WordPress vs. Custom Code: The Pros and Cons of Using Each For Your New Website

by Ollie on 25/09/13 at 9:28 am

Deciding whether to use custom code or WordPress for your website boils down to a few factors. One obvious difference between the two is that coding a website yourself is much more difficult than using a template that would be provided by a site builder such as WordPress. When it comes down to it, whatever you choose to use depends on what you want your website to do and how good your web design skills are.

Making the Decision About Which to Use

When you set out to build your site, you should ask yourself about how much time you are willing to dedicate to the task. If your answer is “not much,” then a WordPress site could be just for you. However, if you are highly trained at web design, then you might find that you can build a site very quickly by writing the code for it. You should take into account how skilled you are when making your decision about which method to use.

Pros and Cons of Using WordPress

WordPress does a great job of allowing new web designers an opportunity to create a website with very little effort. All you really have to do is drag and drop each element you want into the template. There are many templates from which to choose that already come pre-loaded with a number of elements. Often, the only action you need to take in order to complete your site is to change the text or photos that are included on the template.
The disadvantage of using WordPress is that it is very difficult for you to customize the site to your specifications. While there are options to add HTML, you are often limited to specific areas where you can use the HTML. That means you will likely reach a point where you want to add a specific function to the site, and WordPress will not permit you to do so.

Pros and Cons of Using Custom Code

The advantage of using custom code is that you are able to design your site exactly how you want it. You aren’t limited by the constraints of a template. Instead, you have no limits on the various types of additions you want to make on the site.
The main disadvantage to using custom coding is that it can take a very long time to get your site to look and behave the way you want it to look and behave. In fact, if you haven’t gone through extensive training on how to build a website from code alone, you will find that the task is just too difficult to complete.

Site builders such as WordPress allow beginners to learn how to create a website with relative ease, but you just can’t compete with the flexibility of a website that is built using custom code. While it is difficult to learn custom code, it is really the only way that you will be able to craft your site into something truly unique.