Websites are the most used platform online eg. by businesses, social media, or individual sites, etc. This is because they are easily accessible and are cross-platform. Websites are built using standard HTML language and accessible from any browser running on any OS.
However, website building has encountered a great shift in the recent past due to the introduction of website builders and CMS.
Just like CMS, website builders are gaining popularity due to masked complexities and technicalities. Website builder vs coding poses great debate among individuals due to various benefits presented by each method.
Most website builders such as Olitt or Shopify contain hosting plans. Once the site is developed, it’s hosted within the platform provider’s servers. Often, the hosting plan prices are included in the website plan though with a discount.
Which is the best choice? Website builder vs coding.
As noted earlier, there is a great deal in each approach you take. However, you may need to consider requirement at hand before opting for any of the approaches. For instance, Coding accords opportunity to be your own architect; design and implement the site the way you want it. There are few restrictions when using the site builders.
Each approach is best suited for a particular requirement or field. Below I present major requirement that may prompt for a particular approach.
Capital constraints
This the financial requirement to build the website. Often, SMBs are hampered by financial constraints that limit the project. The initial cost of a website builder is by far cheaper than hiring the developer. For instance, Olitt lifetime plan costs $59 with extensive features such as massive hosting space, security, DNS management etc. Also, Olitt website builder offers a free plan.
Below is pricing from Olitt website builder
However, most plans offered by website builders are premium. This implies you will have to incur a monthly or annual payment. Though it is cost-intensive, there is no recurring cost when you opt for coding your site through the developer.
Size of the project
Most site builders offer one-page site. The home page is logically divided into sections while creating ‘false’ multi-page view through a navigation bar or menu. This is a common architecture in most one-page site builders.
However, this suite small to medium projects. As stated earlier, coding a website enables you to steer the project; from design to implementation. You can build your ‘big website’ without any restriction.
Control
This is the ability to decide what you want and how you want it i.e multi-page or single page, dark theme or light theme, font family(san-serif or arial etc.) etc. Most site builder are somehow closed with little low level customization.
Ownership
In a website builder, you don’t invent the wheel. You create a website through customization of premade templates. Hence, the website builder platform owns them. Multiple individuals can use a similar template to create a site. You require very extensive customization for your site to stand different and unique.
On the other hand, coding builds a site from scratch. Because of this, you have exclusive ownership of the design and website itself. You can host the website on any provider of your choice.
Time Constraints
Some clients require projects within a short time while others can take a long time. It’s not always easy to deliver a project within a stipulated time. This is because of the large number of projects the developer or dis handling or due ue to fast-changing requirement that need to be incorporated within a project before the final release.
One of the key strengths of site builders is the ability to support fast development and incorporate updates in no time. For instance, you can build your aesthetically-pleasing website with Olitt in less than 5 minutes and its up running.
Coding involves rewrite and testing of code to accommodate the changes which consume a lot of time.
If your website has to be ready by tomorrow, then go for website builder.
Flexibility
Most website builders have limited design flexibility i.e. its hard to shift from one template to another after development. Users end up building the site from scratch again just to use different template. Boring, isn’t it?
A well-written code should be able to adjust to changes in styles or theme. When you direct focus on development, a coded website can be a little flexible to this kind of changes.
Also, most websites using a website builder are incompatible in other environments hence there is a restriction on a provider.
Here is an excerpt from wix.
Ease of development
All along, we have been talking of “coding through a developer”. This means that you need technical skill or ability to program a website. These limits non-tech-savvy individuals. This where the website builders come into play. To bridge the gap.
No coding or design skill requirement while using the site builder. This plattform implement easy-to-use editor and drag-drop-features to use to add premade components such as div container, buttons, input fields to your template.
SEO
Most site builders contain SEO tools. This enables you to rank high on search engines such as Google. Website builders such as Wix and Olitt incorporate these tools for your convenience. While there is debate, it’s good to note that SEO friendliness differs from one website builder to another. However, it is easier while optimizing website built using website builder then coded website.
Layout optimization
This is how the site aligns within the device browser. A good layout should adjust on device to fit both mobile and desktop view. Website builder provide tested and optimized layout for all views. However, coding website requires developer to effectively use CSS3 or twitter bootstarp or equivalent technology to be able to achive similar result.
Conclusion
The topic on Website builder vs coding is still hot. It’s a really important one define the requirement and evaluate the best-suited approach.
I have tried to cover the most relevant requirement that you may consider but in reality, there is more to evaluate. I hope you found this article informative.