Web Development vs Wordpress: Which One is Better?

Have you just started your business and are looking to create a website? Or Are you seeking to revamp your existing website? Should you create the website from the group up or use a website-building platform like WordPress? Sometimes there is no clear-cut solution.

The website's cost, time, and quality ultimately depend on the option you choose, either WordPress development or custom web development. To make it easy for you, we will compare WordPress development and website development so that you can clearly understand making a choice. Before comparison, we shall briefly introduce you to what WordPress and web development exactly mean.

So, let us get started with our discussion.

What is WordPress Development?

WordPress development entails creating a website using the WordPress platform, which consists of ready-to-use building blocks. WordPress is a free, open-source content management system for building and hosting websites. With this platform, you can create a variety of web applications, including blogs, social networks, eCommerce stores, forums, and membership sites.

Professionals specializing in creating websites using the WordPress platform are called WordPress developers. They manipulate the WordPress platform to build customized websites that satisfy an organization’s requirements.

Here, manipulating the WordPress platform does not imply modifying its source code, as its source code is not designed for modification. Instead, it implies installing third-party plugins and themes and, sometimes, creating custom ones.

Moreover, WordPress developers must be proficient in PHP as it is essential for them to understand the architecture and functionality of WordPress in-depth and create custom plugins and themes. Besides, they must be well-versed in using the MySQL database management system (DBMS). Sound knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery is also essential.

WordPress Developer Responsibilities

Most times, WordPress developers are regularly tasked with creating custom plugins and themes along with WordPresswebsite design for all business sizes. Some other typical duties of WordPress developers include:

• Designing, developing, and managing WordPress websites.
• Designing and implementing new features for WordPress or modifying the existing ones.
• Optimizing existing themes and plugins and overcoming conflicts between them.
• Managing all WordPress’s technical aspects.
• Regulate both the front-end and back-end of websites.
• Supervising WordPress websites’ performance, troubleshooting problems, and maintaining them up-to-date.

What is Web Development?

Web development refers to designing, building, and maintaining websites by writing code manually. Unlike WordPress development, web development services includes various aspects, such as web designing, publishing, programming, and database management. In addition, it leverages core web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), back-end programming language, front-end and back-end frameworks, and many other tools.

Generally, web development has broad aspects, namely front-end and back-end development.

Front-End Development

Front-end development entails creating the part of websites with which end users can interact. It is also known as the ‘client-side’ of websites or web applications.

The following are the technologies you should know for front-end development:

• HTML: HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is used to create the structure of websites, i.e., the front end of websites.
• CSS: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language for styling web pages created in HTML.
• JavaScript: JavaScript is a scripting language for providing dynamic behavior to websites.
• Front-end Frameworks and Libraries: Angular, React, Bootstrap, VueJS, jQuery, Tailwind CSS, Backbone.js, and the list is endless.

Back-End Development

Back-end development involves developing the portion of websites that support the front-end and is not visible to end users. It is referred to as the ‘server side’ of websites or web applications.

Here are some essential technologies for back-end development that you should know:

• PHP: HyperText Preprocessor (PHP) is a server-side scripting language for web development.
• Java: Java is also a server-side programming language for web development.
• Python: Python is a versatile programming language that can integrate easily with various systems.
• Node.js: It is a runtime environment for JavaScript. Using Node.js, you can leverage JavaScript for developing the back-end of websites.
• Back-end Frameworks: Express.js, Django, Ruby on Rails, Laravel, Spring, etc.
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MySQL, and MongoDB.

Web Developer Responsibilities

The duties of web developers vary from organization to organization. However, here are some of the common responsibilities of web developers:

• Creating user interfaces and menus for navigating.
• Writing and evaluating website code, usually in HTML, XML, or JavaScript.
• Incorporating multimedia into a website.
• Web application testing.
• Solving issues related to user experience or website performance optimization..
• Cooperating with stakeholders, designers, and developers.

WordPress Development vs Web Development

Now, let us dive into the key differences between WordPress and web development.

Which is better - WordPress Development vs Web Development?

We have discussed both WordPress and web development. The ultimate choice between both depends on the project’s requirements and the time and budget constraints.

