Are Custom WordPress Themes Less Flexible than Page Builders?
As a member of the WordPress community, I’ve come across this statement several times in various WordPress Facebook groups or at events. Often, it’s being said by someone who prefers a page builder like Elementor or Oxygen or comparable. “Custom WordPress themes are too locked in,” they say, “And they just don’t offer the flexibility that a page builder project has.”
Sorry, but that’s just wrong.
Because a custom WordPress project is exactly that — custom — it can be built to have any degree of flexibility. Custom WordPress themes can absolutely be just as flexible as sites built with page builders.
Custom WordPress themes can be built from super modular designs that reuse layout pieces to build various pages (think each webpage section is a Lego piece that you are stacking to build the full assembled page.) These block types can be combined in various ways across the website using something like custom Gutenberg blocks. It creates an intuitive backend experience that allows scenarios like a client’s marketing team to easily spin up a new landing page for a marketing campaign, highlight a new offering and much more. The possibilities are endless.
On the other hand, custom WordPress themes can be more locked down. Some clients want a very simplistic backend where they are literally just plugging in their content into straightforward fields, no “assembly” required. That’s okay. The beauty in custom themes is they can be built to accommodate any degree of flexibility.
There are various reasons why using an existing theme or a page builder could be a better fit for a project, such as timeline and budget constraints. There is no denying the reality that you can usually spin up full websites faster with a non-custom approach. But if you’re resistant to going the custom theme route because of flexibility concerns, I assure you the fear is unfounded.
Don’t believe me? Let’s have a chat and I’d be happy to show you how magical custom WordPress themes can be for your next project.