Why this comparison?
Many teams spend six figures and end up with a slow, templated site. This matrix shows real differences in cost, speed, SEO, and extensibility so you can choose the right partner.
Want a high-performance site without the agency price tag?
Talk directly, decide fast, ship fast. Skip the long handoffs and focus on a site that converts.
Get a site planTopic
Independent pro
Traditional software company
Cost
✓Lean team, lower fees thanks to efficiency and minimal overhead.
•Multi-role overhead and management/communication layers push quotes high.
Speed & responsiveness
✓Decide and ship immediately; short feedback loops, rapid iterations.
•Many roles and long processes; scheduling and rework slow things down.
Design & UX
✓Custom IA and layouts designed to convert and build trust.
•Template visuals with copy/paste swaps; weak differentiation and conversion.
Tech & performance
✓Next.js/Astro, edge rendering, performance monitoring—lightweight and fast.
•Legacy stacks or plugin-heavy builds; bloated bundles, security/perf risks.
SEO & growth
✓Schema, sitemap/robots, keyword-aligned landings, Core Web Vitals tuned.
•Little SEO planning; indexing and ranking improvements are slow or absent.
Handoff & scalability
✓Full source, scripts, docs; componentized for new pages and campaigns.
•Opaque delivery; future changes depend on the vendor and cost more.
SEO-friendly architecture
Structured data, fast first paint, clean URLs, and sitemaps out of the box—no costly retrofits later.
Speed and cost advantage
A single full-stack owner removes cross-team delays; you get big-team quality at lean-team pricing.