How Does Hand Coded Web
Compare to the Alternatives?
Every number on this page comes from publicly available information on each company's website. No cherry-picking, no misleading comparisons. Just real pricing, real features, and real trade-offs so you can make an informed decision.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Comparing our Growth Engine package ($1,999 build + $49/mo hosting) against the most common alternatives for a standard small business website.
| Hand Coded Web | Oak Harbor Web Designs | Honest Web Designs | WordPress (Freelancer) | Wix | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | Hand-coded static HTML/CSS | Hand-coded static HTML/CSS | Hand-coded static HTML/CSS | WordPress + page builder | Proprietary drag & drop | Proprietary templates |
| Upfront Cost | $1,999 | $0 | $0 | $2,000–5,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Monthly Cost | $49/mo | $175/mo | $150/mo | $30–75/mo hosting + maint. | $17–32/mo | $16–49/mo |
| 1-Year Total Cost | $2,587 | $2,100 | $1,800 | $2,900–5,600 | $204–384 | $192–588 |
| 3-Year Total Cost | $3,763 | $6,300 | $5,400 | $4,100–7,700 | $612–1,152 | $576–1,764 |
| 5-Year Total Cost | $4,939 | $10,500 | $9,000 | $5,300–9,800 | $1,020–1,920 | $960–2,940 |
| You Own the Code | ✓ Yes — day one | ✕ Never | ✕ Never | ✓ Yes | ✕ Never | ✕ Never |
| Cancel & Keep Site | ✓ Yes | ✕ Lose the site | ✕ Lose the site | ✓ Yes | ✕ Lose the site | ✕ Lose the site |
| Contract Lock-In | None | 12-month minimum | 12-month minimum | None (typically) | Annual billing saves more | Annual billing saves more |
| Early Cancel Penalty | $0 | Owe full $3,800 minus paid | Contract balance owed | $0 | Lose remaining prepaid months | Lose remaining prepaid months |
| Typical PageSpeed (Mobile) | 90–100 | 90–100 | 85–100 | 30–65 | 25–45 | 30–50 |
| Technical SEO Included | ✓ Full (schema, structured data, semantic HTML, sitemap) | Basic on-page only; full SEO is an extra service | Basic on-page only | Plugin-dependent (Yoast/Rank Math) | Limited; no schema control | Basic; limited structured data |
| Professional Email | ✓ Included | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Separate ($6–12/mo) | Not included | ✓ Included (Business plan) |
| Ongoing Maintenance Needed | None — static files | None — static files | None — static files | Constant — updates, patches, backups | Platform-managed | Platform-managed |
| Security Vulnerabilities | None — nothing to hack | None — nothing to hack | None — nothing to hack | 90%+ of hacked CMS sites are WordPress | Platform-managed | Platform-managed |
| Hosting | Included (global CDN) | Included (unspecified) | Included (unspecified) | Varies (shared to managed) | Wix servers | Squarespace servers |
| Content Edits | Revisions at launch; Site Care add-on available after | Unlimited (while subscribed) | 30 minutes/month | DIY or hire developer | DIY through editor | DIY through editor |
| Financing Available | ✓ PayPal Pay in 4 — 0% interest, 4 biweekly payments | N/A (subscription) | N/A (subscription) | Varies by freelancer | N/A | N/A |
Scroll horizontally on mobile to see all columns. All pricing reflects publicly listed rates as of February 2025. Wix and Squarespace totals based on Business plan pricing billed annually/monthly.
Detailed Breakdowns
Hand Coded Web vs Oak Harbor Web Designs
Oak Harbor Web Designs is probably our closest competitor. They hand-code every site, prioritize performance, and target small businesses. We respect their work. But the business models are fundamentally different, and that difference costs you thousands of dollars over time.
Oak Harbor charges $0 down and $175 per month with a 12-month minimum contract. Their lump sum option is $3,800. Sounds affordable up front — until you do the math. There is no buyout option. If you cancel, you lose the website. Their FAQ is explicit: "If you cancel, you don't keep the site." They also state that the subscription model only works for them financially if clients stay for 5+ years.
Their full SEO service is handled by a separate partner at additional cost. The base package includes basic on-page SEO (meta tags, sitemap, fast load times) but not the comprehensive schema markup, structured data, or local SEO architecture we include in every build. Edits are unlimited while you stay subscribed, and support is available 24/7.
Hand Coded Web vs Honest Web Designs
Honest Web Designs is another hand-coded shop, based in California, charging $0 down and $150 per month. Similar approach to Oak Harbor but at a slightly lower price point. They're upfront about including 30 minutes of support and maintenance per month, which is more honest than "unlimited" claims but still a subscription with no ownership.
The same fundamental trade-off applies: you're renting a website instead of owning one. Over 3 years at $150/month, you'll pay $5,400 and walk away with nothing if you cancel. CMS integration and e-commerce are available as add-ons at extra cost.
Hand Coded Web vs WordPress
WordPress powers 43% of the internet and is the default recommendation from most web designers. But popularity isn't the same as performance. A typical freelancer-built WordPress site costs $2,000–$5,000 to build plus $30–75/month for managed hosting, and requires ongoing maintenance that can run $500–1,000/year.
The performance gap is where things get serious. WordPress sites with page builders like Elementor or Divi typically score 30–65 on PageSpeed Insights (mobile). Our hand-coded sites score 90–100. Since Google's Core Web Vitals update, this directly impacts your search rankings.
WordPress also requires constant attention: core updates, plugin updates, theme patches, database backups, and security monitoring. Skip an update and you're vulnerable — over 90% of hacked CMS sites are WordPress, according to Sucuri's annual reports. A hand-coded static site has no database, no plugins, and no admin panel. There's nothing to hack and nothing to maintain.
You do own a WordPress site, which is a genuine advantage over the subscription competitors. But you're paying for a higher-maintenance, slower-performing, less secure site at a similar or higher total cost.
Hand Coded Web vs Wix & Squarespace
DIY builders are the cheapest option on paper. Wix runs $17–32/month, Squarespace is $16–49/month. For a solo freelancer with no budget, these platforms make sense. For a business trying to generate leads and rank on Google, the limitations are real.
Wix sites typically score 25–45 on PageSpeed. That's not a flaw in how you built it — it's the platform. Wix loads its own JavaScript framework, tracking scripts, and rendering engine on every page. You can't remove it or optimize it. The same applies to Squarespace, which averages 30–50.
Both platforms also lock you in. You can't export your site and host it elsewhere. If you stop paying, your site disappears. You don't own the code, you don't control the hosting, and your SEO is limited to whatever the platform decides to support. Schema markup, custom structured data, advanced caching — none of it is in your hands.
DIY builders save you money. A custom-coded site makes you money. That's the trade-off.
Why Rent When You
Can Own?
Subscription web design companies need you to stay subscribed for years to make their business model work. Oak Harbor Web Designs says it themselves — they need clients to stay 5+ years for subscriptions to be financially beneficial. That's not a partnership. That's a dependency.
Our model is different because our incentives are aligned with yours. We get paid to build you something great. You get a high-performance website you own forever. If you want hosting and support from us, great — our monthly plans are a fraction of subscription competitors. If you want to take your code and host it yourself for free on Netlify, you can do that too. We built it to work, not to lock you in.
And if the upfront cost is a concern, we offer interest-free financing through PayPal Pay in 4 that splits your build into 4 biweekly payments. Launch Pad becomes 4 × $250. Clone & Upgrade becomes 4 × $375. Growth Engine and Full Suite split into a deposit and final payment — both eligible for Pay in 4. You still own everything from day one. No 12-month contracts, no cancellation penalties, no losing your website because you stopped paying rent on code that should have been yours all along.