Ownership
Ownership and Page Builder Export Limits
If you cannot leave with the source, you are renting the site.
Ownership is a list
The domain, DNS, source, content, images, analytics, and form delivery should have a named owner. That owner should be the client. An agency can operate them. An agency should not be the only key.
Page builders collapse several of those into one login. That feels simple until the login is the product.
Export is the test
WordPress content can often be exported, but the theme, builder layout, and plugin behavior do not come with it as a working site. Wix and Squarespace exports are not a portable frontend.
A Git repository of an Astro site is a portable frontend. Another developer can build it.
Lock-in is a design choice
Vendors lock in because recurring revenue depends on it. We do the opposite on purpose. The stack is boring, documented, and replaceable part by part.
That is a better future than a cheaper first invoice.
Continue
Editing a Website Without a Page Builder
How content changes work on a static site without WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or a visual page builder.
Read →Prebuilt HTML vs Runtime Page Builders
What happens on a request to a static site versus WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or another builder that assembles pages in production.
Read →Builder Subscriptions vs an Owned Website
How to compare the cost of WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and page builders with a static site without pretending hosting is free.
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