- WordPress passes Core Web Vitals on just 46% of sites (HTTP Archive, 2025) - last among the main CMS platforms. A custom Next.js site is built to pass 95%+ of the time.
- Security is the biggest weakness: Patchstack tracked 11,334 WordPress vulnerabilities in 2025 (+42% YoY), 91% of them in plugins. A custom site has no plugins to exploit.
- WordPress is cheaper to start (250-1,000 EUR) but annual costs reach 600-2,450 EUR. The two options break even around year 3, then custom is cheaper every year.
- Pick a builder for a simple, fast, low-budget site. Pick custom when the site drives revenue and speed, SEO and security are priorities.
WordPress powers 42.7% of all websites in the world (W3Techs, 2026). Sounds impressive, right? Here is another number: only 46.28% of WordPress sites pass Google's Core Web Vitals (HTTP Archive, 2025). More than half of WordPress sites fail the main user experience test.
Widely used does not mean good. If you are a business owner thinking about a new site, or your current WordPress site is slow and breaking, this article will help you decide: website builder or custom site? We will look at concrete data on speed, security, SEO, cost and maintenance, with no marketing buzzwords.
What are website builders and what is a custom site?
According to W3Techs (February 2026), WordPress holds 42.7% of the market, Shopify 5.1% and Wix 4.2%. These platforms have something in common: they let you build a website without writing a line of code. But what do you actually get?
Website builders (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify) are platforms with ready-made templates, a drag-and-drop editor and thousands of plugins. You do not need coding skills. You install a theme, add plugins, and you have a site in a day or two. The ideal option for people who do not have technical expertise and want something fast. WordPress is open-source software - you install it on your own hosting and configure it. Wix and Squarespace are hosted platforms - you pay a monthly subscription and work inside their interface.
A custom site (with Next.js, React or similar technology) is built from scratch - no themes, no plugins, no third-party dependencies. Every element is written specifically for your needs. The result is faster, more secure and easier to maintain over the long run. The trade-off? You need a developer and more time at the beginning. You cannot build it yourself with drag-and-drop.
The difference is fundamental: a builder gives you a finished product with limits, a custom site gives you exactly what you want, nothing more, nothing less. To understand the real cost of building a website, you have to look not only at the up-front investment but also at monthly costs across the full life of the site.
Speed: how much faster is a custom site?
WordPress sites load in 2-4 seconds on average, while a Next.js site reaches 0.5-1.5 seconds. Mobile Lighthouse score? WordPress: about 51/100. Next.js: about 86/100. That gap is not small, it is huge, and it directly affects your Google ranking.
Why is WordPress so slow? The reason is the architecture. Every request goes through a PHP interpreter, a MySQL database, the active theme and 15-20 plugins. Each plugin adds extra CSS and JavaScript files. A typical WordPress site makes 60-100 HTTP requests on first load. Even with a caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache), the result is 2-3 seconds at best, because the PHP process itself is slow.
Next.js works in a completely different way. Pages are generated ahead of time (Static Site Generation) and served straight from a CDN, a global network of servers that delivers content from the location closest to the user. No database, no PHP, no plugins. The user gets the ready HTML page instantly. Requests on first load? Usually 10-15, not 60-100.
What does this mean for your business? According to Portent (100M+ pageviews), a site that loads in 1 second converts at 3.05%. At 4 seconds, barely 0.67%. Three times the difference in sales because of 3 seconds. And Deloitte and Google (37 brands, 30 million sessions) found that a 0.1 second improvement brings 8.4% more conversions in retail.
If you run an online store or generate leads, a slow WordPress site costs you money every day. For more on how speed affects sales, see our detailed article on website speed.
SEO and Core Web Vitals: who wins?
Data from the HTTP Archive Web Almanac 2025 is unequivocal: WordPress passes Core Web Vitals only 46.28% of the time, last place among the main CMS platforms. Wix sits at 74.86%, Squarespace at 70.39%, and Duda reaches 84.87%. WordPress is nearly 39 percentage points behind the leader.
