There are several ways to create a website, and among these common methods is using WordPress or programming the website from scratch. Therefore, many people who need to create a website find themselves confused about which of the two methods to follow, and have difficulty making the appropriate decision between them.
So, in this article, we will explain the differences between using WordPress to create a website and programming the website from scratch. Next, we will provide an explanation of the situations in which each method is superior to the other.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a free and open source content management system ( CMS ) that allows you to create a website without the need for programming experience through a set of powerful tools that facilitate this process, such as templates and various plugins that enable you to build any website you want with the features you need.
WordPress enables the creation of almost any type of website, including blogs, e-stores, and commercial websites. The websites built using it are dynamic and based on a database , which allows them to be managed, modified, and added to very easily and quickly.
Tip: There are two types of sites, static sites and dynamic sites . The difference between them is that static sites do not change their content frequently, and in order to change, update, or add to their content, the site files must be modified manually. As for dynamic sites, their content changes frequently, and it is easy to make updates to them or add content. Dynamic sites also depend on databases. While static sites do not depend on databases.
What is meant by creating a website from scratch?
Creating a website from scratch means programming and developing the website based on coding and programming languages and without using specialized tools for creating and managing websites. HTML, CSS and JavaScript are usually used to design the front-end of the website, and PHP and JavaScript to program the back-end processes, knowing that it can Other programming languages are used .
Static or dynamic websites can be created by programming from scratch, but creating dynamic websites is usually difficult and requires a lot of time and effort and high programming experience, so most of the time websites programmed from scratch are static and not dynamic.
The differences between creating a website from scratch and using WordPress
There are many differences in various aspects between creating a website from scratch and using WordPress, and this makes one of the two methods more suitable in certain cases than the other method. In the following paragraphs, we will explain to you the most important differences between the two methods so that you can choose the method that is best for you.
Ease of use
One of the most important benefits of using WordPress is that it greatly facilitates and simplifies the process of creating a website. If you use it, you will not need to write programming codes. Rather, you can install it on the hosting , then choose an appropriate template, install the necessary plugins, and then customize the site based on the available options. Then add content and launch the site, all done without having to write a single line of code.
If you rely on programming from scratch to create the website, you will need to use coding and programming languages, and learn these languages and master them to the degree that allows you to create an integrated website yourself, which may take months or years. Even if you have experience in website programming languages, you will need You will have to make more effort if you rely on this method compared to WordPress, as you will need to perform all tasks using code, including customizing the appearance, adding content, and more.
Therefore, using WordPress to create a website is easier than creating a website from scratch. Therefore, if you are a beginner from a technical standpoint, it will be more appropriate for you to rely on WordPress. If you are a professional in using programming languages, the most appropriate method for you will depend on other aspects of the process of creating a website in addition to… To the fact that WordPress requires less effort whether you are a beginner or a professional.
You must also take into consideration when determining how to create your site the skills of the work team that will work with you to manage the site. Managing the site through WordPress is easy, and even if the team members do not have good experience in using it, they will be able to learn it quickly because the system’s options and tools axiom.
Website launch speed
Creating a website using WordPress does not require more than a few minutes or, in the longest cases, a few hours depending on the complexity of the site to be created, while building a simple website from scratch usually requires several days or more, so relying on WordPress is better if you have time. Important to you.
In addition, you will save a lot of time if you rely on WordPress if you want to add advanced features to your site or if you want to create a sophisticated site. For example, if you want to create a multilingual site, you will need to develop a translation system from scratch and provide support and maintenance for it if you It depends on programming from scratch, and this will take a very long time. In the case of WordPress, you can install a translation plugin and make your site multilingual directly without worrying about improving and developing the system, etc.
This idea applies to all features, not just translation. This includes, but is not limited to, the product addition and management system, the order management system, shipping and payment systems, in addition to lesson and course management systems, and many others. As a result of the popularity and popularity of the WordPress system, you will find additions. It supports adding various features that you may need to it.
Customization and design capabilities
WordPress provides great and varied customization capabilities through the default tools it includes, such as the component editor , menus , and settings, in addition to templates and plugins that are the strength of the WordPress system, where you can customize your site as you want through the related options that WordPress provides (these are options Customization is limited by default WordPress themes, plugins, and widgets.
