People often arrive with a technology already in mind. “I need a WordPress site”, or “I think we need a custom system”. Sometimes they’re right. Often the better starting point is the problem, because the two options are good at different things.
What each one is
WordPress is a content management system. It’s built for publishing and managing content: pages, images, articles, products. You log in, edit a page and publish it, without needing a developer for each change.
A bespoke web application is software written for one business. People sign in, work with information and move a process along. It does exactly what it was designed to do, because it was built around how that business works.
When WordPress is the right choice
WordPress suits you when the main job is to present your business and let people get in touch or buy.
- You need a business website, a redesign or an online shop.
- Most of what’s on the site is content you’ll want to update yourself.
- The features you need are common ones: forms, galleries, a blog, bookings, a shop.
- You want to be live reasonably quickly and at a predictable cost.
For most small businesses that need a website, this is the answer. WooCommerce extends WordPress into a full online shop, so selling online doesn’t change it.
When a bespoke application is the right choice
A bespoke application earns its place when the job is running part of the business, not describing it.
- Staff or customers need to sign in and see different things depending on who they are.
- Work moves through stages, with approvals, assignments and status updates.
- Information lives in several places and has to be brought together.
- You’ve tried off-the-shelf software and keep working around it.
- The process is specific to you, and no standard product matches it.
This is the territory of job management systems, customer portals, CRM systems and reporting dashboards.
Sometimes the answer is both
The two aren’t rivals. A common arrangement is a WordPress website that the public sees, with a separate application behind a login for customers or staff. The website brings people in. The application helps you look after them.
Keeping them separate usually works better than forcing one tool to do both jobs. Each stays simpler, and each can change without disturbing the other.
Four questions that settle it
If you’re unsure, these usually point the way.
- Who uses it? The general public reading about you points to WordPress. Named people signing in to do a task points to an application.
- What changes most often? Words and pictures point to WordPress. Records, statuses and data point to an application.
- Is your process standard? If it is, existing tools probably cover it. If it’s particular to you, bespoke becomes worth a look.
- What does the workaround cost you? If people lose hours every week to copying and chasing, that time is the budget for fixing it.
Start with the problem
You don’t have to make this decision before getting in touch. Describe what you’re trying to achieve and what’s getting in the way, and the right approach usually becomes clear quite quickly.
You can read more about WordPress web design and bespoke web applications, or tell me about your project.