However, custom web development has numerous advantages over WordPress development, as follows:

• Total design adaptability.
• Demonstrates your dedication to excellence.
• Has a high search engine ranking.
• Competent technical support.
• Custom design may embody your individuality and brand.
• Rigorous skill in setup, execution, and design.
• Original designs have an enduring charm.
• Uniqueness demonstrates to customers that you take your business seriously.
• Excellent for print and internet marketing strategies.
• Safer than websites powered by templates.

The only drawback of custom web development is time and cost.

So, if you desire to have a website for your business to be developed quickly and that too on a limited budget, WordPress development is a go-to-option.

When to Choose WordPress Over Web Development?

The choice between WordPress and custom website development can greatly impact your business's cost, timeline, technical specifications, and needs. WordPress is a very popular CMS (content management system) that helps users quickly launch a website using pre-built themes, plugins, and a user-friendly dashboard with minimal to no coding knowledge.

When to Choose WordPress?

Budget Considerations and Quick Deployment

WordPress is a low-cost option to help meet budget restrictions and make it easy to launch quickly due to many free or low-cost theme/plugin options. Most small business websites can afford to develop their website at a much lower cost and quickly deploy vs. a custom development build. 

Needs Standard Functionality 

If your website needs basic functionality such as blogs, portfolios, simple e-commerce, and informational pages, there are many built-in features in WordPress that will meet your needs without having to create new custom code to meet your needs.

Simple to Use / Content Management 

Once the website is built, non-technical users can update the WordPress dashboard, add or change images, and make SEO adjustments, with the use of Yoast and other associated tools, without having to continually depend on a developer moving forward.

Expansive Plugin Ecosystem

With an abundance of plugins available, WordPress sites can add extra functionality for SEO, social, security, analytics, and e-commerce capabilities including WordPress customization plugins that tailor features for specific business needs.

Strong Community Resources and Support

WordPress has a strong community of developers across the globe that maintain constant updates, security patches, themes, plugins, and troubleshooting if you need it.

When to Choose Custom Website Development?

That said, WordPress is limited as a fully customizable web application design platform and can fall short for businesses looking for unique user experiences, optimization for performance, or scalability, especially in complex applications. If your business seeks:

• A completely unique design file and tailored interactive features
• Enterprise scale that performs perfectly for your needs
• Improved security based on strict requirements
• Increased complexity with internal systems or third-party systems
• Complete oversight of architecture and function

Then custom website development is really your best option, even if it may take longer and be a longer investment up front.

Conclusion

Here ends our discussion on WordPress and web development. If you need a website urgently, you can opt for WordPress development. Further, as your website’s requirements grow, you can go with web development to customize your WordPress website design anytime you wish. So, there is no restriction to making a choice between WordPress and web development. You can first go with WordPress development and later switch to web development.

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Frequently Asked Questions 

1. What should you choose - WordPress development or web development?

If your requirement for a website is urgent and has a limited budget, you should go with WordPress development. Otherwise, web development is a perfect option to choose from.

2. When should you not use WordPress?

When you need to create a custom website that should meet an organization’s requirements or any other type of complex website, using WordPress is not a good choice. In this case, you should opt for web development.

3. Can WordPress replace web developers?

No, WordPress cannot replace web developers. In this article, we have mentioned a few advantages of web development over WordPress development that give you a clear idea that WordPress cannot replace custom web development.

4. What is the average salary of a WordPress developer?

The national average salary of WordPress developers in the United States is $68K, according to Glassdoor.

5. What is the average salary of a web developer?

According to Payscale, the average salary of a web developer is $61K per annum. The entry-level web developers with 1 to 4 years of experience receive the pay scale of $60K per annum, while the experienced web developers with more than 10 years of experience get $75K per year.

6. Which one is better to use: WordPress or Html and CSS?

WordPress is ideal for users who want a dynamic and easily manageable site which can utilize plugins and themes, even for blogs, stores, and regular updates. HTML/CSS is better for simple, smaller, and static sites that do not require a lot of changes, where the user requires full control over the design, and a fast loading speed, and requires coding ability. Use WordPress for ease of use and scalability. Use HTML/CSS for simplicity and control of the page custom design.

7. Is a WordPress developer a web developer?

Yes. A WordPress developer is someone who builds and customizes WordPress sites using PHP as well as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The WordPress developer is a web developer who specializes in the WordPress platform. Not all web developers are WordPress developers.