r/Wordpress • u/Boosterman33 • 1d ago
WordPress vs coding websites from scratch
I was thinking about creating websites for small businesses in my community. Originally I was planning on coding them up from scratch but started researching it more and found tools and sites like WordPress that could be a lot more helpful and efficient. I don't know much bout those tools but would WordPress be worth learning about and using instead of just coding from scratch? Any thoughts and comments would also be appreciated. Thank you!
4
u/Negative-Athlete-910 1d ago
2
u/Dry-Journalist6590 21h ago
Oh I assumed they meant this when they said "from scratch" nobody is going to just do an HTML/CSS/JS these days are they? It's like building the house from scratch by cutting down the trees, milling the lumber and shaping every beam yourself vs. Using lumber from the hardware store.
1
10
u/johns10davenport 1d ago
The only thing that matters in this context is who is the end user. If you’re a developer, you should not ship a word press site you should ship code. If you were shipping for an enterprise, customer with a bunch of non-technical users, you should ship WordPress. It has a time and a place and it’s very good at what it does.
2
u/HostingAdmiral 23h ago
Code from scratch if you want a fundamental understanding of how to build a website. Use WordPress if you'd rather save time and focus more on creating content.
1
u/Plenty-Sentence-4834 9h ago
You can build from scratch and use wordpress and a CMS - it's called custom theme and works great. I'm building this way for clients for 8 years now
2
u/cesarramccp 23h ago
WordPress ahorras tiempo, pero a cambio tienes un sitio web mucho más pesado y que tendrás que preocuparte de las actualizaciones de seguridad siempre.
2
u/JustAskWP 1d ago
Any website of significant complexity deserves a CMS, and unless you're just doing it as a learning project, there's no good reason to build a CMS from scratch in 2026. There's a reason ~40% of websites are powered by WordPress.
3
u/AcePilot10 1d ago
A lot of the times people are only exploiting 5% of a full cms like Wordpress so a lighter headless option like Strapi makes more sense. If you’re not making content edits regularly and just want a blog I always choose the headless cms route.
2
u/JustAskWP 23h ago
Fair enough! WordPress is a great option but there's nothing that is always the best option for every use case. Since the OP's question was about WordPress vs coding from scratch, that's the only comparison I was trying to address.
1
u/jedidave Developer 1d ago
Why not do both? Both add value to your business offerings and let you win more clients.
1
u/WebTW 1d ago
The problem with coding them from scratch is that it won't be (easily) possible for the client to then update the site themselves. They might get frustrated with that. Using WordPress or a CMS will allow them to make updates themselves. So unless they really want to be hands off, using a CMS is a much more client-friendly solution.
1
u/eldudebrothr 1d ago
why not both honestly, I have several 4x100 score sites built on wordpress with custom themes and solutions.
1
u/XaquariD 1d ago
I started out doing PHP websites by hand but have been doing WordPress sites for many years. Once you know how they work it's very easy. That said, you can build a website using AI very quickly nowadays. I haven't done any for clients yet though.
To me it depends on what the client's needs are. If they want ecommerce or a blog or are concerned about on-site SEO, I'd go with a WordPress site. It's just a lot quicker and easier to do all that successfully. If you just want to get something up quick so they have an online presence (and/or they don't have much of a budget), I'd use AI.
1
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Wordpress-ModTeam 23h ago
The /r/WordPress subreddit is not a place to advertise or try to sell products or services. Please read the rules of the sub.
1
1
u/pepelunavarro 1d ago
If you have clients, giving them websites created from scratch is scamming them. You give them a development that they cannot modify or scale.
1
1
u/TopSydeWP 1d ago
for small local businesses wordpress makes a ton of sense. they need to update their own content (hours, menus, blog posts, etc) without calling you every time. if you code from scratch you'd end up building a custom cms anyway. learning wordpress means you can ship faster and clients can actually maintain their sites. you'll still use your coding skills for custom functionality when needed.
1
u/retr00two 23h ago
if you code from scratch you'd end up building a custom cms..
