E-commerce is a flourishing industry that allows entrepreneurs and businesses to establish their presence and sell products and services online. According to the most recent data, e-commerce is anticipated to account for 20.8% of worldwide retail sales in 2023, totaling $6.3 trillion. With over 2 billion online shoppers globally, e-commerce is not only a profitable but also a competitive sector. As a result, having a visually appealing, functional, and secure e-commerce website is critical to your online success and growth. 

Related: Read our blog on the latest e-commerce trends for your brand's online success.

However, developing an e-commerce website is not an easy undertaking. Many elements must be considered, including design, functionality, security, performance, and maintenance. You should take a while to consider your options: whether it is best to use a website builder or construct a custom e-commerce website from scratch.

A website builder is a simple software program that lets you create a website using pre-designed templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and other built-in features. A custom e-commerce website, on the other hand, is one that is developed from scratch by a developer or team of developers. This would include utilizing a variety of programming languages, frameworks, and tools.

Both alternatives have advantages and disadvantages, and the ideal solution is determined by your specific needs, goals, money, and skills. In this post, we will weigh the benefits and drawbacks of using a website builder against creating a custom e-commerce website to help you decide which is best for you.

A website builder is a convenient and cost-effective way to quickly set up an e-commerce website. Website builders tend to be a popular choice since they allow those with little to no coding skills to easily choose from a variety of templates and customize them to fit their brand. However, website builders may have limitations in terms of functionality and customization options compared to a custom-built website. Let's get to these pros and cons in more detail. 

When using a website builder, no coding or design abilities are required. Users can choose a template that matches their niche and then easily customize it with material, photographs, colors, fonts, and logos. Moreover, adding services such as shopping carts, payment gateways, product catalogs, reviews, and more is as simple as a few mouse clicks.

A website builder allows you to create an e-commerce site in minutes or hours, saving you weeks or months of waiting time associated with custom development. When you can have your online store up and running quickly, you can start selling your products or services without any delay. This not only saves you time but also allows you to capitalize on market demand immediately. Additionally, website builders often provide user-friendly interfaces and intuitive tools that make the process of setting up an e-commerce site seamless and hassle-free. 

Website builders typically offer low-cost choices for establishing your e-commerce presence that include hosting, domain names, SSL certificates, and customer support. This affordability is especially beneficial for small businesses or startups with limited budgets. Moreover, website builders often offer flexible pricing plans, allowing you to scale your e-commerce site as your business grows without incurring significant additional costs. This strategy allows you to avoid the ongoing fees and updates that custom websites necessitate. 

Suppliers of website builders have a wealth of experience to offer. They've built a slew of websites in a range of genres and industries, all while keeping to best practices in web design, usability, SEO, security, and performance. What's more, website builders often provide resources such as tutorials, customer support, and community forums to help you navigate any challenges you may encounter during the website building process.

Website builders include analytics, marketing tools, social network integration, email marketing, SEO tools, inventory management, shipping options, tax calculation, coupons, discounts, and other features and capabilities. These features and capabilities make website builders an inviting solution for businesses of all sizes. They allow you to not only create a visually appealing and user-friendly website but also optimize it for search engines, manage your online inventory, and effectively market your products or services. Additionally, the inclusion of analytics tools helps you track the performance of your website and make data-driven decisions to further enhance its effectiveness. Built-in features eliminate the need for incompatible third-party plugins or extensions.

Website builders update and manage your e-commerce website behind the scenes, ensuring it has the most recent features, security upgrades, bug fixes, and performance optimizations.

With website builders, it may be tough to choose a template that completely matches your vision. Customization options may be restricting as well, potentially requiring design or functionality sacrifices. Additionally, website builders may not offer advanced features or integrations that are necessary for your specific e-commerce needs. This could limit your ability to provide a seamless and unique shopping experience for your customers. 

Website builders frequently limit your ability to fully customize your e-commerce website. While they may offer a range of templates and themes to choose from, these options may not fully align with your brand identity or desired aesthetic. Furthermore, website builders often have limitations on modifying the layout, structure, and overall design of your website, making it difficult to create a truly unique and tailored online store.

Another drawback of using website builders for e-commerce is the potential for performance issues. Since these platforms are often shared by multiple users, your website's loading speed and overall performance may be affected. Additionally, as your business grows and attracts more traffic, the limitations of website builders may become more apparent, leading to slower loading times and potential downtime. You may also be restricted from performing website optimization and caching. It is important to consider these factors when choosing a platform for your e-commerce website. 

Using a website builder entails giving up control of your e-commerce website's security to the platform supplier. Any platform breaches or assaults may have an effect on your site, and you may have less control over data backup and recovery. While website builders often have built-in security measures, they may not offer the same level of customization and control as a self-hosted solution. This can be a concern for businesses that handle sensitive customer information or process online transactions. It is crucial to assess the platform's security features and ensure they meet your specific needs before making a decision. 

