Should I use WordPress or build from scratch?

When you are planning to build a website, you have the option of building it from scratch or using a website builder or Content Management System like WordPress. The option you pick depends on many factors. We will explore some of them in this article.

If you want more control, extreme levels of customization, and to sharpen your web development skills, you should build your website from scratch. However, building a website from scratch can be very expensive and time-consuming, especially if the website is huge.

In order to build a website from scratch, you need to have a good understanding of web development, from front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, and Javascript to server-side languages, databases, APIs, and more.

Alternatively, you can hire a team of developers to build it for you. You also need to make sure that your website is secure, scalable, reliable, and easy to use.

On the other hand, if you want to set up your website as quickly as possible, without having to worry about security and scalability, using WordPress is the best approach. With WordPress, you will have a fully functional website with loads of features without writing a single line of code.

WordPress takes care of all the heavy lifting for you. It has hundreds of customizable templates made by world-class developers to make your website look professional. You can also extend the functionality of your website using plugins.

WordPress is trusted by a lot of companies and individuals. It is used by many companies such as

• BBC
• TechCrunch
• Sony
• CNN
• Disney
• Wired
• Spotify
• Etsy
• IBM
• Microsoft
• New York Times
• Vogue
• Mozilla
• Havard
• New York Post
• Dallas Mavericks
• Facebook
• Toyota
• Reuters, and many others.

This trust and usage by a lot of companies show that you can trust WordPress. To make a WordPress website, you need a domain name and web hosting. You can buy Web Hosting from Bluehost and get a free domain for one year.

Once you have web hosting and a domain name, you can install WordPress and then install a theme, within a few minutes, you will have a fully working website that you can customize to your liking. This process is very easy to do.

IS MAKING A WORDPRESS WEBSITE WORTH IT?

Yes, making a WordPress website is worth it because it provides a lot of advantages. Using WordPress helps you to save a lot of time and money than building your website from scratch.

WordPress helps you to make many types of websites, you can build eCommerce sites, blogs, News sites, membership sites, forums, professional business sites, portfolios, Video & image sites, and more.

There are many other advantages that make building a website with WordPress worth it. Here are some of them.

• WORDPRESS IS FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE

WordPress is an open-source software meaning that you can use it for any type of project you want, from commercial to personal projects. There are a lot of developers who are working hard to make it powerful, reliable, secure, scalable, and flexible.

WordPress is free to use, all you need is to get hosting from a web hosting company like Bluehost (which comes with a free domain for one year). Then you can easily install WordPress and your website will be live in no time.

• WORDPRESS IS EASY TO USE

Making websites with WordPress is very easy and straightforward, you don’t need to be tech-savvy, and no coding skills are required. As long as you can read and understand, you will be able to make WordPress websites without problems.

While it may take weeks or months for web developers to build a website from scratch, with WordPress you can make a powerful full-fledged website in a few minutes or hours. Once you have a theme, you can add more functionality to your website using plugins.

You can find more amazing themes and plugins on marketplaces like Envato

• WORDPRESS IS EASY TO MAINTAIN

WordPress websites are not only easy to use when getting started, they are also easy to maintain.

You can update your website’s theme and plugins, manage comments, back-up your website, add new users and admins, and do many other tasks all at a click of a button, plus there are many indicators in WordPress to help you keep your site healthy.

To make it even easier to maintain your websites, you can use managed hosting like Liquid Web (Try it for free) to take care of maintenance tasks for you, managed hosting offers automated backups, website optimization, and very quick support.

• WORDPRESS IS SECURE

Although there is no website or content management system that is 100% secure, WordPress developers take security very seriously by pushing out new updates and security patches, this is why it is trusted by many big companies.

You can also make sure that your WordPress website remains safe by using a strong password, installing security plugins, updating themes and plugins, implementing a 2-Factor Authentication, and updating the WordPress CMS when there is a new update.

• WORDPRESS HAS A HUGE COMMUNITY

WordPress has a huge community of helpful developers and users who are willing to help in case you get stuck with anything. There are plenty of useful resources to help you with nearly any WordPress-related question.

A huge community with many discussions around a platform is helpful for innovation and improvement of the platform.

• WORDPRESS REST API

If you are a developer, you can use WordPress as a headless Content Management System through the WordPress REST API. This means you will be able to create your own custom mobile and web applications with a WordPress backend.

You can use any frontend framework of your choices like React, Vue, or Angular to make your own custom application. This makes development very easy than starting from scratch. WordPress will provide you with many endpoints to achieve this.

IS BUILDING A WEBSITE FROM SCRATCH WORTH IT?

Although there are many website builders and content management systems that can help you to build a website easily and quickly, building a website from scratch offers great flexibility, a unique design approach, high levels of customization, and more.

There are many advantages to building a website from scratch. Here are some of them.

• EVERY LINE OF CODE COUNTS

When you build a website from scratch, you make sure that every line of code you write counts, you will not have extra code or extra files that your website will not use. When you use a website builder or a CMSs, it is going to generate a lot of files and code that you may not need.

Extra files and code will translate to extra loading and file downloading time for your website, which will result in a slow website. Thus, writing a website from scratch will ensure that you have no unnecessary code or files.

• UNIQUE DESIGN

If you build your website from scratch, you will not be limited by what the website builder WordPress offers you. WordPress may be limited by the themes and plugins available.

When you build your website from scratch, you will be able to implement your own design pattern, your own file structure, and more. You will have a unique design both in visual (how your website looks) and in code structure.

• ENHANCES UNDERSTANDING

Building a website from scratch will enhance your understanding of programming and ultimately develop your coding skills. You will be able to understand how to do a lot of things with your code without relying on website builders or content management systems.

Rather than just using a CMS with the code already written for you and upgrading to the latest version, you will be able to learn new technologies and understand how they work when you develop your projects from the ground up.

Building a website from scratch is worth it, it will help you to understand how code works without the abstraction of Content Management Systems like WordPress. This understanding is what makes you a better developer.

WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF BUILDING A WEBSITE FROM SCRATCH?

Building a website from scratch may not be the best approach in some cases. There are some disadvantages that may deter you from building a website from scratch, here are some of them

• TAKES A LOT OF TIME

Building a website from scratch takes a lot of development time. You will have to write code for nearly every task, this takes a lot of time. You also have to do a lot of testing to make sure your website is secure and working properly.

• CODE COMPLEXITY

When you build a website from scratch, you will write a lot of code to achieve all the functionality of your website (especially if it is huge), this may result in a lot of code and files. The more your codebase grows, the more difficult it becomes to maintain and debug.

• EXPENSIVE

Building a website from scratch can be expensive, you may need professional developers to make your website secure, scalable, and reliable. On the other hand, Content Management Systems like WordPress are inexpensive and do not require in-depth technical skills.

CONCLUSION

Using WordPress is one of the best ways to make a website. WordPress takes care of all the heavy lifting for you so that you can focus on growing your website. You can add more features and functionality to your website using plugins.

Make your own WordPress website with Bluehost. Buy Web Hosting and get a free domain for one year.