WordPress helps people create stunning websites; it is essential to understand that the platform is not a website builder but a CMS (Content Management System). It lets you manage web content or let different contributors create pages, edit content, or publish content on your website.
The difference between a content management system and the website builder is that CMS’s are more flexible and more complicated to use.
These are designed to enable adding more content of different types. Website builders are less resilient but are more straightforward. These can be used to make custom websites, on top of a CMS.
Here, we have provided you with the advantages and disadvantages of using a website builder for your WordPress site. There are plenty of website builders for WordPress, and a review of these offerings may help you decide.
For instance, a comparison of Beaver and Elementor builder provides insights on the best website builders in the market.
The Editor
A CMS like WordPress may not feature a visual interface that most website builders have. The WordPress GUI is challenging to navigate for some. The bare-bones content data entry is text-based.
The visual interface feature present in site builders allows you to edit the content of your website easier because of handy WYSIWYG interfaces that drag you and drop elements on your WordPress site.
WordPress site is limited to its form editor, which allows you to edit your content in an abstracted way, so the version of your website that you see on the form is not an accurate presentation of what your page will look like, live.
When you use a site builder, you will see the changes you make on your website or pages in real-time, making it easier to adjust what you deem necessary.
Website Hosting
This feature comes with all website builders in the market, so you do not have to configure web hosting if you purchase your unique domain name with your site builder, making it convenient for you to get your site out there.
If you only use WordPress’s features for your website, you will have to undergo a lengthy process of installing the platform on a PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) and MySQL (Relational Database Management System) web host.
Sometimes, you also need to use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to upload WordPress on the internet, which can be a daunting and challenging task for non-technical users.
The advantage of this process is that it lets you export your WordPress site and transfer it to a different host with ease. However, when it comes to a site builder, you can’t move your website to different hosts. If you want to leave the domain, you must rebuild your entire website.
Ease of Use
Using WordPress itself can become overwhelming, especially for novices in the field, and they may find the language that the site uses to be too technical.
WordPress requires users to tweak code to get some themes or plugins to work correctly, which can be a problem for those with little to no coding skills. Using a site builder can make the process easier as most of these builders aim to help you customize websites without tweaking codes.
Flexibility
We have established that WordPress is more flexible than site builders because it is a CMS that features a large number of plugins. WordPress plugins are extensions for your WordPress site and allow you to bring your ideas to life.
However, you need to configure these plugins to ensure it works seamlessly with your theme. Website builders offer plugins, but it can’t compare to the vast selection that WordPress provides, but it is easier to use because it does not require you to configure anything.
The question is, should you buy a site builder for your WordPress website?
If you want to customize your WordPress with less hassle, you may want to invest in a decent website builder. However, if you are okay with using WordPress’s built-in features and are familiar with coding, you can settle for just that.
But ultimately, the answer will depend on how you want your website’s outcome to be or what your specific needs are.