In this article, we’ll look at the CMS vs Website Builder and see their differences to help you decide which you should choose.

In today’s digital era, having a website is really important for your business, organization and personal brand. However, creating a website from scratch can take up a lot of money and time. That’s why many people choose to use website builders or content management systems to make the things easy. Both can build excellent quality websites.

Look for the website builders too? Check our top ten best website builders.

What are Website Builders?

A website builder is an internet-based website designing application that allows users to produce professional website. With the help of this, you can create your website in a few minutes. These are perfect for individuals, freelancers, small business owners and start-ups.

What is CMS?

A content management system is a software application that provides the basic infrastructure for building websites. It helps to create a website and deliver content to the server. CMS let the users to make a website by using themes, plugins and some advance level coding. It give the users a massive range of flexibility and scalability because of their in-depth customization options.

Main Difference Between CMS vs Website Builders

To better understand the differences between CMS vs website builders, let’s compare them in few key areas.

Ease of Use

If we talk about easy of use in CMS vs Website Builder, Website builders are generally easy to use than CMS. Their drag and drop feature make it simple to create and customize website even with not having a technical expertise. CMS, on the other hand requires some technical knowledge to set up and customization. Website builders are ideal for beginners or individuals who want to quickly create a simple website without getting into the technical details. CMS platforms are generally more suitable for larger websites that may require advance features and complex content structure.

Costs

Many CMS platforms begin with the basic tier, but this requires payment for web hosting, domain name registration, and any extra stuff like premium plugins or themes. On the other hand, website builders usually follow a subscription model, charging a monthly or yearly fee that covers both web hosting and domain name registration. While additional charges might apply for premium features. Every website builder and CMS offers different options. Some are cheaper, around $5 to $25 each month. If you’re running a bigger online business, it might cost you up to $40 each month. Most website builders charge roughly 12$ per month, or $144 annually, for a standard business plan.

Customization

The CMS platforms gives greater flexibility when it comes to customization and optimization of your website’s content and features. You can utilize plugins and modules to incorporates additional features such as Ecommerce capabilities, integration with social media, and advance SEO tools. In contrast, website builders have restricted customization options that rely on the platforms built-in features. So, customization is the important factor to consider in CMS vs Website Builder comparison.

Security & Maintenance

In CMS vs Website Builder, Using CMS means you’re responsible for taking care of different aspects of your website like security updates, backups and speed optimization. But if you go with the website builders, it means company is responsible for all the stuff. Another thing is, CMS sometimes get targeted by malicious attacks. But if you regularly update your site and only use trusted designs and add-ons, then you don’t need to be worry too much. You can also consider setting up a firewall using third-party services like Sucuri or Cloudflare to minimize the attacks.

Hosting

Let’s talk about hosting in CMS vs Website Builder, When you choose website builder to create a website, hosting is included in the package. It means that website provider takes care of everything. You just need to sign up and choose a subscription plan that suits you the best. Once it done, you can start making your website. On the other hand, majority of CMS are set up in a way that you have to find hosting company by yourself. This might be scary if you’re a non-tech person or never created a website before. But don’t worry, there are many hosting providers offers CMS pre-installed services.

Frequently Asked Questions