WordPress OR Website Builder

By | February 19, 2018

 

This report will explain the differences and similarities between a WordPress or website builder program. For most people, starting an online business website may seem very daunting. So many choices. Where to start.

 

But actually, it isn’t that complicated at all. The days of sitting in front of the computer for hours and building a website by code are all over now. Now in as little as 30 seconds, you can build a website with no prior knowledge! Let me show you the benefits of each type of either a WordPress or website builder program. The learning curve to master either one is minor.

 

To learn about Where To Find the Best Free Website Builder and Host then you will want to click the link.

 

The most important reason to want to have a website is to Learn To Make Money From Home. The goal of building a website is to earn an income, whether it is for a business or a private entity. The article above gives some examples of what to base a website about.

 

 

Are you ready? Great. Let’s get started!

 

In this report, I will give my observations on the benefits of these two website platforms.

 

Both platforms are user-friendly and on the surface, any novice can manage the interface of either one without much difficulty. There is no coding which makes building a website less worrisome or problematic.

 

There are other websites claiming WordPress has a steep learning curve which makes it unusable for a novice. I will say this is NOT true. I will show in more detail in a moment.  Both platforms use basic templates that can be customized. There is NO coding to perform on either one.

 

On the inside of each program, however, there is computer code being written with every keystroke. WordPress code is written in PHP and a website builder program is writing code in HTML.

 

A little history lesson before we proceed. When the Internet was first introduced, all websites were written in HTML code. As the websites became more complicated, having moving images (flash), etc, more code was added. Soon the code to build a website was quite extensive.

 

More code meant websites loaded onto a browser slowly. Something needed to be done. Google came to the rescue with their own programming language – PHP – as they started the blogging platform – WordPress.com

 

These PHP websites could be more interactive, much faster to load onto a browser, and even vary in screen width, depending on what the website is being viewed by, desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

 

 

This breakthrough in computer code has opened up many opportunities not only for the computer ‘geeks’ of today but also for small businesses and work from home entrepreneurs.

 

The website builder programs use a “drag-n-drop” type editor to build the website. Each component of a website, the header, the company logo, the fonts that are used, the website colors, images, etc, can be individually selected and placed on the page where they should be.

 

So as you add each component, the website you see is what the world will see once you save it and publish it.

 

This type of editor is known as a WYSIWYG, which means, “What you see is what you get.”

 

WordPress, on the other hand, is an open-sourced Content Management System (CMS), which is basically a database of all the components used on a web page. It is much more flexible than a website builder program – but it takes a little practice to master.

 

Which type is right for you, WordPress or website builder program? This really depends on you. To help in your decision, I am going to show the pros and cons of each.

 

 

1. The Editor

With a website builder program that uses the WYSIWYG editor, everything is visual – the webpage will look exactly how you placed each component on the page.

 

This is great for anyone that has never built a webpage before. It is also restrictive in a way because each page must be custom built, from scratch. If your website is only five pages total this is not too bad. If your website has many pages, this building from scratch could be a grueling task.

 

Most websites will start with a simple, blank template. The page is divided into two halves. On one side of the page are selections to choose from to add to the website, like Header, Company Logo, Images, etc. The other half of the page is where the website starts to take form.

 

You can start with a template then customize it to your liking. See below.

 

Wix visual editor

 

As you see from the image above, every component to a website is an add-on.

 

Using the simple drag-and-drop website builder the website slowly comes to life right in front of you. For a business that must be online in a hurry, this website builder program serves its purpose. The website can be built quickly and published. Other pages can be added as they are built.

 

The more features that are added to the website the higher the cost. For a website that is packed with many features, like an E-commerce site for example, with a shopping cart, personal credit card information and shipping options, an SSL certificate must also be used to ensure privacy and reliability.

 

WordPress also has an Editor to build the webpage but it uses a form editor instead. This editor is a little different than a visual, or drag-n-drop editor. It is more like a word-processor program on any computer.