It is also possible to create a highly customized site that meets all your needs by programming it from scratch, where you can define and customize literally every aspect of the site, including the way it works, its appearance, the options it provides on the front end and back end, and anything else that comes to mind.
When comparing the customization capabilities available in WordPress with the customization capabilities provided by programming languages, the scale favors the latter if we exclude the possibility of adding programming codes or developing custom plugins and templates in WordPress.
If we take this into consideration, there is no difference between the two, although using WordPress can save time and effort in this case, because it is an open source program and its tools can be modified programmatically to customize its functions to become exactly as you want. It is also possible to develop custom templates and plugins from scratch. And make it compatible with other previously available tools, so you can benefit from the unlimited customization feature provided by programming, in addition to reducing time and effort by using the ready-made tools provided by WordPress.
the performance
The speed of loading and displaying pages is important in websites, as it affects the site’s ranking in search results, as well as the conversion rate , bounces , and visits, and for this reason the speed and performance of your site must be high.
WordPress websites need to execute PHP scripts and perform database queries in order to create the web page requested by the user’s browser before sending it to him, while if programming from scratch, we have two possibilities:
- Static sites don’t need to perform any tasks before submitting the requested page, which is why they are usually faster than WordPress.
- The speed of dynamic sites depends on their complexity and the professionalism of the development team. If the development team is professional, the site can be faster than WordPress, because all the components of the site will have been created specifically for it.
Note that by relying on speed-boosting practices, it is possible to significantly speed up a WordPress site so that its speed becomes close to that of static sites programmed from scratch.
Ranking in search results
The ranking of a site’s pages in search results depends on how compatible they are with SEO practices , so SEO or search engine optimization practices are important in websites.
WordPress is an SEO-compatible system and provides powerful and easy-to-use tools that are also compatible with SEO, where you can write meta descriptions, insert alternative texts for images, specify a permanent link to the page, as well as link to other pages inside and outside the site, in addition to measuring the extent to which the content matches the keyword. You target your target by clicking on buttons and filling out fields.
The above can be done when developing a website from scratch, but there are no tools specifically for this, and you will need to implement it through codes, or you will need to develop tools adapted for SEO within the site and help make the site compatible with it, and this requires a professional SEO specialist, as well as Expert programmer.
the cost
Both methods of creating a website share some costs, such as hosting and domain costs , but there are additional costs specific to each method. In the case of WordPress, you may need to purchase a template and plugins, and perhaps to hire a WordPress expert to create the site for you if you do not have the time or knowledge necessary for that. .
If you create a website from scratch, you may also need to hire an expert developer to help you program the website or to program it for you if you do not have much programming experience. But the cost of hiring a developer in this case will be much greater than in the case of relying on WordPress, as you can hire a WordPress developer from the website, for example, for only a few dollars, while you need hundreds or thousands of dollars in the case of programming from scratch, depending on the complexity of the site.
The reason for this is that the developer needs to put in more effort and time, and must have higher technical and programming skills to create a website from scratch, so relying on WordPress is more cost-effective than creating a website from scratch.
Conclusion: Which method should you use?
The method of creating a website through WordPress has advantages and disadvantages, as does the method of creating a website through programming from scratch, and therefore it cannot be said with certainty that one of the two methods is better in any case.
WordPress is characterized by ease of use, the possibility of finding a team proficient in working on it, and the ease of making customizations through it. In addition, it is better in terms of cost and a website can be created through it very quickly, while the programming method from scratch excels in the great customization possibilities it provides.
Therefore, programming from scratch is appropriate when the budget is large and in the presence of a qualified professional team, that is, in large projects that need very high customization requirements, such as some online game projects, and tool sites (if you want to create a file conversion tools site or Website tools that help improve SEO, for example).
As for WordPress, it is suitable if there is a need to create websites that are not very customized, such as blogs, e-stores, commercial websites, restaurant websites, doctors’ websites, in addition to educational platforms, real estate websites, and similar types of websites, which are not complicated. Or customize at advanced levels.
With this, we finish introducing you to the most important differences between using WordPress to create a website and programming from scratch. We would like to point out in conclusion that it is appropriate to try turning to WordPress first to create your website by searching for plugins and templates that allow you to create what you want, and when you do not find what you need. You can go about creating it by programming it from scratch.
