At Seer, we produce hand-made websites using the three fundamental technologies of the web: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Before content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress even existed, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) was the de facto language used to navigate the web, and is still the skeleton which forms every single website in existence.

HTML was originally the brain child of physicist Tim Berners-Lee. Back in 1989, Lee needed a better system of communication to distill physics papers at CERN among his colleagues. He had the ingenious idea of interweaving several downloadable files into “links” so that other physicists from remote areas would be able to download the files and instantly link them, which then became “hypertext.” This system of linking one file to the next, ended up forming the basis of how every web browser to date navigates the internet. It is the web of files and pages that is commonly known as the “world wide web.”

We write each and every line of HTML5 (The modern and updated standard of HTML) with security and speed in mind. That translates into a reliable site you can depend on. This is the kind of craftsmanship you get with hand-coded websites. All of the code in a custom site is done with the industry's best practices in mind. Websites become unique, personalized, and fast.

With WordPress the HTML is already rendered for you and retrieved through a database. Pre-rendered HTML templates are a bit like Frankenstein's monster. If you want to modify them it can get messy, as you replace content things can break. There is less control over standard practices of code, and the term "bloat" can ensue as the sites become heavy and unwieldy with unnecessary code. Plug-ins have to be maintained and updated on a regular basis because of security issues, and load times can be significantly higher than hand-coded websites.

With all of that said, we realize that customers may want a content management system like WordPress for their convenience. Although WordPress is not the only CMS in town, it is the most popular. There are also many alternative CMS' that can be incorporated within a custom website. A CMS with a template behind it can be completed more rapidly than a website that is coded with purely original designs, and the ability for the customer to change things can also be a plus. Think of a pre-built WordPress theme as being like a frozen pizza: the ingredients are all prepared and all you have to do is bake it. A hand-coded site on the other hand, is like a fresh one with all the ingredients you want. The result is usually a much better site.