What does Core Web Vitals mean in practice? Google measures three things: LCP (how fast the main content loads, under 2.5 seconds), INP (how fast the site reacts to clicks, under 200 ms) and CLS (whether elements jump around as the page loads, under 0.1). If your site fails these metrics, Google will rank you lower.
WordPress LCP shows a good score on only 53% of sites, while Wix is at 81% (HTTP Archive, 2025). Note the irony: even Wix, a platform developers typically criticize, is significantly faster than WordPress. Heavy themes and plugins literally slow down the loading of the main content.
What about a custom Next.js site? It does not show up in these rankings because it is not a CMS platform, every Next.js site is unique. But in our experience, a properly built Next.js site passes Core Web Vitals 95%+ of the time. You do not have unused code, you do not have heavy themes, you do not have 20 plugins loading JavaScript files in the background.
Since 2021, Google has officially used Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor. All else equal - content quality, link profile, domain authority - the faster site will rank higher. If your site is not ranking well, see the 8 reasons your site is not showing up on Google.
Security: how vulnerable is WordPress?
Patchstack tracked 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025, a 42% increase over 2024. The number is alarming, but even more concerning is the fact that 91% of them are in plugins, and 46% have no patch at the time of disclosure.
And the trend is getting worse. Patchstack reports that high-severity vulnerabilities grew 113% year over year, and roughly 50% of high-impact flaws were exploited within 24 hours of disclosure. The median time to mass exploitation for the most-targeted bugs was just 5 hours, the attacker often does not even need a password.
Sucuri adds to the picture: 95.5% of all CMS infections they cleaned (39,594 sites) were WordPress. 39.1% of hacked WordPress sites were running an outdated version of the CMS.
What happens when a WordPress site gets hacked? The most common attacks include: SEO spam injections (attackers add hidden links to gambling or pharma sites), redirect malware (your visitors get sent to scam sites), cryptomining scripts (they use your visitors' browser resources) and backdoors (the attacker keeps access even after a 'cleanup'). Google may add a 'This site may harm your computer' warning, and your traffic dies instantly.
A custom Next.js site simply does not have this attack surface. There are no plugins to have vulnerabilities. There is no PHP backend to be compromised. There is no MySQL database to be accessed via SQL injection. There is no /wp-admin/ panel that bots try to brute-force 24/7. The code is yours, and only you control what runs on the site.
For more on how security ties into maintenance, see what website maintenance covers.
Maintenance: why Next.js needs less of it
A typical WordPress site runs 15-20 plugins. Each plugin is a separate software project with a separate development team, a separate update cycle and separate vulnerabilities. When WordPress ships a new version, some plugins become incompatible. When a plugin updates, it may conflict with another plugin or with the theme.
WordPress maintenance - a typical month
WordPress core update → check that everything still works → update 15+ plugins (one by one, to spot conflicts) → update the theme → back up before every update → test → fix conflicts. Takes 2-4 hours a month even for a simple site.
Next.js maintenance - a typical month
Nothing. The site runs. No plugins to update. No themes that break. No database that 'bloats'. The developer is only involved when you want new functionality, not to put out fires.
The difference is structural. WordPress is a system with dozens of third-party dependencies. If one of the plugin authors stops maintaining their work, and that happens regularly, you suddenly have an incompatible component at the core of your site. With Next.js the code is yours, there are no third parties, and the only updates happen on your schedule, when you decide.
For business owners this means lower developer bills. A WordPress site needs a technical person every month. A Next.js site, maybe once every 6 months, and only for something you asked for, not for a fire.
Cost: what does each option really cost?
Here is the truth most agencies will not tell you: WordPress looks cheap up front, but annual costs add up. A premium theme (100-250 EUR), plugins for SEO, security, caching and backup (150-750 EUR/year), hosting (100-300 EUR/year), SSL certificate, plus periodic developer maintenance for updates and plugin conflicts. Before you trust anyone with the build, here is how to choose a web agency.
