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WordPress vs coding from scratch. Are you up for the task?
Coding a website from scratch. Easier said than done.
Coding a site from scratch is not something you can do in a few days, weeks or even months if you’ve never done it before.
Coding is something people have been known to self-study, or take intensive coding courses on, etc. but it’s certainly not something you can grasp in a single afternoon, if you’re coming at it from scratch.
You could certainly dedicate some time to it, but what about your other responsibilities, like your other job duties, even your home or family life?
There is a reason why the role of ‘Web Developer’ exists. It’s because there’s a certain skill set that has to be learned. It’s also a skill set that people will pay for.
Creating a website with WordPress.
If your goal is to simply get a professional looking and well functioning website on the internet, then WordPress might be the better way to go.
WordPress takes away a number of the difficulties that raw web development entails. This is especially true if you’re a non-coder or programmer.
By using WordPress, you will be able to focus on what you do best, creating awesome content!
This is not to say that you can’t learn how to develop and eventually customize and evolve your website on your own, you can.
In fact, there’s a ton of resources for the “non-coder” to do so and take their skills to newer and higher levels.
But, at least with WordPress, you can do so at your own pace, while still having a functioning website, live on the internet.
Can you code from scratch in WordPress?
Yes, you can code from scratch in WordPress. However, in order to do so, you would need to at least know it’s core language which is PHP and how to code in it.
For styling and formatting you would need to know HTML and CSS as well.
In addition, knowing some JavaScript would also come in handy if you want to build in functionality to the theme your coding from scratch and not have to use plugins to achieve the same effects.
Should you use WordPress, if you know how to code?
Even if you know how to code you may find building a great looking website with WordPress much easier. WordPress has come a long way in recent years.
Everything just fits together in WordPress. The WordPress API is very handy and there is a helper function to get you anything you need.
The developer documents are quite thorough. If you’re using a page builder like Elementor Pro as your theme builder, it’s got great dynamic features that you can integrate with things like custom shortcodes, hooks, custom post types etc.
Being able to drag drop page styling and individual functions at the page or post level with its blocks is great compared to typing out code manually.
There is a learning curve for using WordPress no doubt, it’s not for everyone. But if you look at page builders for example. You have a layer of creative power, flexibility, control and freedom which are simply not available on any other framework.
Best of all, they don’t require any coding as well since they are already pre-coded straight out of the box.
Should I code my website from scratch?
If you are a non-coder or a non-programmer, then for all intents and purposes, the answer is no. You should not code your website from scratch.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many benefits from personally coding a website from scratch.
But if your main objective is to simply get a website up and live on the internet, have full control over that website, including where it’s hosted and you are willing to learn how to customize your own website, even without learning a single line of code, then there’s no better choice than WordPress.
Which theme is best for WordPress?
They’re literally thousands of WordPress themes. So to say which theme is the best for WordPress is a tall order. However, here is the criteria you should look at when deciding which WordPress theme is best for you and your website’s needs.
- How clean it is coded. Themes which contain too much unnecessary code, redundant functionalities etc. Tend to slow down a website’s page loading speed overall.
- So a WordPress theme that is cleanly coded, efficient and fast is ideal.
- A responsive WordPress theme. Nowadays, this goes without saying since most websites are now or have been updated to being responsive.
- How active is the developer involved with the WordPress theme? Many WordPress themes are sold in mass theme marketplaces.
Although there are many fine themes sold in these marketplaces, you will rarely, if ever, have contact or even know who the developer of a particular theme was.
Many themes are built in “theme workshops” by various developers. However, if you can find a theme where the developer is not only actively involved, but is also actively involved in the support as well as the theme’s forum that’s a huge bonus.
- A theme that is regularly updated. With a great theme, the WordPress developer always feels like their job is never done. They listen to the needs of their clients that participate in their themes forums and are constantly looking at ways to improve and optimize their themes for their clients.
- The theme needs to keep up with WordPress core updates. WordPress updates its core at least a few times a year. Therefore themes also need to keep on top of these updates in order to remain at their best performance.
For me, GeneratePress, in my opinion, is the best WordPress theme based on all of the above criteria.
Is WordPress better than coding?
For the non-coder who’s looking to get a great looking website up and running on the internet that they can learn to run, manage and customize on their own is much better than coding from scratch.
You can consider WordPress, the CMS, as the scaffolding, like learning how to ride a bicycle with training wheels.
How much does a custom WordPress website cost?
