However, at Pedwar, we take a different path. We do not use these off-the-shelf page builders. We build bespoke websites from the ground up, utilising our own proprietary CMS (Content Management System) and custom coding solutions tailored specifically to the client.
This is not web snobbery. It is a calculated technical decision based on performance, security, and the future stability of your business.
The primary issue with page builders is how they generate code. When a developer hand-codes a feature, they write only the lines of code necessary to make that feature work. It is lean, efficient, and precise.
Page builders, by contrast, must be ready for anything. They have to account for every possible layout, colour, font, and animation option you might use, even if you never do. As a result, they load massive libraries of CSS and JavaScript files in the background. This phenomenon is known in the industry as excessive DOM size or "code bloat."
You might wonder if a few extra kilobytes matter in 2026. They do. Google’s Core Web Vitals assessment explicitly penalises slow-loading sites. A page builder might force a user's browser to download 5MB of data to display 500kb of content. This affects your search ranking and, more importantly, your user retention.
By building bespoke, we ensure that if your site needs a contact form, we load the code for a contact form. We do not load the code for a gallery, a carousel, and a countdown timer alongside it.
Imagine building a house. If you decide to renovate later, you expect the bricks and mortar to remain while you change the wallpaper. Page builders operate differently. They often wrap your content in "shortcodes" tailored to their specific software.
If you build a site using a popular page builder and decide three years later that you want to switch to a different system or hire a developer to optimise the site, you often hit a wall. If you deactivate the page builder plugin, your beautifully formatted text might suddenly look like this:
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_block]Welcome to our services...[/vc_text_block][/vc_column][/vc_row]
This is known as vendor lock-in. Your content is held hostage by the tool used to create it. To leave, you often have to rebuild the entire website from scratch. By using standard HTML, CSS, and PHP, or our purpose-built CMS, Pedwar ensures your data remains clean and portable. You own your content, not the software provider.
Websites are targets. Automated bots roam the internet looking for vulnerabilities, and they love popular plugins. Because page builders are used on millions of sites, they are a high-value target for hackers. If a vulnerability is found in a major page builder plugin, millions of websites are instantly at risk until a patch is applied.
Furthermore, page builders often require additional "add-on" plugins to function well. A typical setup might include the theme, the builder, an essentials pack, a header builder, and a form styler. Each one of these is a potential entry point for malicious code.
Our approach drastically reduces this "attack surface." By writing custom code, we eliminate the reliance on third-party ecosystems that may not be maintained securely.
There is a misconception that "bespoke" simply means "expensive." While the initial investment can be higher than a template, the long-term cost of ownership is frequently lower. You are not paying for annual licences for five different premium plugins just to keep the site running. You are not paying for hours of debugging when two plugins conflict with each other after an update.
Whether you are a solicitors' firm in Cardiff needing a secure client portal, or a marine operations company requiring a complex database integration, a bespoke build adapts to your workflow. A template asks you to adapt your workflow to it.
We listen to what you need. We explain your options in plain English. And then we build a solution that works, efficiently, securely, and specifically for you.
We're proud to have been recognised as Wales' Most Trusted Web Design & Development Company for 2025. This award reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional digital solutions and outstanding client service that sets the standard for excellence.
