WordPress Pros and Cons – Is It the Best CMS Website Builder for You?
There are many WordPress pros and cons to consider when choosing the best website builder for your unique requirements. At the time of this update in June 2019, over 34% of all websites use WordPress, and 60.8% * of websites using a CMS (content management system) run on it. Does that mean you should follow suit…?
WordPress was created in 2003 and has since been used to create literally millions of websites blogs and online portals. Now the most popular single content management system, WordPress accounts for nearly a third of all the web pages that can be accessed online.
Reasons to Use WordPress
While it was originally a blogging tool, this CMS is now far more there are many good reasons to use WordPress for your website – here are just a few of them:
There are Big Companies that Use WordPress
Many who were aware of WordPress around its inception still hold the belief that it is merely a blogging tool with some fancy add-ons, but that idea simply out of date. Many of the world’s biggest brands and most popular websites trust WordPress.
Major companies currently using WordPress include Time Magazine, Sony and Beyonce to much to name just a few.
Easy to Use
Out of the box, WordPress is very easy to use. If you add lots of functions in the way of certain premium themes or extra plugins, then your site could get complex, but adding basic web pages or blog posts is almost as simple as sending an email.
Ready to Use Themes
The WP ecosystem is home to vast and fast growing library of attractive, ready to use themes. Whether you choose a free or premium WordPress theme it can be quite easy for complete beginners to create a great-looking website that looks professional, with virtually no web design and development skills whatsoever.
There are free these available for download from WordPress.org, but many of these are stripped-back versions of a premium theme, so you’d need to pay to unlock the full set of features. There are many vendors and marketplaces where you can buy premium WordPress themes that cost between $30 and $60 most of the time.
This is a small fraction of what it would cost to fire a professional graphic designer and / or web developer. By choosing themes with good reviews, you can be quite confident that your theme has been tried and tested by other users.
Useful Plugins
If there is an additional function that you’ve seen on another website, but WordPress can’t do it out of the box, there are probably at least a handful of useful plugins that you can download to make it happen. While some are premium add-ons, there are thousands of great free plugins available to download from wordpress.org.
SEO Friendly
By default, WordPress is a very SEO friendly CMS, aided by it’s organisation of content into categories and tags, it’s post hierarchy and pagination, menu options and good site speed.
Web Design & Development Talent
One of the main reasons to use this CMS if you’re likely to need professional support now or down the line is the huge array of web design and development talent to choose from in virtually every country and every city.
Because WordPress is now so popular, many of the most talented web developers choose it as their preferred platform both to meet demand for it among clients, and because they enjoy working with it.
This is creating a snowball effect – the more people use and request it, the more top website developers are drawn to its use, so the more great websites are built with it, the more that fuels its demand….
The expertise that has been attracted into the world of WordPress means that it becomes ever more the hub of great website development.
Reasons to Avoid WordPress
It’s popular and it’s simple, but there are some reasons to avoid WordPress – here are the most discussed:
Security
To kick things off – the biggest potential issue is website security. As an open source CMS, which means that anyone can develop with the core source code, many hackers can become proficient enough with the system to understand and exploit any vulnerabilities.
Available security patches generally keep excellent pace with new risks, and many good WordPress hosting companies can automate WordPress updates and security enhancements. It is a responsibility though to be proactive in keeping your site secure, because like with other leaders in their field (such as the biggest banks) those at the top become the biggest target for attackers.
Too Much Choice
With so many themes and plugins for WordPress available, many website owners find themselves paralysed by too much choice in designs and functionality. It’s so easy to forget that content is still king and get distracted by the bells and whistles.
Site Speed
With so many features and functions available across the countless themes and plugins, there is the temptation to add more and more. This can be resource heavy, while code bloat can also slow down a site unnecessarily. Many people don’t realise the effect of adding glossy, feature packed themes and plugins (that they they may not actually need) on their site speed.
It’s generally best to try to keep things lean and simple, then add just the functionality you need to improve your experience or those of your visitors.
In Summary
There are loads of WordPress pros and cons as a website builder and content management system. You do need to be proactive with updating the version you are using when flagged to do so – or set up automatic updates with your web host – to keep things secure. You also need to avoid the huge array of distractions in the WordPress ecosystem when it comes to fancy themes and toys in the way of plugins.
However, there are so many benefits to using WordPress, and the the time it takes to think about security is more than made up for by the time you can save by using one of the easiest, most SEO-friendly website builders.
If you go down the route of hiring a professional website developer, you’ll find that you’ll have a huge choice of expert users, and often on your doorstep. If you create your own website with WordPress, you should find it quite easy and perhaps a lot of fun.
Further Reading:
- Recommended WordPress Hosting – SiteGround (best for range of low-cost options, free SSL certificates, ease of set-up and customer service)
- Advice on How to Make a Website (a beginner’s guide from scratch).
Sources:
* Usage of Content Management Systems – W3Techs.
