a certain amount of customization, but their capabilities lack compared to those of fully customized websites. Looks and content can be customized by the user. But It has limitations on unique designs and detailed functions. | Website builders are effective, but it is cost effective when compare with custom web design. |
| Developing Approach | All you have to do is drag and drop interface into place using a prepared template in a website builder. | Website builders are effective, but it is cost-effective when you compare them with custom web design. |
| Cost Difference | Website builders are effective, but it is cost efficient when compared with custom web design. | But due to the time and skill involved, developing a custom website typically has greater up-front fees rather than website builders. |
| Using Flexibility | Website builders aim to make website creation simple and easy for users with no coding experience | But custom web design without the proper skills may find difficult to use. |
You May Find Useful : The Guide For Small Business Website In 2024
Pros & Cons of Website Builder
Pros of Website Builder
Budget Friendly– When you are using a CMS-based website builder, it would be effective & budget friendly too. You may need a web designer but you can do it by a prepared template. So, it will be affordable.
Prepared Template– You can get the perfect template to suit your company’s needs. Because most of the templates are created with a particular industry in mind, so you have to choose what goes with your business.
User Friendliness– A website builder is not only affordable, but it also requires no design or technical knowledge to use. Select a template that most closely fits your needs, and then modify it how you prefer. You may customize it with a logo and brand colors, images, and videos.
Content Management– Website content management systems easily enable users to add, remove, and modify material. A simple control panel makes it easy to develop, update, and publish content with little effort.
Cons of Website Builder
Non-unique – Website builders offer a range of templates for your site. While others will follow the same template as you. You can customize it but it won’t be unique like a custom website.
Less customization- There may be limitations on how much of a website can be customized using a CMS-based website builder. Limitations on template customization can cause sites to look similar to others that use the same design.
Change Yourself- When You start developing your website with a website builder, you need to work on the basis of a template. Sometimes you need to adapt to the template from out of your choice.
Performance & Speed– Depending on the number of plugins and the size of the chosen template, a CMS-based website may load more slowly than a completely custom-designed website.
Pros & Cons of Custom Website
Pros of Custom Website
Uniqueness– A Professional web designer will work for you to create a unique website that meets all of your needs. It means that in the end, you’ll have a unique design created particularly for your company.
Brand Identity– A web developer can provide all the help you need in creating a unique and memorable brand. They can offer guidance and even create your website’s theme, logo, color, and fonts, among other things.
Your Business can get top level brand value for your customized website.
Custom Solution– You need a customized solution for your website. For instance, If you have a specific vision for your homepage’s design or functionality, A web designer can let you know if it’s feasible and suggest it for your industry and site.
Speed & Performance– Websites that are built from the bottom up can be optimized for speed and performance. It leads to faster loading times and a more satisfying experience overall.
Security– Strong protection against vulnerability and cyber threats can be set up in custom-built websites. You can make better decisions about security standards and apply them with more efficiency.
Cons of Custom Website
Higher Cost– You have to invest a high amount of money to make a custom website. Because you need to hire a web designer & customize the website on the basis of your business need. So, You have to pay more.
Time Consuming– It is more time-consuming compared to a website builder. Professional website design and development might take anything from two weeks to 3 months.
Hiring Professional web designer– There are lots of designers right now. but finding a creative & skillful web designer is a challenge. You have to research a lot about them.
Dependency– When you are making a custom website, you can’t make it on your own, you need to hire someone. Then obviously you have to depend on him. As a business owner, it could be not your preferred fact.
Decide: Which One is best for your Business?
Now the question is What to choose for your business? I’m sure you are here in this article just to know which one is suitable for your Business. So, which one will you prefer? Website Builder or Custom Website?
OK, the answer is based on your needs. Your abilities, resources, and timeline will determine your options. In this article, we compared the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Now, you can pick the one that works best for you.
Our Suggestion for you, If you have small businesses, startups, e-commerce stores you can go with website builder. If you want something simple, user-friendly, and affordable then a website builder is for you.
But, if you have a large organization, Established Business, then you will go for custom website design. If you value uniqueness in design, accuracy in functionality, and scalability in your online presence, then a custom website is for you.
To pick the right choice for your website, you should think about your business’s requirements. Then, think about your level of coding skills, your budget, and your long-term ambitions.
If you need any consultation about this, book a call- Contact with Debuggers Studio
Conclusion
Both Custom Website & Website Builder can make you successful in your business. When it comes to making a website, there is no one best way to do things. It is more crucial to satisfy business owners.
Think about your needs, your skills, your financial resources, and the amount of time you have available.
The pros and cons are discussed in this article and then make the choice that will benefit both you and your business.
