WordPress, custom code, or page builder? A real-world perspective

The problem isn't the technology, but whether you know what you need

Most people choose technology based on what they've heard or what someone recommended. Rarely does anyone ask the right questions before making a decision:

• What does my website actually need to do?
• How often do I plan to change content?
• Who will maintain it, me or someone else?
• Do I need flexibility or speed of development?
• What story do I want to tell with my website?

Without answers to these things, any technology can be the wrong choice.

WordPress: best until it's the worst

WordPress powers nearly 40% of the internet, it's very popular and everyone has heard of it. This isn't by accident—it's easy to use, has thousands of plugins and themes, and for basic things you don't even need a programmer (almost).

When it's a good choice:

• When you want to launch a blog or site with lots of text content that you change often
• You want to add pages, text, images yourself
• You don't want to depend on a programmer for every small change
• Your budget is limited, but you need something functional

When it becomes a problem:

• Too many plugins slow down the site and create conflicts
• Outdated themes or plugins become security vulnerabilities
• You want something completely custom, but WordPress forces you into a mold—your site looks and functions like many others on the internet
• Updates can "break" the site if everything isn't properly set up

WordPress isn't bad. But poorly used WordPress is. I constantly see sites with 30+ plugins, they're very slow and look generic because no one invested effort in design.

Custom code: total control, but at a cost

Building a site from scratch means you have absolute control. No excess code, everything is optimized, design completely customized and unique. Sounds perfect, right?

When it's the right choice:

• You need unique functionality that ready-made solutions don't offer
• Performance and speed are crucial (for example, e-commerce with high traffic)
• You want your site to be scalable for future growth
• You have the budget and time for quality development

When it's not smart:

• You need a site quickly and with a limited budget
• You don't have technical knowledge to change anything yourself later
• After development, no one maintains the code and everything slowly becomes outdated
• You're working on a project where launch speed is worth more than perfection

Custom development is an investment. Not just in money, but in time and maintenance. If you're building your startup and need an MVP as soon as possible, a custom site might not be a smart first step. But if you're building a platform or serious e-commerce, have time, budget, and technically skilled people you trust, custom might be the only right option.

Page builders: fast, but with limitations

Elementor, Divi, Webflow, Framer… Page builders have revolutionized the way websites are built. Drag-and-drop, visual editing, no code. But that doesn't mean they're perfect.

When they make sense:

• You need a landing page fast, today, now, immediately
• You want to change the design yourself without a developer
• You're working on smaller projects or portfolio sites
• Your budget is limited, but you want the site to look good
• You want the site to be visually exceptional with lots of animations

When they become a problem:

• They generate a lot of unnecessary code which slows down the site
• Once you become dependent on one builder, it's hard to switch to another
• More complex functionalities often require custom code anyway—technical knowledge is needed
• Some page builders are more expensive long-term than you think

I see designers and developers building sites in Elementor with 50+ sections, tons of animations and inline styles. The result? A site that loads in 8 seconds and that Google literally hates. The page builder isn't the problem—the problem is when it's used without understanding the technology, purpose, and consequences.

What do I actually use (and why)?

Depending on the project, I use everything. And that's not inconsistency, that's pragmatism.

• For a client who wants a blog and simple site with a CMS? WordPress with a custom theme, to look unique.
• For a landing page we want to test and launch quickly? Page builder or Webflow.
• For a complex web application or e-commerce with specific requirements? Custom development, SSR, unmatched.

The key isn't in the tool, but in understanding what the project actually requires.

Conclusion

There's no "best" technology for building websites. There's only the one that fits your project, goals, and budget.

Bad WordPress is worse than a good page builder. Poorly used custom code costs more than it's worth. And a page builder without strategy creates a site that looks nice but does nothing useful.

Before you decide how to build your site, first decide what that site needs to do for you. Only then choose the tool.

If you don't know what suits you or want to discuss the best approach for your project, contact me. There are no generic answers, but there is a solution that's right for you.