Why I Chose Custom Code Over CMS — As a Freelance Dev Starting from Scratch

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

When I started freelancing, I had zero agency experience, no professional network, and no client base.
What I did have was time, grind, and curiosity.

The CMS Landscape

While everyone was building websites with WordPress, I went the opposite way—sticking to React, Next.js, Spring Boot, and pure code.
I spent months digging into the CMS landscape, especially WordPress, which undeniably dominates the web.

Around 2022–2023 the growth curve for traditional CMS platforms plateaued, and at the same time AI exploded.

AI‑Powered Static Site Generation

• Generating static sites with tools like ChatGPT has become insanely easy.
• No longer need to browse Bootstrap for a simple carousel—just prompt ChatGPT, refine, and boom.
• Building a simple CRUD with authentication can be spun up in Spring Boot + React in a few hours—no CMS needed.

I rely heavily on ChatGPT. No shame—it speeds things up, but you still need to know your tools.

Issues with CMS for Non‑Tech Clients

Clients using CMS platforms such as WordPress or Wix often end up needing developers to fix or customize things:

• Pages slow to load
• Plugins breaking
• SEO nightmares
• Hard‑to‑scale setups

Advantages of Custom‑Code Solutions

At the same time, developers (even solo) can now build cleaner, faster, SEO‑friendly sites in less time thanks to better tools, AI, and modern frameworks.

Services I Offer

• Custom websites (static or dynamic)
• Custom web apps (dashboards, internal tools, etc.)

My Tech Stack

• Frontend: Next.js / React
• Backend: Spring Boot (Java)
• Hosting: Vercel, Netlify, or VPS (depending on the client)

Why I Chose Custom Code Over a CMS

I’ve already invested in mastering multiple stacks (React, Angular, Java, etc.). Learning a CMS from scratch, with its different paradigms, felt like a poor ROI—especially when I could start earning with what I already knew.

Market Testing

I’m testing the market to see if small businesses and freelance clients are open to custom‑coded alternatives to WordPress.

Call to Action

If you’re a developer doing the same, or a business tired of bloated CMS platforms, I’d love to hear from you.

Portfolio: