For many landing pages and ordinary business websites I now choose a custom build with Astro. The site is made for the project, which gives freedom in design without forcing a business to maintain a large dashboard for information that changes only a few times a year.
WordPress becomes more attractive when the owner or a team member wants to edit pages regularly, or when a proven extension already solves a large part of the brief. WooCommerce for a shop is a familiar example.
A CRM connection, payment or calculator does not decide the platform by itself. The more important questions are who will manage the website after launch, how often information changes and whether an existing system genuinely saves work.
I rarely use a closed website builder for professional projects. For a new business without a development budget, a builder can be a sensible temporary step. You pay less money but invest your own time in the template, copy, images and settings.
Who will edit the website after launch?
Start with the practical question: who will work with the website?
If prices and photos change only occasionally and a developer handles those edits, a separate dashboard may be unnecessary. This fits landing pages, service businesses and compact company sites.
WordPress makes more sense when someone adds news, projects, vacancies, team members, locations or products every week. Its editor lets users manage pages and posts themselves. Custom development can also use a content management system, including WordPress, but that combination costs more to build and maintain and is rarely needed for a normal brochure site.
Sometimes no existing system fits. A bespoke admin area can then expose exactly the fields and permissions employees need. That is worthwhile when editing is part of a daily process, not for three text changes per year.
Why I use Astro for many websites
Astro is the build technology; a client does not need to learn it. Visitors mainly notice that pages appear quickly and work reliably.
Astro can prepare pages in advance, so the server does not rebuild the same page on every visit. For a business that changes information a few times a year, this means fewer moving parts to maintain.
Astro does not make a site fast automatically. Oversized images, video, fonts and external services slow down any platform. It does provide a clean base where I add only what the project needs.
I usually choose Astro when:
- the site has a landing page, services, cases and contact forms;
- information does not change often;
- a distinctive design and fixed structure matter;
- OROS or another developer handles updates;
- no existing WordPress extension removes a significant amount of work.
When WordPress is a better fit
WordPress is not automatically right because it is popular, and it is not obsolete. It can be practical when a business manages content itself or needs a mature extension.
I mainly consider it in two situations. First, regular editing by the client, with permissions that let employees change content without accidentally breaking the design. Second, a function for which a well-maintained WordPress extension already exists, such as WooCommerce.
WordPress can use a ready-made theme, a visual editor such as Elementor, a custom design or a separate front end with WordPress as the editor. More freedom is not always better: most employees need controlled fields, not access to every column and spacing value.
WordPress also needs maintenance. WordPress, the theme and plugins receive updates; backups should be available before updates. Plugin count matters less than whether each plugin has a clear job, is maintained and works with the others. Decide in advance who runs updates, checks forms and fixes issues after an update.
Being able to edit copy does not remove the need for technical care.
When is a website builder enough?
For OROS projects I rarely see a reason to use a closed builder. A landing page or company site can be developed directly with more control over design and future migration.
For someone just starting, the calculation is different. With no stable income, little budget and enough time to learn, a simple builder can test an offer. Check first whether you can export the site, what happens when the subscription ends, whose account owns the domain, whether forms and analytics can be connected and whether another specialist can take over.
Do not automatically rebuild an old builder site. Sometimes useful copy and images can be moved to a better foundation; sometimes a focused repair is enough. Look first, then decide.
If you are not sure whether you need a website at all, read when your business can still work without its own website.
An old WordPress or Elementor site: repair or rebuild?
WordPress and existing content can sometimes stay while the design and page structure are rebuilt. Elementor is not inherently bad; the problems usually appear after years of additions, when pages depend on many settings and one change breaks another.
There are three sensible routes:
- Fix only the concrete problems and keep the current site.
- Keep WordPress and the content, but rebuild the design and page structure.
- Move to Astro when self-editing is no longer needed.
I choose after checking content, forms, extensions, URLs and access. Without that overview it is impossible to say honestly whether repair or rebuilding is better.
CRM, payments and calculators do not decide the platform
A CRM connection can often receive data from different types of websites. Define which data is sent, where it is stored, who receives an error notification, how delivery is checked and whether personal or payment data is involved.
The same applies to a calculator or payment flow. A shop deserves a separate assessment: WooCommerce is useful when its product and order model fits; custom rules and many integrations may require another platform or custom work.
What do I choose for common projects?
| Project | My usual starting point | When it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Simple landing or campaign page | Astro | A builder can work as a temporary self-built start |
| Ordinary business website | Astro | WordPress when the team edits pages and posts often |
| Site with CRM, payment or calculator | Depends on the process | WordPress if a suitable extension exists; custom work for unusual rules |
| Webshop | WordPress with WooCommerce when it fits | Another platform or custom build when standard features are not enough |
This is my working method, not a universal ranking. A clear structure, careful design, testing and support matter more than the name of the system.
Who owns the website, domain and access?
Every website relies on services from other companies. Agree who owns the domain, pays for hosting, stores backups, has administrator access and handles updates. At OROS, the client keeps ownership of their content and data and receives the agreed access. Hosting can be part of a support plan, or the domain and hosting can live directly in the client’s account.
The setup should be written down before the project starts, including what happens if the collaboration ends. I do not choose a technology to make a client artificially dependent; the division of responsibility simply differs per project.
Still unsure which approach fits?
Look at editing and business processes first. Who needs to change something? Which systems must connect? Who checks the site after launch?
Describe your project in the website calculator. I will look at content, editing, integrations and support, then explain which approach fits without forcing every project into one platform.
For a budget indication, read what a website costs in the Netherlands in 2026 or use the website calculator.
About the author
Daniel Orosz
Daniel builds websites and digital systems from Kerkrade. He has worked with web technology for more than 16 years and explains complex choices in plain language.
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