A custom Next.js site? Higher initial investment, yes. But after that? Hosting on Vercel is free for most business sites. No plugins to pay for. No themes to renew. No need for a security plugin, because there is nothing that can be hacked the same way. Developer maintenance is minimal, because there are no plugins that break with every update.
| Cost item | WordPress | Next.js (Custom) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial build | 250 - 1,000 € | 1,500 - 7,500 € |
| Hosting / year | 100 - 300 € | 0 - 100 € |
| Plugins and themes / year | 150 - 750 € | 0 € |
| Security / year | 100 - 400 € | 0 € |
| Developer maintenance / year | 250 - 1,000 € | 100 - 400 € |
| Annual cost (excluding initial) | 600 - 2,450 € | 100 - 500 € |
See the difference? WordPress maintenance demands more developer time, because every 2-3 months a plugin conflicts with another plugin, a theme needs to be updated, or a security patch breaks something. With a custom Next.js site, the code is stable and not dependent on third parties. The developer only steps in when you want new functionality.
Separately: if you hire a freelancer for WordPress, the hourly rate is 20-50 EUR/hour. For Next.js, 40-80 EUR/hour. But a WordPress developer is needed 3-5 hours a month for routine maintenance. A Next.js developer, maybe 1 hour every 3 months. Do the math.
Yes, WordPress is cheaper to start with. But look at what happens over 3 years:
The chart says it clearly: WordPress starts cheap, but annual costs catch up. With average values the two lines cross around year three at about 5,400 EUR. After that, every year on WordPress you pay roughly 1,600 EUR more, while the custom site runs at about 300 EUR/year. By year five, WordPress will have cost you around 8,600 EUR, while Next.js sits at around 6,000 EUR.
More on pricing for the different types of websites is in our pricing guide.
Online store: Shopify vs a custom solution?
The average Shopify store conversion rate is 1.4-1.8% (Shopify, 2025). On mobile, just 1.2%. The top 20% of stores clear 3.2%, but most owners do not even hit the average. Why? Because the platform limits what you can change.
Shopify has three main problems. First, transaction fees. If you do not use Shopify Payments (which has regional limits), you pay an extra 0.5-2% on every sale (Shopify Help Center). At 5,000 EUR a month in revenue, that is 25-100 EUR on top of standard fees. Plus the monthly subscription: from $39 (Basic) to $399 (Advanced).
Second, vendor lock-in. If you decide to leave Shopify, you cannot take the design, custom features or URL structure with you. Wix is even more restrictive, you cannot export customer data or order history (Shopify Migration Guide). In practice you start from zero when migrating.
Third, limited checkout control. You cannot change the checkout flow on the Basic and Shopify plans. Want to add an invoice field? Want to reorder the steps? On most plans, you cannot. And the checkout is the most critical page of any online store.
And WooCommerce (the WordPress ecommerce plugin)? It is free, but slow. WordPress with WooCommerce and 30+ plugins (payments, shipping, SEO, caching, security) loads in 4-6 seconds on mobile. At those speeds, conversion drops below 1% (see the Portent data above).
A custom online store on Next.js? Zero transaction fees (other than the payment gateway, usually 1.5-2.5%). Full control over the checkout flow, UX and speed. The data is yours. The code is yours. Want to switch hosting? It takes hours, not weeks.
When is a website builder a good choice?
Let's be honest, not everyone needs a custom site. Website builders have their place and are the right choice in specific situations. You should not pay 4,500 EUR+ for something that can do the job for 200 EUR.
- You have no technical knowledge and no budget for a developer. WordPress, Wix or Squarespace let you build a site yourself with drag-and-drop, without a line of code. Wix is the easiest - even someone with no tech background can put a site together in 2 hours.
- You need a site fast, in a day or two, not weeks. A personal blog, portfolio, simple business card site with basic information: address, phone, opening hours, photos.
