benefit of custom code

Benefits of Hand-Coded Websites Compared to WordPress and Page Builders

houseSoh Feb 7, 2024

WordPress and other page builders such as Wix or Squarespace have long been popular options for building websites due to their user-friendliness, versatility and affordability. However, as the web development industry evolves, many businesses and individuals are finding that these platforms' limitations no longer align with their needs. This article explores the benefits of a hand-coded, custom website over a WordPress or page builder-built website and why this approach is becoming increasingly popular.

Performance Advantage

Performance is crucial for any website and hand-coded sites have a clear edge in speed. With websites playing a vital role in information delivery, it's essential that your site loads as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, many WordPress and page builder sites fail to load within a reasonable timeframe, causing potential clients to abandon the site.

There are several reasons why WordPress and page builder websites often suffer from poor loading times, including:

  • Large, unoptimized images
  • Overuse of plugins
  • Poor website hosting
  • Serving excessive, bloated code to users

WordPress and page builder sites are categorized as dynamic, requiring additional server-side processing steps, which can negatively impact loading times. In contrast, hand-coded websites are static, consisting of plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript files served directly to the user's browser without extra processing.

At our agency, we specialize in web performance and our hand-coded websites load instantly due to:

  • Optimization and compression of assets like images and videos
  • No reliance on plugins
  • Use of fast Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
  • Clean and minimal code structure

Google's ranking algorithm favors faster websites, making speed a critical factor for search engine optimization (SEO). Our competitors in the area often struggle with slow-loading sites, but at our agency, we offer some of the highest-performing websites.

Enhanced Security

Security is another crucial aspect of web development and WordPress is well-known for its vulnerabilities. Third-party plugins that WordPress relies on for added functionality can introduce vulnerabilities if not updated regularly or poorly coded. Many WordPress themes are still outdated with known security vulnerabilities.

Improper WordPress configuration can also make sites vulnerable to attacks and agencies charge thousands to address these security concerns. In contrast, static websites have superior security due to their simplicity. With no dynamic content, there are fewer potential attack vectors for hackers to exploit.

At our agency, we meticulously hand-code each website, ensuring industry-standard quality assurance and eliminating the need for plugins or themes that could introduce vulnerabilities.

Responsive Design and Mobile-First Approach

With over half of internet usage coming from mobile phones, responsive design is essential for providing a consistent and optimal user experience across devices. Google also prefers and ranks mobile-friendly websites higher.

Unfortunately, page builders like Wix or Squarespace and WordPress themes often struggle with responsive design. These platforms typically start with desktop designs and cram everything down for mobile devices, which can be challenging for experienced developers.

Our agency takes a mobile-first approach, building websites for mobile screens first and then adding code for larger devices. We use industry-leading testing platforms like Browserstack to ensure mobile responsiveness and browser compatibility across all our websites.

Conclusion

While website builders like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy may seem like a cost-effective option, their "free" plans often come with hidden fees and limitations. Using generic templates can result in poor website performance and low Google search rankings.

To achieve a truly effective web presence, investing in a hand-coded static website is recommended. These websites are known for their high performance, SEO benefits, robust security and unique design capabilities.

Our agency specializes in hand-coded websites with annual subscription fee. Let us handle the technical aspects so you can focus on growing your business. For more information, please don't hesitate to reach out.