WordPress or a custom website: which suits you?

WordPress is the best-known system for building websites. It is flexible and there are thousands of themes and plugins for it. A custom website is built without such a system, with code that does exactly what your site needs. Both can be a good choice; it depends on what you want the site to do.

Where WordPress is strong

• You can add posts and pages yourself in a familiar environment
• There is a plugin for almost everything
• Many web builders know it, so you are not dependent on one party

Where it often goes wrong

• Speed: heavy themes and many plugins make a site slow, especially on phones
• Maintenance: WordPress, the theme and every plugin need regular updates
• Security: outdated plugins are one of the most common causes of hacked sites
• Licences: paid themes and plugins often cost money every year

Where custom code is strong

• Fast: only the code that is needed, which helps with Google and with mobile visitors
• Little maintenance: no stack of plugins that keep needing updates
• Design without the limits of a theme
• Integrations and features exactly as you want them

What are the downsides of custom code?

If you want to edit many pages yourself every day, a content system like WordPress is sometimes more convenient. And for a change you are more likely to need a developer. For an ordinary business site that changes a few times a year, that usually does not outweigh the speed and lower maintenance.

What to choose

• A blog or news site you update yourself every day: often WordPress
• A business site that has to be fast and easy to find: often custom
• An online store: Shopify or custom, depending on the range and the integrations

How we do it

Velora Studios builds custom websites, with code that is yours after launch. If you want to edit copy yourself, we agree up front how to make that easiest. Not sure what suits you? Ask for a free demo and see the difference yourself.