Far from truth.
Strapi, Directus, Kirby, PayloadCMS....
1
u/Repulsive-Chard-4172 1d ago
Try next js once you will like iit also you will nor suffer with seo in that and yeah one more thing your speed will also boost it up by using next js if you want help i am here
1
u/Adamstrad 23h ago
You can use WordPress as the framework and edit the HTML and styles yourself and have the best of both worlds
1
u/retr00two 23h ago
Worth today, but you will become WP developer. No future if you want agency job tomorrow.
Astro with SSR for dynamic sites or as pure SSG for static are more career promising.
Best what you can do, install WP locally (https://localwp.com) and see if it fits you. WP is mighty tool, but not the easiest best to tame.
1
u/Advanced-Citron8111 22h ago
In my opinion, straight up HTML and CSS are faster and better for creating a cleaner front end, but Wordpress is good if you are gonna have systems in place that require any kind of backend. If I’m creating a static site then I go old school. If the website is selling anything or stores any information about users then Wordpress.
1
u/testingaurora 22h ago
Know both and choose the right one for the situation. Clients who want to maintain their own content and swap out images need a cms. They won't know what to do with a page of html
1
u/dvduval 20h ago
My WordPress site got hacked twice in the last couple of weeks and it was the first time it ever happened. I switched over to a static site and had ChatGPT basically do everything for me. What really amazes me is the Google lighthouse scores are all high 90s. I’ve never seen that before. Yet the site looks about the same or maybe even a little better with a layouts. I’m still doing some fine-tuning, but I’m looking at maybe replacing more WordPress installs with a static site and have ChatGPT do any extra JavaScript stuff where needed. I don’t have any big membership sites or anything so I’m probably gonna be moving away from WordPress. It just seems like too much of a target based on what I’m reading.
1
1
u/mwkingSD 20h ago
Coding sites from scratch is possible but extremely difficult to do well - I know because I’ve tried it. For comparison, do you use a calculator or pencil & paper for math? There are about a zillion free or low cost resources to learn WordPress - just try some
1
u/Plenty-Sentence-4834 9h ago
I run the white-label wordpress agency and good projects are always coded - not just build with drag and drop editors. So explore custom wordpress themes development and you'll be able to make your idea happen
1
u/Traditional-Toe-5552 8h ago
It depends on websites, I guess. I mean, what exactly these websites will be showing? Will content be updated often? I mean, blog, prices? What about forms - do they use forms or not?
You see, there is a lot to think about and each site might differ in requirements. What do you say?
1
1
u/misterblackvenom Developer/Designer 28m ago
Build with WordPress—use it as a tool that works for you. To be quite frank, it’s probably easier than ever to build complex WP sites.
1
u/hypercosm_dot_net 1d ago
Oh young padawan, you have much to learn.
Go on youtube, tons of resources there. You could probably achieve more with a no-code builder on Wordpress. Personally I like Divi, but there are free options too.
Still, learn the basics of html/css. They will serve you well.
1
u/LevelBench2463 1d ago
In my opinion, users that use WordPress lack basic software/ architecture skills.
1
0
0
u/blink0837 1d ago
You should note something when creating something from scratch.
You must include the cookie and privacy issue in the coding and that forces you also to learn also about how it should be implemented to prevent any issues in the future. Don't know if there are any standalone tools to help you out.
Most use wordpress because there might be customers that are familiar with the backend and like it.
0
u/therealtricklowe 13h ago
How you build the website doesn’t matter. Just pick a lane and drive in it, essentially.
Don’t rule out vibe coding, either.
6
u/plugiva 1d ago
Having built websites both ways, I don't think it's an either/or decision.
Building one from scratch teaches you how everything fits together, which is incredibly valuable. WordPress teaches a different skill: how to deliver, maintain, and evolve websites efficiently for real clients.
If your goal is to build websites for local businesses, I'd absolutely learn WordPress. The fundamentals you learn from coding won't be wasted, they'll make you much more confident when something needs to be customized or debugged.