Online Website Builders and WordPress, both are widely used for creating websites. However, the approaches for creating websites are different in online website builders and WordPress. There are some key differences that one should know before starting to build their website using any of these.
Newbies who are not from a website developer background often get confused about which one to choose, WordPress or an online website builder. In this article, I will mention the Top 5 reasons to choose an online website builder over WordPress. Before that let’s have a short introduction of both.
Short Introduction About Online Website Builder And WordPress
WordPress is a Free open-source CMS based on PHP and MariaDB/MySQL. It’s like a piece of software that needs to be installed on a web server. So to run WordPress, you need to buy hosting. Once you install WordPress, then you have to install a theme and plugins. And then you can start building your website.
If you want high-level customization then you may need paid plugins like Elementor Pro. Now Elementor itself is known as a website builder WordPress Plugin. So only WordPress in itself is not sufficient for creating advanced websites. You may need to spend money to create a professional and high-end website.
Online Website Builders are All in One Package Solutions for website creation. You simply sign up on their websites, pay the price (annually) and you are ready to create your website. This is how simple these Online Website Builders are.
So this is a rough roadmap that one has to follow for creating a website using WordPress or Online Website builders.
5 Reasons to Choose Online Website Builders Over WordPress
I won’t hesitate to say that Online Website Builders are getting better with time and today offering a lot to start a new website.
Harish Bhathee
Choosing a CMS also depends on what kind of website you want to create and how much time and budget you have to spend. I have not considered these in this article.
I have tried to conclude the overall experience in general, that a beginner must know about WordPress and other Website builders.
1. WordPress websites need regular maintenance – Website builders are worry-free solutions
My First reason for choosing an Online Website Builder over WordPress will be website maintenance.
WordPress is an advanced piece of software based on PHP. There are a lot of Jquery/React and other pieces of code behind WordPress.
This forces WordPress Developers to release updates. WordPress also uses Themes and Plugins. So these also get regular updates.
If you run a WordPress Website then you have to be very careful about these updates. Wrong implementation can break your website and if you don’t update then also it can cause issues. So a WordPress website requires regular maintenance.
Whereas Online Website Builders are web-based CMS or Software. You only get access to the front end. All Backend work is taken care of by their team. So you can have worry-free peaceful nights after launching your website using these online website builders. You don’t have to worry about updates or breaking your website. Simply launch the website and focus on your business.
2. WordPress website security is a concern – site builders rocks
The second reason would be the website’s security.
Do a Google search and you will find out how many WordPress websites get exploited and the number would be in millions. WordPress holds around 43% share of total online websites. So WordPress websites are usually the 1st target of hackers. A hacked website is a nightmare for any brand.
Online Website Builders are often considered as secure as their backend teams constantly updating and securing their platform. So if you create your website using any popular online website builder then your website security is taken care of by their team.
Online Website builders offer better security for their websites and in WordPress, you have to look after it.
3. WordPress needs to be learned whereas online website builders are quite easy to use
There is a steep learning curve in WordPress. It takes time to get used to WordPress.
Like I said WordPress needs installation and you have to keep it updated. You have to take security measures on your own. It all takes time and practice to learn.
Moreover choosing the right plugins and theme for a WordPress website is also a concern. Even after choosing the right theme and plugins, it takes time to get used to it and utilize its full potential.
Whereas Online Website Builders are simplified Drag-Drop Website builders. You will be surprised to see how easy it is to create and launch a website using these website builders. Website builders have eased the process of creating simple clean websites.
So if you don’t want to spend time learning WordPress then start with these simplified online website builders. Making a website using online website builders is a joy.
4. Now SEO is not an issue with Website Builders – These were improvised.
After launching the website everyone wants it to rank on Google. In the early stage these online website builders were way behind then WordPress in terms of SEO.
In recent years after realizing their true potential, online website builders like WIX, and HubSpot CMS have almost fixed SEO issues. Even they have implemented AI writing assistants that would help in writing SEO-friendly Meta Descriptions and Titles.
Features like automated schema markup and image compression are great from WIX. Other platforms like HubSpot also offer great options for improved SEO performance.
So SEO is also not a concern with Online Website Builders like WIX and HubSpot CMS. These are capable of ranking websites on Google.
5. Online Website Builders are Time Savers – WordPress is time-consuming
If today I had to create a simple website like a website for a small business or even a blog then I would surely go with something like WIX or HubSpot. If I want to create a photographer’s website showcasing images then I would go with Squarespace.
After all, it takes just 1-2 days to launch a 5-6 page website.
Whereas for WordPress I have to look for Hosting then a theme then plugins and then I will start developing the website. All these tasks are not worth it for a simple website that can be easily created using online website builders.
So WordPress is time-consuming and it takes time to learn everything in WordPress whereas online website builders are blazingly fast solutions.
So if you want to quickly launch a simple small website with no maintenance and security concerns then use popular online website builders like Wix, Squarespace, Webflow etc.
But if want to develop a big website loaded with a lot of features and you can learn then use WordPress. WordPress is more powerful, offers more features and it’s more flexible.
There can be more reasons but these are sufficient for beginners to understand why you should choose a website builder over WordPress. These were my top 5 reasons to choose an online website builder over WordPress.
We have seen these Online Website Builders growing from immature to professional website builders. These have been improvised to meet industry standards and still improving with each update.
I strongly believe that these website builders will soon take over the market share of WordPress. These would be offering flexibility like WordPress in the coming future.
