CMS’s and website builders are some of the most popular methods of building websites. Both can build excellent quality websites. Which solution you need will depend on your website and business goals. In this article, we’ll look at CMS vs website builders, see what their differences are, and help you decide which you should choose.

The terms CMS and website builder are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are different things and they approach building websites differently. When comparing CMS’s vs website builders, it helps to know exactly what we’re talking about.

• CMS’s manage the website’s content, such as blog posts, and you can add a theme on top of that management system.
• Website Builders can include blogs, but their focus and strength is in providing the tools to build the website. Such as a frontend visual website building interface.

CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) is software that runs on a web server that lets you create, store, search, and manage content, which is typically stored in an SQL database.

Usability

Using a CMS platform has a steep learning curve. It also requires more effort to maintain as users must manually update the platform and its add-ons.

CMS Cost

CMS’s offer better value for money as you only pay for the services you need.

What They’re Good For

CMS’s are highly popular, with 43.9% of custom websites worldwide using them. Since there are various brands with different features, they are ideal for businesses.

Website Builders

Usability

Website builders are user-friendly and do not require technical know-how. Hence, they are ideal for beginners.

Website Builder Cost

The cost of website builders varies depending on the platform.

What They’re Good For

Website builders are ideal for first-time users.

Which Should You Choose?

CMS Advantages

• Flexible and scalable
• Better value for money

CMS Disadvantages

• Steep learning curve
• Requires more effort to maintain
• Security vulnerabilities if not updated regularly

Website Builder Advantages

• User-friendly
• Ideal for beginners

Website Builder Disadvantages

• Limited customization options
• Less scalable

Ending Thoughts

Now that you have a clearer picture of CMS vs website builder, you can make a better call on which is better for your business. Consider the use case, pricing, user-friendliness, customization, and features before making up your mind. To quickly sum it up, website builders are ideal for first-time users while CMS’s are the better choice for businesses.