WordPress or custom? For a business in Dakar, the right choice depends on editors, business logic and maintenance budget — not tech fashion.
WordPress: strengths and limits
Strengths: simple editing, rich ecosystem, time-to-market. Limits: performance and security if plugins are messy; complex business logic is hard to contain. With a clean base and few extensions, WordPress remains excellent for many showcase sites and WooCommerce.
Custom: when it becomes necessary
Portals, business workflows, heavy integrations, multi-fronts: Laravel (or a modern stack) gives control. More upfront craft, more long-term mastery — if you have a partner for maintenance.
Decision criteria for an SME in Dakar
- Who edits content every week?
- Is there business logic beyond a standard catalog?
- What performance / SEO bar is non-negotiable?
- 24-month budget (build + run), not only launch
SiiW recommendation
Showcase + non-technical editors → scoped WordPress. Product / platform → custom. We decide without dogma, then we ship. See also our web development page.