The search data is clear. Thousands of Australian business owners are searching for ai website builder or create website with ai every month. The appeal is speed. You want something that looks professional. You want it live yesterday. You want to pay as little as possible.
However, experienced digital strategists know that shortcuts often lead to dead ends.
Tools like Wix ADI, Framer AI, or generic AI website generator platforms promise the world. Yet they often fail to deliver the one thing that matters most for a Sydney business: sustainable growth.
At Kinski & Bourke, we advocate for a different approach. We build custom coded WordPress themes utilising the native Gutenberg editor. This method provides the ease of use you expect from AI tools but delivers the performance Google demands.
The problem with the AI website generator
Most “AI” builders are essentially closed source page builders with a chatbot interface. You type a prompt. The machine assembles pre made sections. It writes some generic copy.
It looks impressive for five minutes. Then the cracks appear.
1. Bloated code
To make those drag-and-drop features work, AI builders load massive amounts of JavaScript and CSS. Google hates this. A slow site hurts your rankings. It degrades user experience on mobile devices.
2. Zero portability
When you build on a proprietary AI platform, you do not own your site. You rent it. You cannot export the code to a new server. You cannot move to a faster host. If the platform raises prices, you are stuck.
3. Homogenised design
AI is trained on averages. It produces design that looks exactly like the average of the internet. It is clean but boring. Your brand needs to stand out in the competitive Sydney market rather than blend in.
Why we reject heavy page builders
Many agencies will tell you the alternative to AI is a WordPress site built with a “page builder” plugin. They might mention Elementor, Divi, or WPBakery.
We disagree.
These plugins often suffer from the same issues as AI builders. They add unnecessary weight to your website. They load scripts that you do not need. They lock your content into their specific ecosystem.
The superior solution: Custom themes and Gutenberg
We believe in doing things properly. That means custom coded themes.
We do not use bloated templates. We write code specifically for your business requirements. We utilise Gutenberg, the native block editor for WordPress.
Native performance
Gutenberg is part of WordPress core. It is not a third party plugin. Using it ensures your website remains lightweight and lightning fast. This directly improves your Core Web Vitals scores and helps with SEO.
Future proof technology
Because Gutenberg is the standard for WordPress, your site will not break when the software updates. You are not relying on a third party developer to keep their page builder compatible.
The editing experience you want
Clients often love AI builders because they are easy to edit. Gutenberg offers this exact experience. You can edit text, swap images, and rearrange blocks easily. You get the control of a visual builder without the heavy code that usually comes with it.
How to use AI responsibly
You don’t need to be anti AI to be pro responsibility. It is important to acknowledge that generative AI is resource intensive. Data centres require massive electrical output to run, often consuming millions of litres of water annually for cooling systems. Every prompt carries a carbon footprint.
To be kind to our shared resources, you can avoid the “churn and burn” approach of generating endless, low quality variations. Instead, try using AI tools with precision within your own workflow to minimise waste:
- Code assistance: Use AI to assist in writing clean PHP functions that ensure your website remains lightweight. Efficient code requires less processing power to load, reducing energy consumption of your hosting.
- Content strategy: Rather than generating thousands of words of spam execution, use large language models to simply structure landing pages for conversion, getting it right the first time reduces digital waste.
This approach gives you the efficiency of ai web design tools without the environmental negligence. However, ensure the final product is always vetted, cleaned, and deployed by human experts who care about the footprint left behind.
Verdict for your business
If you need a hobby site or a temporary landing page, a free ai website builder is fine.
If you are building a business asset that needs to rank on Google and convert traffic into revenue, you need a solid foundation.
You need a website that you own. You need code that is clean. You need a platform that scales.
Do not settle for generic automation. Contact Kinski & Bourke to discuss a custom Gutenberg strategy that puts your business first.
Header Photo by Tara Winstead