- Budget is tight and you cannot invest 1,500+ EUR in the initial build. WordPress with a free theme or Wix on a basic plan are valid options.
- Speed and SEO are not a priority, for example an internal company site, a test project, a hobby, or a business that does not depend on online customers.
If you are a hairdresser who just wants to show an address, opening hours and some photos, WordPress with a free theme or Wix gets the job done. If you are a photographer who needs a portfolio, Squarespace builds beautiful galleries. Not every business needs a Ferrari, sometimes a bike is enough. The important thing is to know the difference and make an informed choice.
When is a custom site a must?
If your online presence is a main channel for attracting customers, WordPress and similar builders become a hindrance, not a help. Think about it: with WordPress your site passes Core Web Vitals with under 50% probability. A competitor with a custom site is twice as fast and ranks higher on Google. Who gets the call, you or them?
- The site generates revenue, online store, lead generation, booking system or services where every lost second equals lost money. Remember: 1 sec vs 4 sec = 3x difference in conversions.
- SEO is a priority, you want to rank high on Google, Core Web Vitals matter to you and the competition is serious. At a 46% CWV pass rate, WordPress gives you under a 50% chance.
- Security is critical, you process personal data, payments or sensitive information. With 11,334 WordPress vulnerabilities in 2025, the risk is real.
- You think long-term, you do not want to pay for plugins and themes every year. You prefer a higher initial investment and minimal recurring costs. The chart above shows: after 3 years custom comes out cheaper.
- You want a unique design, not yet another WordPress template that looks like 100 other sites. Custom design equals a unique brand.
- You have specific functionality needs, a product catalog, calculators, a customer portal, integrations with a CRM or ERP system. Builders hit their limits fast for non-standard requirements.
Have a look at the 7 steps to building your online presence, we cover everything from domain to technical SEO, which is especially important for custom sites.
From the field: how Electroboys moved from WordPress to Next.js
Electroboys came to us with a typical problem: a WordPress site with WooCommerce, loaded down with 20+ plugins. It took 4-5 seconds to load on mobile. Lighthouse score? Under 40 on phone. Every WordPress or plugin update risked breaking something, and they had no in-house technical person to fix it quickly.
We built a new frontend on Next.js that replaced the WordPress theme and most of the plugins entirely. The product catalog, navigation, filters, pages, all of it is custom code. The result? Loading under 1.5 seconds. Lighthouse mobile score above 85. Zero plugin conflicts, because the plugins simply do not exist.
The biggest change? Maintenance went down sharply. Before: every month something broke, a theme or plugin needed an update, and the update broke something else. The Electroboys team was losing hours on developer communication and waiting for fixes. Now: the site just works. No themes to update. No plugins that conflict. No weekly security patches. The developer only steps in when the client wants new functionality, not to put out fires.
Coming soon: the full Electroboys case in our projects section.
A similar story with Dom Klima, where we built a Next.js site and Google Business Profile from scratch. Result: 2nd position in Google Maps from the second month, stable ranking without ads and without monthly platform subscriptions. The whole project was built fully organically, no money spent on ads, no social media, no plugin subscriptions.
Will you see similar results? It depends on the competition and the market. But one thing is certain, with a slow WordPress site your chances are much lower. For realistic timelines, read how long SEO takes.
Key takeaways:
- WordPress/Wix is for non-developers, fast and cheap to start, ideal if you need a site yourself without technical skills
- 46.28% CWV pass rate, WordPress is last among the main CMS platforms on Core Web Vitals
- 11,334 vulnerabilities in 2025 (+42% YoY), 91% in plugins, 46% with no patch at disclosure
- A custom site does not need constant maintenance, no plugins, no themes, no monthly updates
- After 3 years total cost evens out, after that custom comes out cheaper every year
- If the site generates revenue, custom is an investment that pays off long term
If your current WordPress site is slow and breaking, it may be time for a redesign. And if you are just starting out, think about whether the short-term "savings" of WordPress will end up costing you more in the long run.