Website Builder or Developer? Build smarter, not harder in 2025.
In 2025, asking if a business owner needs to hire a developer to build their ecommerce website is like asking if one needs to be an engineer to operate an app on their mobile phone. The short answer? Possible, but completely unnecessary.
Thanks to fantastic new AI website builders and good old regular website builders available for free in the market, setting up a professional-grade online store no longer burns a hole in your pocket, nor does it require a computer science degree.
Today, we’ll help you understand the why, when, and how of using new-generation website builders—no matter whether you’re a student, a solopreneur, or scaling an enterprise, there is an option available for you. In 2025, AI-driven ecommerce platforms and mobile-first design make it easier to focus on smooth user experiences, faster load times, and scalable automation.
To begin with, we’ll walk you through what website builders are and why they might be a smart choice for your ecommerce setup. Following that, we’ll dive into scenarios where hiring a developer is the more practical route.
What is a Website Builder?
Website builders are digital platforms that allow users to design and launch websites without the need to write code manually. These tools offer drag-and-drop interfaces, customisable templates, and pre-built functionalities, making it easy for individuals, small businesses, and enterprises to establish an online presence quickly.
Modern website builders come packed with built-in design and content features, enabling users to automate layouts, generate on-brand copy, optimise websites for SEO, and manage marketing tasks with ease.
Why Use a Website Builder to Create Your Website?
The term ‘website builder’ sees over 13,000 monthly searches on Google in India, highlighting a clear shift in user behaviour toward do-it-yourself platforms that prioritise speed, flexibility, and ease of use.
5 Reasons Why Website Builders are Becoming Popular
1. Simple drag-and-drop
No coding needed, just drag and drop elements to design your website. You can build visually, test instantly, and launch faster with intuitive, user-friendly interfaces.
2. Instant ecommerce readiness
Many website builders come pre-equipped with ecommerce functionalities, including shopping carts, payment gateways, and product galleries. You can get your online store live in hours, not days, without a complex backend setup.
3. Design and content tools
Most website builders offer 1000+ pre-designed templates for website creation. This will help streamline the design process and content creation, allowing you to launch your site with minimal effort.
4. SEO-friendly website UI
Optimise your ecommerce site for search engines easily with SEO-focused templates and built-in features. You will enjoy higher discoverability with clean code, fast loading times, and mobile-ready designs.
5. Cost-effective scalability
Website builders eliminate the need for expensive developers or IT teams, making them ideal for startups and small businesses. As your business grows, you can upgrade features, add integrations, or scale bandwidth without the need for replatforming or exceeding your budget.
Best Website Builder You Can Use Without a Developer
If you want a great website on a budget, then you’re at just the right place! As we have noted, queries on Google India like ‘website builder free’ and ‘free AI website builder’ reflect a growing market demand for tools that don’t cost as much as hiring a developer would.
Digital Showroom: Best Website Builder Without a Developer in 2025
Are you looking to create a professional-grade, high-converting website without coding?
You should check out Digital Showroom—a website builder that’s fast, user-friendly and designed for business growth in the ecommerce space.
Whether you’re a freelancer just starting to provide online services, a student launching a side hustle, an established brand going online, or an artist showcasing products, Digital Showroom will help you at every step—from setting up your domain and website to marketing your business.
Why is Digital Showroom the Best Website Builder?
1. No Coding Required for Setup
Digital Showroom is a user-friendly website builder that helps you:
- Setup domain, and get free SSL certificate & hosting
- Design website with 1500+ beautiful templates
- Personalise website layout, fonts, and colours as per your brand
- Curate a mobile responsive design that is fast loading
- Build marketing engagement to drive sales up
It’s the best website builder if you want speed and simplicity—without sacrificing quality.
2. Ecommerce-Ready from Day One
Unlike basic tools, Digital Showroom is a feature-rich ecommerce website builder:
- Get ‘Add-to-cart’, and product galleries included with variant support (e.g., color, size) and detailed specifications
- Complete inventory, catalogue and out of stock option management
- Manage orders smoothly with alerts, manual creation tools, and full tracking
- Setup checkout with multiple payments options – UPI, Credit/Debit Cards, COD
- Generate GST-compliant invoices and access national shipping options
Digital Showroom is great for fast, easy website ecommerce development.
3. SEO and Performance Optimized
With Digital Showroom’s website builder, your website is ready to reach your target audience:
- Run Google Ads, Instagram & Facebook Ads for customer acquisition
- Build an SEO friendly website with a clean code, structured product display, metadata and schema that passes Core Web Vitals, etc.
- Ensure a mobile-first, fast-loading design for a great user experience and better SEO scores
- Integrate Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and Facebook Pixel for complete tracking
- Benefit from the homepage and advanced SEO features to rank higher on Google
4. Engagement for Business Growth
Want to scale your business? Start engagement activities with Digital Showroom:
- Launch WhatsApp campaigns driven by user behaviour
- Share Social media collaterals to increase engagement
- Execute SMS marketing to drive conversions
- Offer coupons & vouchers for boosting transactions
- Get your own business cards & printable store QR
- Use built-in CRM tools to track live users, recover abandoned carts, and retarget effectively
5. Increase Customer Retention
Keep your customers coming back for more with the help of features to enhance their experience:
- Track user behavior pre and post-purchase with built-in analytics
- Boost re-engagement via CRM, live user tracking, and abandoned cart insights
- Offer seamless support with WhatsApp chat, callbacks, and email.
