B12 vs. WordPress Alternative | Features & Pricing Comparison

WordPress launched in 2003 and was initially created for bloggers. However, in the two decades since, it has evolved beyond personal websites to host a growing number of businesses. Today, it's a template-based DIY website builder with thousands of plugins for online businesses.

B12 is a site builder specifically for professional service providers. It is powered by an innovative combination of AI design and human creativity, with easy DIY customizations via an intuitive editor experience. It comes packed with features for serving clients online, including online payments and invoicing, scheduling, and SEO tools — no plugins required.

Let's see how these two powerful platforms compare with the unique needs of professional service providers in mind.

One major difference between B12 and WordPress is the ease of managing online payments and invoicing. With B12, collecting payments is simple because it's integrated into your dashboard.

It allows you to streamline the entire billing process by sending branded invoices, scheduling automatic reminders, tracking invoice status, and collecting payments by credit card or bank account/ACH, without leaving B12.

On the other hand, handling payments through WordPress is far less user-friendly. No payment processing or invoicing features are included with the Business plan or the more expensive eCommerce plan. They are only an option with additional plugins. As many WordPress users will tell you, Plugins are clunky, prone to security issues, and constantly need manual updates. Plugins are also an additional expense.

Online service providers need more advanced features than just blogging tools. Therefore, the best WordPress alternatives for real estate agents, insurance brokers, and bookkeepers make doing business online easy.

Even on a Basic plan, B12 supports small online providers with several mission-critical client management tools, including online scheduling, eSignatures, contracts, and client intake forms. Plus, B12 also helps you improve engagement with email newsletters and on-page conversion tools.

A WordPress site may still feel like the go-to option because it's been around for so long, but it lacks the advanced features needed to build and grow an online business. 

Whether it's online scheduling or client intake, these options are noticeably missing from any WordPress plan. Instead, you'll have to seek support on the open plugin market, which can cost anywhere from $0 to $1000 per feature.

Both B12 and WordPress are DIY website builders, but that's where the parallels between these platforms end. Let's start with the design. B12's designs are industry-specific, created by a powerful AI model, and perfected with human experience. WordPress is a template- or theme-based model with both free and paid options. It doesn't come with AI or human design support.

Customizing B12 is straightforward, thanks to the code-free, DIY-friendly editor. By comparison, not all WordPress themes use a variety of drag-and-drop editors (ex., Divi, Elementor, Beaver), each based on different user interfaces. As many WordPress users will tell you, these may be no-code editing platforms, but they aren’t exactly intuitive.

Importantly, B12 also comes with real-live human support during the launch phase. From SEO specialists to copywriters and web designers, an experienced team is ready to help you optimize your website to suit your brand, vision, and needs. This support simply isn’t available with any WordPress plan. Instead, it's up to you to learn the ins and outs of Divi or Elementor and muddle through the design phase yourself.

Support team

In terms of support, the WordPress community forums serve as a hub where you can get free guidance and assistance should you have any questions or issues you want to troubleshoot. If you need further guidance, you can consider upgrading to a premium plan to get expert support. 

With B12, you can access unlimited email and chat support with any plan so you can get guidance from B12 experts whenever you need it. B12’s Online Help Center also comes in handy in case you want to explore curated advice, answers, and how-to articles. Scheduled phone support is available if you’re subscribed to the Professional or Advanced plan. Meanwhile, priority support is given to Advanced subscribers. 

Backend infrastructure management 

Backend infrastructure essentially covers everything happening behind the scenes in website building. In WordPress, your chosen host typically handles the server’s performance. However, you may need to be in charge of other maintenance procedures to keep your site performing at its best, such as updating plugins and themes, optimizing databases, and creating backups. 

When you sign up with B12, all the technical stuff is taken care of for you so you can just focus on polishing your website or giving it the final touches. You won’t have to worry about website hosting, managing databases, encrypting data, and other backend infrastructure tasks that may take you ages to learn and master. Instead, you can rely on a hassle-free DIY website-building experience.

Security and compatibility

Self-hosted WordPress sites can face common security challenges like brute-force login attempts, backdoors, and phishing. Unfortunately, 8 out of 10 WordPress security risks can be categorized as “Medium” or “High” vulnerabilities. While WordPress.com sites come with more enhanced security features, the security of self-hosted WordPress sites still depends on your hosting provider. 

With B12, you’re assured that the website you launch is not only aesthetically pleasing but also secure. All B12 websites come with a free TLS certificate to encrypt your website traffic and enhance protection against unauthorized parties. B12 ensures that you get secure web hosting to keep your business data, as well as your clients’ data, safe and private. 

Bandwidth, uptime, and other reliability issues

Bandwidth and uptime are just two key signs of network reliability. When these two aspects are prioritized, it ensures a positive user experience and satisfaction. For self-hosted WordPress sites, the speed and performance of your website once again heavily relies on your chosen hosting provider and package. If by chance you select an unprofessional provider, you can experience downtime and slow loading speeds, which negatively impact users. 

For all B12 plans, you get access to unlimited bandwidth and storage. This is especially crucial if you expect your site to receive daily visits from a huge number of users. Unlimited bandwidth and storage means your website doesn’t slow down even with increased traffic. It means consistently providing your audience with an impressive user experience. 

Maintenance and editing

For self-hosted WordPress users, website maintenance and customization tend to be more hands-on. Especially if you want your site to have fancy features and integrations, you need to have intermediate technical knowledge to get it all set up.  

In contrast, website maintenance and editing are a breeze with B12. With our monthly plans, you get to hand over the manual and time-consuming maintenance tasks to a team of professionals, ensuring that your website runs smoothly. B12’s website editor is also practical for busy professionals who’d rather save time in updating their online presence. Add new pages, generate engaging copy, swap out images and themes—all in a few clicks.  

On the surface, a side-by-side comparison between WordPress and B12 reveals that WordPress is the cheaper option. But, there are a lot of hidden costs buried within the WordPress model that aren't accounted for.

Let's start with a custom domain name. This is only included with WordPress for one year. It's likely you'll also have to pay for a theme. While there are many free WordPress themes, businesses usually prefer paid-for options with more design options and integrations. Themes could run you up to $200 each.

Finally, let's look at features. With WordPress, most features (called plugins) are pay-for. Some are ongoing charges and some are one-off. 

What plugins do you need? Technically speaking, WordPress is very bare-bones without the options offered through plugins. That means no contact forms, social media icons, photo slideshows, online store, or payments. These are not included in WordPress plans, even premium plans.

But what about B12? Compared to WordPress, B12 includes all of the above within the paid-for plans. From Basic to VIP, you can access contact forms, online payments and invoicing, contact management, and a custom domain name. There are no hidden costs — even after the first year. With B12, you’re set up to serve your audience online and more effortlessly scale your business.