 

It gives options on the page, like the size of fonts, Italics, bold, position on page, bullets, links, etc. It allows copy and pastes additions. Images can be added by selecting add media. The media that is added to a page must first be uploaded from your computer to a media library on your website. This media library houses every picture, image, etc on the website. This allows the website to load much faster onto a browser, for better users experience (IX). See below.

 

Wordpress form editor

 

This editor allows the page to be built in either visual or text mode. In ‘Visual mode’, everything is written just like it appears on the page, whereas  ‘Text mode’ everything can be written in code. For example, to add a link by using a website code, it looks like this in HTML code:

<a href=”https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/building-your-website-in-30-seconds-literally/a_aid/a5d8ded4″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”><span style=”color: #0000ff;”>

 

Links can be added in the visual mode also. For words to be a link all that is necessary is highlight the words that will be a link, Click on the Underlined A to select the color of the link, click on the Chain image of the editor. A dialog box appears so the URL address can be added that creates the link.

 

Anything can be uploaded to a WordPress website. An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program is NOT necessary to transfer files, images, pictures, etc to the WordPress website. The Editor of WordPress does all of this for you.

 

 

Content can be added to WordPress using either two methods, or both.

Method 1: Content can be added to WordPress by simply typing in the editor, just like any word-processor. Click on the “add media” selector and wherever the cursor is on the editor the picture or image will be added.

Method 2: Content can be pre-written on a computer and then added to WordPress via ‘copy and paste’. This is the easiest way to add content to the website. Prewrite the content (article) in a word processor program. Select all and copy the article. Add to the WordPress editor by clicking a spot in the editor, right-click, select paste, and the article is automatically added to the post or page.

 

 

This type of editor (just as with a word processor) doesn’t give you an identical visual image of how the page will look once it is published. For example, adding an image the placement of the picture isn’t always ideal. You select left, center, or right then WordPress decides where the picture will be placed. This is where a little practice comes in handy.

 

Another feature to adding pictures from the media library is the ‘create gallery’ option. This option allows several pictures to be added at once and WordPress adds pictures symmetrically in a row.

 

Everything that is added to the website is kept separate via a database. This is supposed to speed up browser loading times.

 

As far as WordPress being more flexible, WordPress uses themes that are basically a template of what your website will look like. There are over 4ooo free website themes (templates) to choose from. Each theme can be customized so that the look and feel can be manipulated.

 

 

Once a theme is chosen, each page will follow the theme in look and feel. Every theme is a little different. Themes can be changed daily, if necessary. Also if a Responsive them is selected the website display size will change depending on the browser used, IE desktop, tablet or mobile.

 

To add more features to WordPress a “Plugin” is installed that expands the website’s ability to do more. There are hundreds of plugins to choose from, and most of them are also free. See the picture below.

 

wordpress plugins

 

2. Hosting of Website

 

What is Hosting? All websites that connect to the Internet are housed on a computer server. Hosting fees are basically monthly rent payments to allow your website access to the world wide web.

 

A website builder program is unique so it can only be hosted on its own platform. If you wanted to find another hosting company that was cheaper, or more convenient, you can’t take your website with you. You would have to start all over.

 

These hosting fees vary widely, depending on the website itself. The more components that are added to the website the more expensive it becomes. Same is true on services added, like an autoresponder service, some website builder programs offer this for free, others charge a premium. These prices will vary from as little as $5 dollars a month up to $45 dollars a month.

 

There are other obstacles, like computer server downtime or getting answers to fix problems immediately by the support. Each company is a little different in the services that are offered.

 

WordPress is a little different. WordPress can be moved from one host to another thereby being flexible to relocate anywhere, anytime. The WordPress theme is free, so it is much less expensive to start an online business. As said earlier there are some 4000 free WordPress themes (templates) to choose from.

 

Then there are close to that many ‘paid themes’ which are already customized themes that a license must be purchased to use this type of theme.

