The honest answer
WordPress powers 43% of the internet for a reason. But "should I use WordPress" is the wrong question. The right question is: "what does my business actually need from a website?"
Head-to-head comparison
| Factor | WordPress | Custom HTML/React |
|---|---|---|
| Initial cost (Spain) | €800-2,500 | €800-3,500 |
| Build time | 2-4 weeks | 1-4 weeks |
| PageSpeed (typical) | 45-72 (with plugins) | 85-98 (optimised) |
| PageSpeed (optimised WP) | 75-88 (with expert setup) | 90-98 |
| Security vulnerabilities/yr | High (plugin ecosystem) | Very low (no CMS attack surface) |
| Content editing | Easy (visual editor) | Requires developer or headless CMS |
| Monthly maintenance | €50-150 (updates, security) | €20-60 (hosting only) |
| SEO ceiling | Good (with Yoast/RankMath) | Excellent (full control) |
| Hosting cost (Spain) | €10-40/mo (shared/VPS) | €5-20/mo (static/cloud) |
When WordPress is the right choice
- You need to publish content frequently — blog posts, news, product updates without developer help
- You have a limited budget and an experienced WP developer available
- You need a specific plugin (WooCommerce for e-commerce, LMS for courses, booking systems)
- Your team is non-technical and will manage the site themselves
- You need quick deployment — WP can be live in 1-2 weeks with a theme
When custom is the right choice
- Performance is critical — Google Ads landing pages, e-commerce, high-traffic sites where PageSpeed directly affects ROAS
- Security is a priority — healthcare, legal, finance — no plugin ecosystem = no plugin vulnerabilities
- Long-term cost matters — custom sites have near-zero maintenance vs WP's ongoing plugin/theme costs
- Unique functionality — tools, calculators, custom integrations that WP plugins can't handle cleanly
- You're running paid ads — a custom landing page at PageSpeed 92 converts 20-40% better than a WP page at 68
We build custom HTML/CSS/JS for landing pages and corporate sites (better PageSpeed, lower hosting cost, no security headaches). We recommend WordPress when the client genuinely needs frequent content publishing without developer access. We never recommend WP just because it's easier for us — we recommend what's right for the project.
The PageSpeed-ROAS connection in Spain
This is the most underappreciated factor. Google Ads Quality Score is partly based on landing page experience — which includes load speed. A custom page at PageSpeed 92 vs a WP page at 68 means:
- Lower CPC (better Quality Score → lower bid required)
- Higher ad rank without increasing bid
- Higher conversion rate (53% of mobile users abandon pages loading 3+ seconds)
- Better ROAS without changing the campaign
For a client spending €1,000/month on Google Ads, the difference can be €200-400/month in additional revenue — from one technical decision.
Version en español disponible — contacta @novaagencies en Telegram.
Украінська версія доступна — напиши @novaagencies в Telegram.