Why Makeproper does not use page builders
This is one of the questions we get asked most often, usually by a client who has just been quoted a fraction of our price by someone offering a Wix or Squarespace build.
It deserves a straight answer. So here it is.
Page builders are not inherently bad
Let us get that out of the way first. For a business that needs something live quickly, has a limited budget and is happy managing a template-based site themselves, a page builder is a perfectly reasonable tool. It is accessible, it is fast and it does not require a developer.
But it is not the right tool for what our clients need. Here is why.
The performance problem
Page builders generate significantly more code than a properly built site. Layers of abstraction, unused CSS, JavaScript that loads regardless of whether a feature is used on that page. All of it has to be downloaded by every visitor before anything appears on screen.
The result is slower load times. And slower load times mean higher bounce rates, lower conversion rates and worse search rankings, because page speed is a direct ranking signal for Google.
A site we build from scratch consistently scores above 90 on Google's PageSpeed Insights on mobile. A comparable page builder site typically scores between 30 and 60. That gap is not a minor aesthetic difference. It has real consequences for how many people find the site and how many of those stay long enough to enquire. why your website needs to load in under three seconds
The flexibility problem
Page builders constrain you to what the platform allows. Want a specific layout, interaction or feature that falls outside the platform's capabilities? You either compromise or add a plugin, which adds more code, more dependencies and more potential points of failure.
A custom-built site does exactly what the brief requires. No compromises. No workarounds. No "we can almost do that."
The SEO problem
Page builder sites often have structural SEO issues baked in from the start. Bloated heading hierarchies. Inefficient URL structures. Limited control over technical metadata. Poor Core Web Vitals scores out of the box.
None of these are insurmountable but they require ongoing effort to manage, effort that a properly built site simply does not need because the foundations are right from day one. five things every small business website needs in 2026
The ownership problem
A site built on Wix belongs, in a meaningful sense, to Wix. If they change their pricing, discontinue a feature, or shut down, your site is affected. You cannot export a Wix site and host it elsewhere. You are renting, not owning.
A custom-built site is yours. The code is yours. You can host it anywhere, hand it to any developer and do whatever you need with it without asking permission or paying a platform fee.
What we build instead
Makeproper builds on Next.js, a React framework that is fast, flexible and used by some of the largest sites on the internet. Sites are deployed on Netlify or Vercel. The code is clean, documented and owned entirely by the client.
It costs more than a page builder site. It performs better, ranks better, converts better and lasts longer. For clients who are serious about their online presence, that trade-off is not a difficult one. the real cost of a cheap website
If you want to understand what a proper build would involve for your business, get in touch. We are always happy to have that conversation.
