What should you build your website on?

How do I choose a website stack?

Start with who publishes, not with the tools. The person who has to put a page live on a Friday decides more than any feature comparison does. If that person does not write code, you want a site builder. If they do, you want a framework with a CMS behind it so the rest of the team is not blocked on them.

Should I use a site builder or code it?

Use a builder when nobody on the team writes code, or when the site is small enough that one person owns all of it. Code it when you already have developers or an AI coding workflow, and you want control over what the pages do. The trade is ownership: a builder rents you the whole stack, and a coded site is yours to maintain.

What does this picker actually decide?

It maps your five answers onto entries that already exist in this library, using rules written down in the open. It never has a favourite: no answer path is reserved for a tool that pays us, every pick states its downside, and two of the results tell you to change nothing. Where several tools would genuinely do, it says so instead of inventing a difference.

Questions people ask before they choose

What is the difference between a CMS and a website builder?

A website builder covers design, content and hosting in one tool, so you edit the page you are looking at. A CMS holds only the content, and something else turns it into pages. A builder suits one team owning the whole site. A CMS starts to pay off when the same content has to appear somewhere other than the website.

Do I need a CMS for my website?

Only if somebody who does not write code has to publish. When the person editing the site is also the person deploying it, the content can live in the repo and a CMS is work you cannot use yet. Add one the day marketing needs to put a page live without asking anyone.

Do small businesses need a CMS?

Usually not a separate one. A site builder already includes content management, which covers a small business on its own. A standalone CMS starts earning its place when the same content has to appear in more than one place, or when publishing needs approvals and different levels of access.

Which is better for marketing sites, Webflow or Framer?

Webflow, once a marketing team is publishing weekly against a content plan, because its content structure holds up across hundreds of pages. Framer is the better call when the site is small, design leads, and one person owns all of it. Neither wins in general, which is why the questions above ask about the team before the site.

Can AI actually build a professional website?

It can build one, and building was never the expensive part. Owning it is. An assistant writes the code quickly, and then somebody still has to be there the week it breaks, keep it current, and decide what goes live. Pick the coded route when you have that person, not because the first draft is cheap.

What is the easiest CMS for non-technical teams?

Of the ones in this library, Storyblok, because editors arrange the page sections themselves instead of filling in fields and waiting to see the result. Sanity expects the content to be modelled first, which is a developer job. If nobody on the team codes at all, a site builder is easier than any CMS.