WordPress, a builder or a ready-made platform: which suits whom

There is no single best option

There is no single best option. WordPress, a builder and a ready-made accommodation platform can each give a small property a good website. The difference is who maintains what after launch: updates, backups, protection, speed and the enquiry form. These tasks do not disappear with any option, they only change owner.

What each option is

WordPress is open-source software that is used without a licence fee. It is installed on hosting that you pay for and that meets the official requirements (PHP, database, HTTPS). The look is set by a theme, features are added with plugins, and all of this is maintained by you or by a contractor.

A builder is a service, usually with a subscription. Hosting is usually included, and the website is edited visually within the limits set by the provider.

A ready-made accommodation platform is a website that is part of a service made for hotels and guest houses. The content is edited through its admin panel.

What you maintain after launch

With WordPress, maintenance is the largest and is yours or your contractor's. With the other two options, much of it falls to the provider; check with the specific provider exactly what.

• Updates. Minor WordPress versions, with fixes and protection, are installed automatically by default, while automatic plugin updates are switched on separately for each plugin. The official documentation advises keeping plugins always updated.
• Backups. A WordPress backup has two parts, a database and files, and you need both. Make one before every update. Ask both the hosting provider and the contractor whether either of them takes on the backups and whether this is in writing.
• Protection. Old versions of WordPress do not receive security fixes, and frequent attacks exploit vulnerabilities, including in outdated plugins. With the other two options, protecting the system is, as a rule, the provider's job, and you look after the passwords.
• Speed. Ask who monitors how fast the website opens on a phone and who prepares the photos before they are uploaded. With WordPress, ask about the hosting, the theme and the plugins too.
• Enquiries. Send yourself a test enquiry after every major change and check that it arrives. If the form in WordPress is a plugin, it needs updating too.

How free you are and how easy it is to change provider

WordPress gives a lot of freedom. The software is open source, and you can export pages and posts to a file with the built-in export tool, for example when moving to other hosting. Ask the contractor how photos and design are transferred.

With a builder and a platform, freedom is within the provider's limits. Before you pay, check with the specific provider whether you can export your texts and photos and in what form. With every option, ask whose name the domain is in.

What you pay and when

The structure of the costs is different, not necessarily the total.

• WordPress: the software itself has no licence fee. You pay for hosting regularly, for the build usually once, and for maintenance as agreed. If you use paid plugins or themes, ask whether the licence is renewed.
• Builder: usually a regular subscription. Check with the specific provider whether your own domain, more pages, a second language and an enquiry form are in the same plan.
• Accommodation platform: a subscription or a quote depending on the service. Ask what is included and what is paid every year.

What prices Bulgarian sellers publish is covered in a separate article.

When each suits

Which suits depends on who will maintain the website and how much time you have.

WordPress suits when:

• you have a developer you trust who will maintain the website for years to come;
• you want a custom design or a feature that standard solutions do not have;
• you already have a WordPress website and want to improve it rather than start from scratch.

A builder suits when:

• you have no contractor but are ready to set aside a few evenings to put the website together yourself;
• your needs are simple: a few pages, photos and contact details;
• you want a quick trial website to test interest before investing more.

A ready-made platform suits when:

• you want the rooms, “from” prices and the enquiry ready, without assembling features;
• you have no technical person, but want to change prices and photos yourself;
• you prefer one provider who is responsible for the system.

Questions before you choose

Ask every provider the same questions: who updates and who makes backups, whose name the domain is in, can you export your content, what is paid every year and who is responsible if the website goes down in the season. The full list with sample answers is in a separate guide. Work out the price for three years, not only the first amount.

Where ISKA Website fits

ISKA Website is in the third group: an accommodation platform on which the website is built to a brief for the venue. It is not on WordPress and there are no plugins to maintain. You maintain it yourself through ISKA: draft, preview, publishing and going back to a previous version. It is offered by individual quote; your own domain is available on request, and the term and what is included are agreed in the quote.