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Compare · for small business · 2026

Website built in code with AI vs custom website design (2026)

A site built in code with AI tools is one to three pages, live in a week, from €500, code in your name. A custom-designed site is several pages with an editor for your team, from €1 000, from a month. The first is enough more often than agencies admit; the second pays back when the site has to grow and be edited. We build both.

Updated 2026-09-04 · we build both · the criteria below are the ones that decide, not a feature list

Criteria

Where each one wins, row by row

Pick what matters to you; the score below counts only those rows. Hover a row to see which way it leans.

3 Built in code with AI · 4 Custom website design · 1 even

CriterionBuilt in code with AICustom website design
Price and timeFrom €500, live in a week.From €1 000, from a month.
Number of pagesOne to three: an offer, a case, a contact.Five to fifty, with collections for what repeats.
Editing by your teamTexts and images changed by us or by anyone who can edit code; no visual editor.A visual editor for the team; collections for projects, news, people.
DesignDesigned for the page it is, in our system; not a template, not a full identity.Designed from scratch around your offer and your brand, with two or three directions first.
Speed and technical qualityVery fast: static code, no platform, no plugins.Fast on Webflow or a custom build; depends on the platform chosen.
OwnershipA repository in your name with a short document on how it was built.The project in your workspace or your repository, files handed over.
Growing laterCan grow page by page in code; at some point it becomes the custom site.Built to grow: add a collection item, add a language, add a page.
Testing an offerIdeal: one page, paid traffic, a measurement, then decide.Too much for a test; build it after the test says yes.

When each one wins

When Built in code with AI wins
  • One offer, one audience, one action: a page that has to exist next week.
  • Testing an idea or a market with paid traffic before committing to a structure.
  • A company that does not need to edit the site itself and is fine asking us for changes.
  • A budget of €500 that would otherwise buy a template nobody owns.
When Custom website design wins
  • Several pages and things that repeat: projects, products, people, news.
  • A team that edits weekly and must not need a developer.
  • A brand that needs its own design, tested as two or three directions before building.
  • Several languages, or a site that will grow for years.

What we do

Our part in this comparison

We build both, and we start small more often than not: a page in code from €500 to test the offer, then the custom site from €1 000 when the test says yes. The code from the first stays yours either way. What we do not do is sell the €1 000 site to a business that needs one page next week.

A site built in code in a weekCustom website designHow much a website costs

Questions

Questions people ask when choosing

When is a €500 website built in a week enough?

When there is one offer, one audience and one action, and the site does not need to be edited by your team. A page to test an idea, a launch, a service with a clear price.

What do you lose with a website built in code with AI?

A visual editor for your team, collections for repeating content, and a full design process with directions. What you keep: speed, technical quality and code in your name.

Can a site built in code grow into a custom site later?

Yes. It grows page by page in code, and when it needs an editor and collections it becomes the custom site; the work and the code from the first stage carry over.

One page next week, or a site your team edits?

Tell us the offer; we reply with which one and a fixed price.

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