Hi All – I need some advice pretty urgently.
I will be commissioning a new website build tomorrow, Page Load Speed is key for me but I need to be able to update the site at will (I’m not technical but will to learn a bit of HTML/ CSS)
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I’ve spoken with a number of Devs some have advised HTML/ CCS WordPress site with Woocommerce for the Checkout page will be the best for speed.
Other devs have suggested Webflow, Elementor Pro, Oxygen etc, so I can freely make updates and they ‘might’ be able to do something about the page load time.
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I am leaning toward a custom build however I am concerned about updating the site as I’m not technical but willing to learn (I won’t need to do anything too complex)
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1. Would love to hear your thoughts on this?
2. If I do go down the Custom route, what can I do to make my life easier with updates etc?
I was thinking to get the Devs to build a template page with all different sections e.g. image and text areas, buttons etc, I’d then remove the sections I don’t need and add images/ text to it.
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I have to make a decision by tomorrow – any advice is welcome.
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Thanks!
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It is true that a fully custom site can be faster *if it is made well*, however a site made with a theme or builder can also be nearly the same speed *if it is made well*.
Since both choices can provide excellent performance I think you should focus on the other factors that matter to you. Being able to update the site yourself is important to you, that’s a clear disadvantage for a custom site.
>If I do go down the Custom route, what can I do to make my life easier with updates etc?
Unless you’re making very simple updates you’re probably going to need to pay an ongoing maintenance fee or pay for individual updates so that they’ll make changes for you.
You say you’re not technical – so how are you planning to custom build a whole site? This is 100% the most technical possible choice.
Oxygen is extremely fast, one of the best out there, but also very complicated – BIG learning curve. Elementor is slow and crap. Webflow is good but you’re forced onto their platform and it gets expensive.
Buy Bricks Builder. It’s still a lot to learn, but the docs are very good, there are pre-made templates, and it does EVERYTHING. It’s also very fast (provided you don’t build something really stupid).
Bricks has a ‘client mode’ so clients can do their own updates (to content) without access to the build. And it makes your updates easy too.
What is your site supposed to do? Page load speed is relative (really). I work at a mobile gaming site – page load speed is critical to us – but it might not mean what you think. How many users are you supporting? You need a checkout, so I assume you are selling something. Is there user interaction with the products/site or is the site just a store?
Page builders, performant SEO practices, quality hosting with capable caching, and great SEM will beat out a fully custom site and the endless spiral of developers wasting time and money for little performance fixes and failed updates.