It’s better to use WordPress instead of HTML websites. However, it also depends on the type of website you’re going to build. In this post, I will give you a clear picture of when you should use WordPress and when to use HTML.
But before we get started we should know the difference between HTML and WordPress.
HTML vs WordPress
HTML is a hypertext markup language and you can build only static websites using it. On the other hand, WordPress is a CMS (content management system) that allows you to create dynamic websites.
Let’s move on.
When HTML website is a better option for you?
If you are building a small & static website and if you do not need to create new content frequently, then HTML is a better option compared to WordPress.
Also if you do not need any database interaction or back-end-related communication, then you can use HTML.
Not to mention you cannot build websites only with HTML. You also need at least a little bit of CSS to make it responsive and stylized.
When WordPress is better than an HTML website?
If you are planning to publish new content consistently and if you need to add new posts and pages in the future, then WordPress is the best choice for you.
WordPress website that gives you the flexibility to make changes easily. Also, you can add new posts and pages with a few clicks.
Advantages of WordPress compared to HTML
The biggest advantage of WordPress is the community. There are hundreds of free themes and plugins out there. And you can use anyone to get your job done for FREE.
It’s very easy to optimize your WordPress website for search engines, especially on-page SEO. There are free SEO plugins such as Yoast, Rank Math, All in one SEO, etc. Any of these plugins will generate the sitemap.xml file automatically. Also, these will generate meta titles, and meta descriptions dynamically. There are other plugins that will help you to do interlinking, etc.
You can also use plugins to see your Analytics & Search Console data within your Dashboard.
It’s also very easy to verify your WordPress website to search engines using plugins. They (search engines) give you meta tags and you can save those tags from your WordPress dashboard and verify the website.
On the other hand, an HTML website needs to verify through the DNS records. And it needs to manually create a sitemap. Making internal linking on HTML websites is lengthy and you need to insert anchor tags every time. Also, you have to manually write the meta title & description for each post & page.
Advantages of HTML compared to WordPress
An HTML website does not need any database interaction and that is why it loads very fast. So the loading speed is one of the biggest advantages of HTML websites.
On the other hand, WordPress websites need manual work to speed up, and sometimes it is very difficult to speed up a WordPress website.
Disadvantages of WordPress compared to HTML
Compatibility comes to an issue on WordPress. The core team makes updates frequently and that is why the theme and plugins also need to be updated accordingly.
So if you use an outdated theme or plugin, it may break your site.
Sometimes the plugins conflict with each other.
If you do not maintain your website regularly, strangers may try to inject malware or hack your website.
But you don’t have to take these things into consideration for an HTML website.
Disadvantages of HTML compared to WordPress
HTML websites need manual work all the time. And even if you want to create a new page or post then you have to create new HTML files.
On an HTML website, there is no way to include common sections. For example, the header, footer, sidebar, etc.
So you have to write or paste the same header/footer code to all the template files. The problem comes when you need to make any changes in common places.
For example, if you need to update your navigation link, then you have to manually go through all the template files and update them accordingly.
Should you choose WordPress or HTML
In my personal opinion, WordPress is way much better than HTML websites. Because every website needs to make updates and add new contacts.
If your HTML website becomes large in the future, it will become very hard for you to maintain the files, folders & code.
But if you are passionate about HTML websites, then you can still use WordPress. Because WordPress allows you to write HTML and build a website with HTML.
So if you want to build your website using HTML and at the same time if you want to use WordPress, you can write the HTML in the theme files.
The sound may look very crazy but it’s actually not that hard.
For example, if you want to create a home page on WordPress, you have to create a specific file named “front-page.php” and in this file, you can write your HTML.
Just to show you a live example, check this post as a reference that I created only with HTML & CSS within a WordPress website.
Let me give you another example, if you want to create the “About” page using HTML, create a new file called “page-about.php” and write HTML code here. Now go to the dashboard and create a new page named “About” and once you publish the page, you’ll see that your HTML code (page-about.php) is powering the “About” page.
So, it’s better to use WordPress than HTML.
