Choosing Between AI Website Builders and Custom Development
AI website builders make creating websites easy and fast. These tools provide pre-made templates and drag-and-drop interfaces that allow anyone to launch a site without coding.
However, there are some key considerations when evaluating if an AI website builder is the right choice versus hiring a developer to code a site from scratch or customizing a template.
Benefits of using an AI website builder
Convenience and Speed
The main appeal of AI site builders is their ability to create a website much faster than building one the traditional way. With pre-made templates and elements, you only plug in your content, choose colors and fonts, and edit some basic settings.
It allows those without technical skills to get a site up and running within hours or days, rather than weeks or months. The interfaces make updates and changes simple as well.
Lower Cost
Because less specialized work is required, sites made by AI builders aren't as expensive as hiring a developer. Many builder platforms have monthly subscription plans that allow you to create sites for a flat rate.
The cost savings can appeal to small businesses and individuals wanting a professional-looking site on a budget.
Good for Basic Sites
AI website builders shine for simple sites like landing pages, personal portfolios, or small business brochure websites.
With templates and intuitive editors, AI builders allow you to build basic pages and structures suitable for these streamlined sites.
Potential Drawbacks To Weigh
Lack of Customizability
AI website builders lack customizability compared to coding.
Templates and design options by a builder may not allow you to get the exact look, layout, and functionality you desire. Tweaking things outside the template parameters requires more intricate coding knowledge.
Subpar SEO
Generated code and content sometimes lack the semantic markup, metadata, structure, and optimizations required for clean, SEO-friendly code.
It may be hard to fine-tune under-the-hood technical elements to improve SEO, which could limit your organic traffic potential.
Amateur Look
Highly designed and customized sites convey professionalism and brand quality. While simplistic, cookie-cutter templates can look amateurish on many business sites. The stock elements can lack originality and branding compared to custom designs.
Questions About Original Content
Scrapers and some algorithms may flag AI-generated text as duplicate content. While AI builders create original layouts, they may pull text or media from public sources that could raise plagiarism concerns if not customized.
When an AI Website Builder Works Well
Basic Business Sites
AI builders are suitable for creating simple websites like a restaurant menu, a real estate agent portfolio, a doctor's office hours and contact page, or a local retail shop or e-commerce store.
These websites only display basic information and don't require complex functions.
MVPs and Testing Ideas
Businesses that are quickly testing out an idea for a new product, app, or service might build an initial marketing site through an AI builder to validate the concept with minimal investment.
Once they gain traction, the business could recode the site for better optimization.
Where Custom Development May Be Preferable
Complex Functionality
When it comes to robust e-commerce sites, user logins, complicated databases, customization, or third-party software integrations, an AI builder may not have enough flexibility. Advanced functionalities can be integrated through custom coding.
Pixel-Perfect Design
For brands seeking a highly customized design aligned with their style guide and branding, an AI template will fall short.
Custom code is needed to implement designs with specialized fonts, elements, animations, illustrations, and layouts.
High Traffic Expectations
Sites expecting lots of quality traffic right away are better off with custom development focused on speed, security, and performance from the start. An AI site may have to be redeveloped soon.
SEO Can't Be Overlooked
The technical optimizations of a developer-coded site perform better for sites relying on SEO to drive leads and sales. AI code must be cleaned up to compete.
Future Expandability
Starting with clean custom code makes it easier than working with AI-generated code if you plan to expand your website significantly beyond its initial scope.
Should You Have a Developer Review an AI-Built Site?
The ideal solution for some may be using an AI website builder to quickly draft the initial structure and content while having a developer review it afterward to improve the code quality. Some aspects they would clean up include:
Optimizing code for performance, accessibility, and SEO
Fixing any errors or broken elements
Making sure the site is mobile-friendly
Strengthening security measures
Ensuring cross-browser compatibility
Improving UI/UX flows
Adding custom CSS/Java
This allows you to take advantage of the AI builder's speed while getting help finessing the technical aspects. Just be sure to budget for a developer's review time if you go that route.
Key Takeaways on Using AI Website Builders
AI site builders allow the fast creation of rudimentary sites but offer limited design customization
Templates may appear amateurish or misaligned with branding for business sites
Custom development is better for complex functions, pixel-perfect design, and heavy traffic
Have a developer review AI-generated code to optimize technical aspects
Consider your site goals and complexity needs when deciding between an AI builder and a custom build
Final Thoughts
For simple website projects that can be put together quickly, AI site builders provide an affordable path to getting online.
But evaluate whether their capabilities and outputs meet your specific project conditions or if hiring a professional developer is worth the investment for a more optimized, custom-crafted site.
FAQ’s
Q: What are the main benefits of using an AI website builder?
A: The main benefits are convenience, speed, and lower cost. AI builders allow anyone to create a website quickly using pre-made templates without needing to code. This makes them more affordable than hiring a developer.
Q: What types of websites work best with AI website builders?
A: AI builders work best for basic websites like simple landing pages, personal portfolios, small business sites, and basic online stores. They are convenient for simple sites that just need to display basic information.
Q: What are the drawbacks of using an AI website builder?
A: Potential drawbacks include lack of full customizability, amateurish templates, subpar SEO capabilities, and questions around original content. AI sites may not allow the flexibility or optimization of a custom-coded site.
Q: When is it better to hire a web developer instead?
A: Consider hiring a developer for complex functionality, pixel-perfect design, high traffic expectations, heavy SEO focus, and extensive future expandability. Custom code is preferable when more robust features, customization, and technical optimization are needed.
Q: Should you have a developer review a site built with an AI builder?
A: It can be beneficial to use an AI builder for initial website creation but then have a developer review the code to optimize the technical elements like performance, security, SEO, and mobile responsiveness. This combines the speed of the AI builder with a developer's expertise.
Q: How can you make an AI-generated website look more professional?
A: Swap out stock images and templates for more original photography, graphics, and text content. Customize colors, fonts, and layouts as much as possible within the builder. Or have a designer review and modify the template to align better with your brand style.
Q: How do AI website builders create original content?
A: The text generated by AI builders may pull from public online sources. To avoid duplicate content penalties, the generated text should be reviewed and customized to add original thoughts and messaging aligned with the brand.