A small business, for example: Your average plumbing contractor doesn’t really need a tricked out and coded from scratch WordPress template. This shouldn’t set them back any more than $2500.
However, some less scrupulous developers may try to convince this customer that he needs a site coded from scratch for $8500, thus taking advantage of his customer’s lack of knowledge in the industry.
But custom WordPress websites can also run into the tens of thousands of dollars as well depending on the size, designs, the functionalities as well as the expertise of those developing it.
Since WordPress is the most popular CMS on the internet today, there are loads of “WordPress Developers”, however, due to the sheer numbers, there are plenty of unqualified or low skilled individuals who try to pass themselves off as developers which gives the whole industry a bad name.
So it’s always best to get recommendations from those “in the know” or from friends and business acquaintances before committing to any one developer.
WordPress vs coding from scratch conclusions.
Hard coding a site from scratch would be beneficial for a large company or a business with very specific needs.
On the other hand, WordPress is a better choice for building a website (even an informational one), because you can easily edit any of the content of any post or page.
It also gives you the ability to let others create content on your site, and you won’t have to recreate or hard code a new file for every new page or post.
WordPress is extremely easy to use as well, which is why in most cases it is often strongly recommended over hard coding a website from scratch.
Most average websites, like information about a business, a basic ecommerce site or personal blog type of websites will do just fine with WordPress and just a few plugins.
Perhaps later on when you’re comfortable you’ll want to make some small tweaks to the theme you’re using.
That’s why for the vast majority of websites out there, using WordPress is the way to go. There is a great compromise between complete flexibility and speed of development.
Other people have already done the coding for you and you can still create a unique looking website with WordPress.
Plus there are features either built in natively or available through plugins that can do many of the complex functions you may want to include into your site.
They are also far easier to maintain as well. There are lots of other reasons why, for the non-coder, WordPress is the best option to having a Web Developer coding a new site from scratch.
If you have any doubts, just ask yourself a few questions about the kind of website you want, such as:
- What’s your Budget?
- Do you have a deadline or even a timeline for getting the site up and running?
- Do you have an ROI? Do you plan on this site directly making you money?
- What are your Goals? Is the site for fun, a hobby, a business, a side hustle, etc.
If you’re looking to make a website for your business as a simple marketing website, then you can get away with using WordPress because you just need a simple site to market your business and/or services.
After considering those questions above, it will be easier to decide whether to code the site from scratch or use WordPress.
However, if you need more custom functionality such as client login portals, payment gateways, scheduling, community features like forums, etc.. then you should probably look into investing and paying someone to develop the site for you.
For example, if your site has to meet some extreme demands or needs to be very specialized, unique, involves branding, etc. it may be better than coding it from scratch.
However, if you want to save time, use WordPress. With WordPress you can focus more on creating content and design.
It’s easy to grab a free template from the 1000s of WordPress themes out there to build your site. It will take you some time to wrap your head around all of the features.
If it is a free theme, likely there will be several restrictions keeping you from making some of those changes you may want to make, but otherwise, it is a perfectly good solution.
Besides, if you like the theme, but just want to be able to customize it to get it looking just right, upgrading to its premium version may be well worth the little extra cost.
On top of that upgrades to premium versions usually gives you free theme updates as well as access to that themes forum and support, which is like getting a free WordPress development course all on its own, if you know how to use it right.
It will also allow you to modify the site whenever you feel like it.
The convenience that WordPress gives you in comparison to coding a website from scratch is tremendous. Especially, if you have to add or update content.
With WordPress, you can put a site together without knowing any coding skills.
In addition, the functionality you can add to a WordPress site with plugins is simply amazing. For example, if you need to add a booking system, you search for a plugin, install and activate it and you’re done in a few minutes.
Imagine coding just a booking system from scratch? Why would you want to go through that?
For most cases WordPress is all you need. Starting from a simple website .. all the way to more advanced ones like hotels, online shops etc.
If you’re new to running a website, WordPress is definitely the place to get started. The advantage of WordPress is that you can simply find a design you like, set it up quickly, and focus on content creation and getting traffic.
The only time coding a website from scratch is possibly necessary, or at least parts of it anyway, is when you need a custom solution.
For example, Financial Websites that have some sort of complex calculators, need to have highly responsive data sets, specialized passwords etc. connected to different databases.
Coding from scratch is much better if you need a site that is particularly fast, secure, or has functionality beyond a normal blog.
But of course, if you’re thinking of coding a website from scratch yourself, you will need to have a knowledge of coding, design etc, and time or pay someone else to do so.
