Written for the "Do it Yourself" business owner with big ideas and a small budget. Here we will be comparing WordPress with the all in one Savvy Websites. Based on our 10+ years of creating websites on many different platforms, including WordPress it may come as a surprise to read our recommendation is to NOT use WordPress for complex eCommerce / Membership / Learning Management System websites and here's why.
Planning
Most websites start out simple, then your business grows and so do the needs and demands on your website. If you've gone the WordPress route, which most people tell you to do, there are currently 58,000+ plugins (yes, that is not a misprint) to choose from when it comes to adding functionality to your WordPress website. In no time at all you will become overwhelmed when attempting to choose which plugins to use. Not to mention compatibility issues as many plugins may be poorly coded or no longer supported or clash with other plugins already on your site.
It is very important to future proof your website by building it on a framework which can grow as your needs do. WordPress absolutely can do this, but without specialised knowledge you will be creating a monster and a mess! Once you've started, you are often committed without knowing the true cost of the website you need in the future.
You can negate these unknowns by hiring a professional, however this can become very expensive. Prices vary, but in general, a fully customised WordPress website with a similar specification listed in the table below can end up costing as much as $15,000 to $30,000. Of course you can do a lot of it yourself, but you may be facing a considerable period of time to research, add and then learn how to implement each plugin and develop the website functionality you need.
Alternatively you can choose a platform such as Savvy Websites which comes with all the functionality ready and waiting for you, but without the extra cost or wasted time in developing it. You decide you want a membership, with just a few clicks you've got one all set up and ready to go. Want to enable bookings on your site, click, click, and it's ready to go.
Support
A key part of a successful website is support. Having someone to help when things go wrong, or you can't work out a plugin configuration is crucial. If you purchase a premium plugin like any in the list below, the plugin developer will generally support their product. Meaning, you can ask them questions about setup or any bugs you may encounter. This is great, however the challenge is knowing what to ask, and this often results in lengthy email exchanges while the plugin developer tries to diagnose the problem.
It's often not clear who to ask for help either. Last year we had a case where an eCommerce shop stopped working and we had to seek help from 5 different developers, none of which could get to the bottom of the problem, and each one blaming incompatibility issues on the other plugins installed. In this case the website was rebuilt on Savvy Websites and has run without a glitch ever since.
The benefit of using one single platform is that you have the support of an entire team at your fingertips. Using a company like Savvy Websites means you don't have to go through the setup problems, they've already done it all for you. You just have to switch it on.
Costs
Often when a business owner starts out they start with a simple website that doesn't have too many plugins and is easy to maintain. As the business grows and they need to add functionality to the site, so too does the cost.
Listed below are the costs of some of the more popular plugins clients have needed within the first year of their business. It will give you an idea of what a WordPress website may cost, but it is ONLY the cost of the plugin. It doesn't take into consideration the cost of the development (customisation and functionality) which may be as much as $15,000 to $30,000 as mentioned previously.
| Web Hosting | Annual Cost |
|---|---|
| Website Hosting - Kinsta Business 1 Plan (Business 1 Plan recomended for eCommerce/Membership Sites) | 1150.00 |
| Theme / Design / Editing | |
| Advanced Custom Fields Pro Plugin | 49.00 |
| Beaver Builder Theme & Plugin | 199.00 |
| Beaver Themer Plugin | 147.00 |
| Powerpack for Beaver Builder Plugin | 69.00 |
| ShortPixel Image Optimizer | 47.00 |
| Ecommerce / Membership / LMS | |
| Woocommerce Subscriptions Plugin | 239.00 |
| Woocommerce Memberships Plugin | 199.00 |
| Woocomerce Custom Thank You Pages Plugin | 49.00 |
| Learndash LMS Plugin | 199.00 |
| Woopack Plugin | 59.00 |
| Other Functionality | |
| Gravity Forms Pro | 159.00 |
| Funnel Software | 1164.00 |
| Calendly Appointment Software | 120.00 |
| Total | 3849.00 |
Here's something to consider... ALL OF THE FEATURES LISTED ABOVE (and lots more) ARE INCLUDED in the Savvy Growth Plan, for just $99 per month, or $1,140 per annum. Compared to $3,849, which option would you choose?
And one last thing to consider. Yes, there are a LOT of free plugins that can be used to create similar functionality and hence a cheaper solution but in our experience, free often means no support from the developer so when it comes to setting it up or problems further down the track, the developer is nowhere to be seen. Leaving you stuck with having to find someone else to fix it.
I hope this gives you some insight into how a WordPress website compares with an all-in-one Savvy Website. Gone are the days when WordPress was the be all and end all of solutions. With the advances in technology and functionality, a lot more people are choosing to move away from WordPress into easier to manage solutions such as Savvy Websites.
If you'd like to do the same then send us a message and let's have a conversation about what you need from your website and the easiest and most cost effective solution for you.