 

Usually, with WordPress websites a hosting company allows a business to have more than just one website for the same price as hosting just one website.

 

 

3. Pricing

The cost of starting an online business is almost zero compared to a brick and mortar business. Having an online business website can be as little as just $5 a month. This is less than 2 cents a day! Granted, this price only reflects the starting price of a small website, domain name, and hosting. It won’t have all the bells and whistles that most of the competitive websites will have. A website like this will cost more.

 

Of course, choosing the right website builder is as important as choosing the right plan. There are several website builder programs that are very good and that also offer different prices on the options that you choose.

 

 

Some of the basic pricing models included for a website builder program are:

  • Connect your own domain name
  • Free domain name
  • 500 MB website storage capacity
  • 1 GB bandwidth
  • Free hosting

The low-cost website builder package will have the advertisements for the website builder program business installed. It cost extra to remove these advertisements.

 

 

Some of the extras that can be installed but add to the monthly cost of service:

  • Up to 20GB of storage capacity
  • Unlimited Bandwidth (Speed of website)
  • Email accounts
  • SEO services (Search Engine Optimization)
  • 24-hour support
  • Autoresponder service

 

What to consider when deciding which plan is best for you.

  • How important is losing the website builder’s logo to you?
  • How important is your own domain name?
  • How important is it to have many pictures, videos or large files?
  • How important is it have the premium templates?

 

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then you probably will want the premium priced plans.

Here is why.

 

 

Generally speaking, with any website builder program the hosting service will be free. It won’t offer a lot of extra’s, if any. The basic low-cost plans don’t allow for much in bandwidth for the website. This lower bandwidth limits the website by the number of visitors it can handle as well as how fast the website will perform.

 

A slow performing website is not only avoided by visitors it is ranked much lower by the search engines as well. A low rank disqualifies the website from getting included in the search engine results – which means NO TRAFFIC.

 

A premium priced website also has much more website storage, which translates to a higher number of pictures, data, videos, large files, etc. This opens the door by providing a much more satisfying user’s experience, which leads to more engagement, which leads to higher rankings. Higher rankings lead to more traffic.

 

Getting rid of the website builders logo also designates your site as more professional appealing which also helps in a better user’s experience. Also by subscribing to a premium plan opens up the use of more templates for your website, giving you the power to create an even more personal brand that sets your website as more unique as others.

 

 

 

website builder Pricing example

 

 

WordPress is very competitive on pricing because some items are free and other items have fees. The basic WordPress plans start at $3.95 a month and include:

  • 1 website
  • Free domain
  • Connect your own domain
  • Free email accounts
  • 1 – click WordPress install
  • 24/7 support

 

 

basic wordpress price

Using Own Domain Name

Using your own domain name to the website is preferred and actually required to receive the best performance, accessibility, and trust from the search engines. It also designates a much more professional look and appearance. With this option the .com, .net, .org, .biz, etc, can be selected. If the domain name that you choose is not available in the .com, for example, then you must choose another.

 

These domain names cost anywhere from $4.95 to $16.00 per year. If the domain name you want is already taken, but is for sale, then you can purchase the domain name. These domains can be very expensive.

 

4. Ease Of Using

The website building platform is very friendly and usually very easy to use. Generally, there are training video’s that show you each step in the building process. All website builder programs are a little different from each other, but most of them use the wysiwyg (drag’n”drop), editor. With just a little practice anyone can build a website without much difficulty.

 

 

The cheapest website builder programs are not always the best performing, but they do offer the ability to build an online website on a budget. Some of these programs are:

  • Wix
  • SiteBuilder.com
  • Weebly
  • GoDaddy
  • Web.com

 

 

To achieve the best performing website at a competitive price the following offer much more service and higher quality, such as:

 

 

 

WordPress has a learning curve that some people find difficult. Others find it extremely easy. I remember when I built my first WordPress website I had difficulty in understanding the difference between Posts and Pages. With a website builder program, everything built is an individual webpage. This adds to the bandwidth, the more pages, the more bandwidth you must buy. WordPress is different.