Moving your e-commerce website to a different platform or server while using a website builder might be tricky. This is because website builders often have their own unique coding and design structures, making it difficult to transfer your website seamlessly. Therefore, many website builders restrict migration, and more often than not, you'll have to rebuild your website or engage a developer to assist with the move. 

Businesses choose to code their own e-commerce website, as this option allows for more flexibility and control. By coding your own e-commerce website, you have the freedom to customize every aspect of your site according to your specific needs and preferences. Additionally, you can easily integrate advanced features and functionalities that may not be available on website builders. For these reasons, some believe that coding a custom e-commerce website is a more advanced approach, leading to the creation of a site that directly caters to your needs and goals. Outlined below are some of its main advantages and disadvantages. 

Custom coding grants you complete control and autonomy over your e-commerce website. You can design and develop it based on your own vision, preferences, and specifications. When you code your own e-commerce website, you're also free to add any desired features or functionalities, which will make your platform stand out and cater better to the expectations of your customers. 

When you use the original code for your e-commerce website, you are not constrained by any platform or supplier. Based on your demands and budget, you can select your preferred hosting, domain name, SSL certificate, and other important details. It adds to your comfort that, if need be, it is straightforward and painless to switch or change providers.

With custom coding, you are empowered to create an original and distinct e-commerce website. You can tailor the design, layout, and features to perfectly align with your brand identity and create a unique online shopping experience for your customers. This level of customization allows you to showcase your brand's personality and differentiate yourself from competitors in the market.  Sooner or later, this will, of course, reflect in your conversion and retention rates. 

When you use a custom code, you can assure the security and privacy of your e-commerce website. Implementing your security policies protects your website from hackers, malware, spam, and other threats. You or your team of developers are also the ones in control of data backup and restoration. 

Custom coding allows you to improve the performance and speed of your e-commerce website. You can use web development best practices and techniques like minification, compression, caching, CDN, etc. These techniques help to optimize the loading time of your website, resulting in a better user experience and higher conversion rates. 

As opposed to website builders, with bespoke coding, migrating your e-commerce website to another platform or server is a smooth operation. Since you are in charge, independent from the website builder provider, you do not need to be concerned about losing specific data or features associated with your site, and you may adapt or alter it as needed for the new environment or requirements.

With all these exciting pros of coding your own e-commerce website, there's also a set of difficulties.

Developing a custom e-commerce website can be costly, requiring the hire of developers as well as the potential expenditure of funds for services and tools like hosting, domain names, SSL certificates, plugins, and extensions. The website's maintenance, security, and scaling, if need be, will also add to your expenses. 

Creating a custom e-commerce website can be a time-consuming process that might take weeks or months, depending on the project's complexity. Delays and modifications tend to happen a lot throughout development, too. So if you are in a hurry, this option might not be ideal for you.

While you will enjoy the freedom associated with building your own e-commerce website, the responsibility to maintain your customized platform may not be a very enjoyable part. It includes monitoring and resolving issues such as bugs, errors, compatibility issues, and security vulnerabilities. You must also perform regular updates to include new features, upgrades, or adjustments, which are both time-restricted and time-consuming and can mean more monetary costs for you.

Coding your own e-commerce website necessitates knowledge of several computer languages, frameworks, and tools. A thorough understanding of site design, usability, SEO, security, and performance is also required. You either need to do all this yourself or employ a team of developers. 

When it comes to determining whether to use a website builder or design a custom e-commerce website, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Like answers to most questions, the response here is this: It depends on your particular situation. 

For more details on what to consider when choosing a website builder, read our detailed guide here.

Developing an e-commerce website is a critical step for every online business. It is precisely because of its significance that it is a difficult task fraught with concerns and decisions. 

The choice between using a website builder and custom coding has far-reaching consequences for your online success and growth. The decision to use a website builder or custom coding should be based on your specific requirements and goals. While a website builder may offer convenience and ease of use, it may not provide the level of customization and functionality that you desire. On the other hand, custom coding allows for complete control over your website's design and features, but it may require more time and resources to develop. Ultimately, carefully considering your needs and weighing the pros and cons of each option will help you make an informed decision that aligns with the unique business needs and expectations you have to meet. 

This article has offered a complete summary of the benefits and drawbacks of each choice, allowing you to make an informed decision based on your own circumstances and goals. But we can do more for you!

If you need help or advice in creating your e-commerce website, do not hesitate to contact Flat Rock Technology. Our experienced team has helped many businesses establish a unique online presence in the e-commerce market. We are ready to help you design, develop, host, maintain, and optimize your e-commerce website, whether you use a website builder or customized coding. Contact us today!

Related: Read our 2023 comparison between the titans of e-commerce websites: Magento and Shopify.