- Reduce churn using exit popups and smart nudges
- Drive loyalty through personalised offers, reviews, and feedback tools
Here are some successful ecommerce brands powered by Digital Showroom.
Digital Showroom Powered Websites
…and many more! To summarise, if you’re looking for the best website builder in 2025 that combines marketing, ecommerce, and ease of use—Digital Showroom is it.
Other than regular ecommerce website builders, there are other kinds of website-building solutions that are getting popular. Let’s cover the two most sought-after ecommerce website builder solutions at present:
1. AI Website Builder
Currently, free AI website builders are one of the most desired ecommerce website building solutions. They use artificial intelligence to design website layouts, suggest content, and even create SEO-friendly metadata on autopilot. To begin with, let’s have a look at the kind of challenges you will face in building a website using an AI website builder:
What are the challenges with an AI website builder?
- Design limitations as the templates are generic
- Can’t build complex customised features
- Offers only basic SEO support
- Scalability issues in the long run
- Prompting expertise is required
Next, here is what’s good about AI website builders:
What are the benefits of an AI website builder?
- Cuts development time by 80% by designing website in hours (not weeks)
- Built-in responsiveness, speed, and basic SEO functionality
- AI-generated design and content
How does Digital Showroom compare?
A website builder like Digital Showroom not only cuts development time by 80% and closes the website design in hours, but also gives you the option to design and customise layouts, fonts, and colours as per your brand.
Additionally, it provides you with a built-in mobile responsiveness, speed and advanced features related to ecommerce like managing orders, inventories and product cataloging.
Furthermore, you get to handle marketing activities like acquisition (SEO, Google Ads, FB Ads, etc.) and engagement (WhatsApp, SMS, Exit gating, Social Media Content) through a single dashboard.
All things considered, Digital Showroom is a one-stop solution for ecommerce website building.
2. GitHub Ecommerce Website Builder
In case of developers or technically savvy users, this is a good solution. With rising interest in businesses in GitHub ecommerce website solutions, open-source frameworks like Medusa, Next.js Commerce, or Saleor are gaining traction as flexible, developer-first alternatives to traditional platforms. To begin with, let’s have a look at the kind of challenges you will face in building a website using a GitHub Ecommerce website builder:
What are the challenges with GitHub Ecommerce Website Builder?
- Requires coding knowledge; not beginner-friendly at all
- Setup and deployment can be time-consuming initially
- No drag-and-drop tools for quick edits
- Maintenance and updates need technical oversight regularly
Next, here is what’s good about a GitHub Ecommerce Website Builder:
What are the benefits of GitHub Ecommerce Website Builder?
- Full code access allows total customization flexibility
- Built for developers with CI/CD and Git workflows
- Easy to integrate APIs and third-party services
- Scales smoothly with traffic and feature expansion
How does Digital Showroom compare?
Unlike GitHub ecommerce builders that require coding skills, CI/CD configuration, and manual setup, Digital Showroom lets you create a fully operational online store with intuitive drag-and-drop tools—no technical knowledge needed.
Furthermore, while GitHub offers deep customisation for coders, Digital Showroom delivers ready-to-use ecommerce features—bulk uploads, catalogue controls, integrated payments, smooth checkout and smart inventory tools—all streamlined for non-tech users.
Digital Showroom goes beyond a basic website. With built-in SEO tools, marketing automation, and customer engagement features like WhatsApp campaigns, it’s a growth-ready platform designed to scale with your business.
Now that you have understood how website builders function, it’s important to clarify scenarios where hiring a professional developer might be the more sensible choice:
Website Builder vs Developer: How to decide?
Firstly, if your ecommerce business needs:
- Advanced custom functionalities: Features like dynamic pricing, custom checkout flows, or product personalisation often require deep coding, beyond what builders offer.
- Complex backend workflows: Whether it’s syncing inventory across multiple locations or integrating with ERP systems, these require custom logic and developer expertise.
- Enterprise-grade integrations & scale: For high-traffic sites or large platforms like SAP or Salesforce, a developer ensures smooth performance, custom APIs, and infrastructure that scales.
…then hiring a developer makes sense. You’re building something highly specialised that off-the-shelf tools just can’t handle.
But if your objective is to get a neat and full-stack ecommerce website live fast—and under budget—you probably don’t need a developer.
Quick Comparison: DIY Website Builder vs Developer
| Criteria | Website Builder | Hiring a Developer |
| Cost | Free to low monthly fees | High upfront + maintenance |
| Speed to Launch | Hours to days | Weeks to months |
| Customization | Moderate (plugins & themes) | Unlimited |
| Scalability | High with platforms like Digital Showroom | Custom scalability |
| Ease of Use | No coding required | Developer-dependent |
| Best For | Startups, students, solo founders | Enterprises, custom workflows |
Final Verdict: Do You Really Need a Developer?
All things considered, in 2025, unless you’re building the next Amazon or need deep backend customisation, the answer is NO. Today’s free ecommerce site builders, AI website builders and intuitive platforms like Digital Showroom have made building an ecommerce website a DIY dream.
You don’t need to code.
You don’t need to hire.
What you need is just the right platform—and a product worth selling.
TL;DR:
Skip the developer (for now). Embrace the builder. Launch smarter.