 

 

WordPress allows the website to have both Posts and Pages. Most WordPress websites are actually Blogs. They can do anything a website built from a website builder program can – and more.

 

 

Posts are similar to pages. They both look the same and operate the same. Pages are more evergreen in that the information on a page doesn’t change over time. It remains constant. Post, on the other hand, have information that can change. Like updates to content, just write another post with the updated content. A page, on the other hand, becomes outdated with the wrong information – like product pricing.

 

 

Blogs have posts that get added sometimes two or more times a day. This keeps people informed more accurately. Also, blogs are on a bulletin board type platform where the reader scrolls down the page to find the post that they want to read.

 

 

5. Search Engines

Another very important part of the overall picture is the search engines. They are what bring visitors to your website. Without search engines, your website is nothing more than just a file folder on a host computer. Like a Wal-mart built without streets to get to it or a parking lot for cars… No one is going to go shopping there.

 

 

Website builder programs don’t have much to offer as far as search engine friendly ability. Any SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an extra charge per month.

 

Since content is king, most WordPress websites get content added very regularly, which makes these website loved by the search engines.

 

 

WordPress has plugins that help create a website that is search engine friendly. These plugins allow selections to be added, like Meta title, Meta Keywords, Meta description, that help search engines match your website to the search terms someone enters into the search box.

To give an example of how well the ALL-IN-ONE SEO plugin works, it helped get this post to position one, page one of Google in only one week!

 

Google page 1 position 1

 

 

6. Conclusion

 

In order to earn continual income online, it is safe to say that a website is necessary. Which type of website is right for you? Using a website builder program allows the website to be built, and that is about it. What about marketing your website? What about building the website with SEO and search engine friendly? No, using a website builder program doesn’t include any training, or very little, to get your website in receiving traffic from the Internet. Without traffic, the website isn’t producing any income.

 

Would you like to have a website that DOES get traffic and DOES get conversions? If you would like some training on to how to make any website get traffic, get conversions, and create income then click on the link below.

Any training is better than none. Do yourself a favor and get some training NOW by clicking the Join Today below.

 

 

I hope that this information helped you decide which type of website is the best fit for your need. There are a lot of items to choose between and what will ultimately be the best choice for you.

 

 

If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to leave to help me provide better information please submit your comments below.

 

 

If you have decided which platform is best for you and you are ready to build your website now click the button below and get your domain name established now.

 

Build a website button

 

 

If you would like training to how to be successful with an online business that will give you an edge over any competition and get your website on page one of Google, please click the button below.

join wealthy affiliate button

 

 

 

20 thoughts on “WordPress OR Website Builder

  1. Jamila

    Thank you so much for sharing the knowledge, I have learned a lot especially about the history of websites and how WordPress came into existence. This information gives me a better understanding. I currently use WordPress – I am glad I made the right choice. I will take into consideration the points you made if I choose another theme for my website.

    Reply
  2. aladin

    Website builder tools just seem too limited for my liking. At least WordPress seems like a better choice for anyone who knows a little bit more.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Aladin, To achieve the website you truly want with a website builder program the cost is a lot more than selecting the right theme of a WordPress website. I like saving money because I want my money working for me, and not the other way around.

      Reply
  3. Israel Olatunji

    Thanks for the informative, creative, helpful and engaging post! Kudos for enumerating in your post that WordPress is an open-sourced content management system which is basically a database of all the components used in a web page!

    You really elaborated so much on site builder tools online which use drag-n-drop features and explained in your post that this is referred to as WYSIWYG, that is, What You See Is What You Get.

    Your content is informative and helpful and, for that reason, I will be visiting your site from time to time to check out on your future posts. Thanks!

    Wish you much success,
    Israel

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      I am happy that you found my information helpful to you, Israel. Most people don’t realize WordPress has more to offer than a standard website. I wish you much success in your online journey.

      Reply
  4. Ali

    This is really neat. I didn’t know that there was any difference between the two platforms. I’m glad I read your article about the difference between these two websites. Thank you for sharing! Great information to get started.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Ali, I am glad that I was able to help you see the difference between these two platforms and I am sure you will make a better selection on the one you choose.

      Reply
  5. Owain

    I come from a computer background so I know all about HTML code. I did create few sites and knew quite a bit about the coding, nothing too much but enough to get a site up and running.

    I did find the information about PHP quite interestinging. It did occur to me that with more flashing lights and whistles that it would take more time to load up a site, and this was the way around it.

    I now have two sites, both of which are created with WordPress. And I’m glad to say that I chose this way. It is so much easier than the coding of yesteryear.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      You are very right Owain, there is so much more flexibility in using WordPress over a standard website builder program. Hosting is never a problem and search engines love you. “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire”.

      Reply
  6. Ilias

    Hi Kenneth,

    I did not know many of the technical differences and details of WordPress and other website builders. Website builders are so confusing and everything is an upsell.

    I just use WordPress because I think it’s easier for me to customize it. The last months I tried more website builders but only to see how they work and test them. I am a loyal WordPress user for at least two years!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      You are right, Llias, I have found WordPress to be everything I need for a website and more. Costs, flexibility, and performance, I couldn’t have done better than WordPress.

      Reply
  7. Jeff

    Great post. Your explanations were extremely helpful. I never knew that web hosting could be so complicated with all the choices around! This article is going to help a lot of newbies like me. Thanks for all the great info, it sounds like training is in my future before I jump into this!

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Thank you, Jeff, for your kind words and I know that you will do very well in your online journey. Knowledge is meaningless without application.

      Reply
  8. Josh

    Hi Kenneth!

    Thanks for the informative article. I’ve used both WordPress and Wix, and I’ll say that I think Wix is probably a little bit more intuitive than WordPress, but ultimately I feel like WordPress offers more options overall (note: I’ve ONLY used the free version of Wix, so my experience is somewhat limited there). I have premium hosting for WordPress, so perhaps my comparison isn’t totally fair.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      You are right, Josh, in that Wix has a beginner website builder that for beginners is very easy. However, you won’t find this type of website on page one of Google. For me, I find it better to use a platform that has no ceiling so that as I progress in knowledge and skill, so to my website will also.

      Reply
  9. John

    Kenneth,
    I have a friend that built his local business website with Wix. He states that it was free. He has to have them add media or post to it for a fee now. He does not have any control over content or structure. I have told him to start over with a Word Press site that he could do himself with out that much training. I will show him this post to let him know how easy it is to set up and control your own website. Thanks for sharing such detailed information.

    John

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Thank you, John, for your knowledge in knowing the difference between the two platforms. I get this question all the time about how Wix, or Weebly, are cheaper alternatives when in fact, they are more expensive, plus they don’t offer any training or online tools to get the websites ranked. Anyone can build a website, but not everyone can get it on page one of Google.

      Reply
  10. Ben

    Hi Kenneth, thank you for such a detailed article on the differences between WordPress and other website builders. I’ve used SBI before, it’s a good place to start a website, we can have access to some training, a helping community, and an easy-to-use site builder.

    But it’s a bit limited in terms of what you can do if you don’t know how to code HTML (as there’s an option to use HTML as well). In the end, I have learned that I like WordPress better for all the plugins and themes we can get for free. Free is good and with more options than what a website builder program has WordPress is the best choice!

    I’ve heard you can use SBI and WordPress at the same time. It seems like a good option, but I’ll stick to wealthy affiliate for now. I think the community is better and the training is by far the best around.

    Thank you for sharing this information 😉

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      You know Ben, of all the platforms available, WordPress has more to offer the owner as well as the website visitor. Plus, Google loves WordPress. Rewards come to those who follow the path of giants.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*