Website Builder v/s Web designer: What’s the best way to get a website?

Jan 05, 2023 | By Aishna Pathak

Everything is becoming digital and if you do not take your business online, you might lose innumerable growth opportunities.
Your website is the face of your company, the first place people go to if they want to know anything about your business, thus, the first impression of your company highly depends on your website.
It has all the details about your company, your vision, activities, portfolio, contact details, etc. and when you put the effort into designing a good website, people will associate with it.
Once you know how important and advantageous a website can be for your business and you plan on getting one made for you, the first question that comes up is -

What are the ways to get a website?

There are mainly two ways of getting a website -

  • Website Designer
  • Website Developer

Before we go there, these things you must consider before designing a website:

If you are planning on getting a website then the first thing is to determine your needs and what you expect from your website. Consider the functionalities and pages that you want to include.

Another important thing to consider is whether you want a custom made website or a more - generic-looking website would be okay for you?

Last but not the least, what is your budget like? The investment that you are ready to make in your website will influence the kind of website you will be able to get.

Website Builder

Website Builders are online tools that help the users in creating a website themselves using various pre-made templates. There are many templates that website builder tools offer which makes it easier for you to find the most suitable one for your needs.
Once you find the best template, you can then choose the kind of widgets and add designing elements to your templates to customize it.

There are a lot of website developers in the market and the competition is big. Some of the website developer tools are:

Wix
WordPress
Shopify
Squarespace
Weebly


These are just a few of the many tools and all of them have their different specialties and templates to choose from. Website Builders provide you with offline as well as online platforms.

Online website building will be completely done over the internet on the online tool which doesn't require you to download the program or upload the final files. You can do everything online.

Website Designer

Website Designer designs your website right from scratch. They do not use pre-made templates but design completely customized websites that will accurately portray the personality of your website through the elements that will be used.

You can either hire a freelance website designer or you could hire web design agencies that have multiple web designers, developers, and marketers.

The web designing agencies take care of everything right from conceptualization to the final website.

Website Builder v/s Website developer: Which one is right for you?

Many factors will influence your decision about whether you will choose a website builder or website designer for your business like time, budget, its use, etc. To assist you in making this decision, let us understand the pros and cons of each.

Website Builder

Pros

 

  • No complicated coding skills required

When you are hiring a website builder, it is easier to get a website created because the work doesn’t include extensive and complicated coding. It is more about programming things on your website to act in a certain way.
 

  • Affordable

Cost is a big concern when it comes to hiring a professional website builder so when you are investing, it should be worth it. Website builders are comparatively affordable than website designers. They provide a quality website at a low cost.
 

  • Faster to create

If you are in urgent need of a website for your business, hiring a website builder is the best option for you. They create the perfect website for you in a limited time. The task majorly involves programming and not designing which eliminates the need for detailing of designing and appearance.
 

  • Appearance is in the hands of professionals

The burden of deciding on the appearance of your website can be left to the website builders. They are responsible for the functionality of your website and therefore of its appearance.

Cons

 

  • Customization of the website is not possible

Since the design and functionality is completely dependent on the web builder, it becomes difficult to make customization and changes as and when needed. The whole appearance is dependent upon website builders and you have a limited say in it.

 

  • Lacks SEO elements

To gain the attention of people, the website should have good SEO. SEO or search engine optimization brings your website on top of others and having an attractive website helps here. But, website builders are not skilled at designing which affects the appearance and SEO of the website.
 

  • Misses out on the professional appearance

Website builders prepare a website that lacks creativity and professional appearance. They are informative but they are unattractive and often have a messy arrangement of elements. This affects its popularity.
 

  • Slow and limited page

There are limited pages that could be programmed by the website developer and these websites often have a slow loading time. This is very unattractive for your viewers and it may affect your reputation.

Website Designer

Pros

 

  • Good SEO

Attractiveness and information are the keys to achieving a good SEO of your website and having a website designed by a professional website designer gives you the upper hand in it.
 

  • Attractive and professional appearance

Your website looks very attractive when it is designed by a professional website designer which is the most important thing when it comes to creating a good impact on people through your website.

 

  • Customization is possible

You can choose the design of your website and make changes whenever you want. Website designers are experts in designing the perfect design for you as per your needs using their exceptional designing skills.
 

  • Faster working

These websites are carefully and attractively made keeping in mind its smooth and easy access by people and thus they have a fast loading time.

Cons

 

  • Expensive

Getting a website developed by a professional website designer is an expensive deal. There are a lot of costs that you will have to bear to get their services.
 

  • Time-consuming

All the good things take time and although the results are very pleasing, it takes a lot of time to get a website designed by website designers. You should not take their services if you need a website in a short period.
 

  • After development maintenance

Once a website is created, the work doesn't just end there, you need to keep updating these websites and make changes in them now and then. Its maintenance becomes difficult and expensive when you hire a website designer.
 

  • Coordination

Coordination with the designers is also a thing that can bring difficulty for you. Sometimes your ideas won’t match with their designs and that can bring a disagreement between the business and designer which is not good for the website.

 

Ready to make a decision? Consider this:

Different situations will influence your decision. If you have just started with your business or if this is your starter website, choosing a website designer will be an expensive decision, here, a website builder will be a cheaper and faster option for you.

If you have a budget and experience, a website designer is the best option. You will get a far more customized and unique website that perfectly defines your business.

If you are still not sure, you can even go for a hybrid solution. You can create your personalized templates and let a website designer work on them for you. This will save a lot of money for you and will still be more customized.