Why I Hand-Code Every Site and What That Means for You

Most website builders offer the same deal: drag and drop a component, click publish, you have a site. Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, even WordPress with a page builder. The pitch is speed and ease. You don't need to know code.

I don't use page builders. Every site I build is hand-coded HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It takes longer. The customer can't log in and rearrange a button themselves. But the tradeoffs are worth it, and I think you should know what you're actually getting.

Why page builders are slow, even when they're fast

A page builder abstracts the code so you can work visually. Behind the scenes, it generates HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from your clicks. The problem is that abstraction layers add bloat.

A Wix site ships with 500KB of framework code just to power the visual editor. A Webflow site loads three JavaScript libraries to make draggable components work. WordPress with a page builder adds theme code, plugin code, and builder code. You load all of it even if you only use one feature.

A hand-coded site loads exactly what it needs. No framework overhead. No abstraction layer. The page is fast by default.

Real example: load time

Load time matters for SEO, conversion, and user experience. Google ranks faster sites higher. Visitors bounce if a page takes more than three seconds. A hand-coded site competes better.

Security by default

Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress handle hosting and updates for you. They also control the entire stack. If a vulnerability comes out in Wix's platform, every Wix site is vulnerable. If WordPress releases a plugin update, you're dependent on that security patch actually being good.

A hand-coded site is a smaller attack surface. No plugins. No theme. No page builder framework. If there's a vulnerability, it's in your code or the host, not in third-party software you don't control.

You also own the code. If you ever want to audit it, move it, or show it to another developer, you can. Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow are proprietary. Your site is locked to their platform.

Portability: what you actually own

Every page builder has the same exit problem. You build a beautiful site. Then you want to move host, change builder, or work with a different developer. You're stuck.

With Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow, you can export some assets but not the site itself. If you leave, you start over. Same with WordPress: your code is open source but moving a heavily customised WordPress site to another platform is non-trivial.

A hand-coded site is portable. It's vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Any host accepts it. Any developer can work on it. You own it completely.

The speed advantage compounds

A hand-coded site at 0.8 seconds loads 5x faster than Wix. That speed difference impacts:

• Conversion rates (every second faster = 1-2% more conversions)
• SEO ranking (Google favours fast sites)
• Mobile experience (slower sites are unusable on mobile)
• Bounce rate (people leave slow sites immediately)

Over a year, that speed advantage turns into real business impact. More inquiries. Better rankings. Fewer people leaving frustrated.

Platform fees, forever

Wix charges $16-$27/mo minimum. Squarespace charges $12-$33/mo. WordPress hosting is $5-$20/mo but you add plugins and themes. All of these cost money every month, forever.

A hand-coded site costs what your hosting costs. For a small business, that's $8-$15/mo. No platform markup. No theme subscription. Just hosting.

Over ten years, a Squarespace site costs $1,440-$3,960. A hand-coded site costs $960-$1,800. That difference pays for site updates and optimisation.

The tradeoff you need to know

Hand-coded sites take longer to build. A 5-page site takes 3-8 weeks depending on complexity. A Wix site takes 3 days because you're using pre-built components.

You also can't edit it yourself. Want to move a section or change the layout? You ask me and I make the change. You don't drag and drop a component to rearrange things. That friction is the price of speed and security.

Some people want to make edits themselves. Wix and Squarespace are right for them. If you're okay with asking for changes occasionally (or not making changes at all), hand-coded is better.

When hand-coded makes sense

• You're running an established business with revenue and you want a competitive advantage
• You want your site to load fast and rank well
• You want to own your code and not be locked to a platform
• You're okay with asking for changes instead of making them yourself
• You're planning to keep the site for several years

When page builders are fine

• You're brand new and exploring whether the business works
• You want to experiment and make changes constantly
• You like the visual editing experience
• You want fast setup and are okay paying monthly forever
• You don't care about loading speed or ranking power

The bigger picture

Hand-coded doesn't mean it's better. It means it's different. The goal is a site that works for your business. If Wix or Squarespace gets you there and you're happy, use it. You're not paying performance tax to me.

But if you want speed, ownership, security, and low long-term costs, hand-coded wins. And that's why I hand-code every site I build.