Why You Should Not Use WordPress!
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems on the market. An incredible 37% of all websites use it. Chances are, you’ve seen many WordPress-built websites.
But WordPress was designed for a different era. It was first released in 2003, almost two decades ago. Cutting edge at the time, it helped fuel the blogging revolution of the early 2000s.
Since then, WordPress has grown steadily by a shifting group of community volunteers. It offers thousands of third-party themes and plugins to adapt the system to your every need.
Despite this, most people should not use WordPress. Its many themes and plugins have not made it a fully modern platform, and in fact, introduce problems of their own.
Despite this, most people should not use WordPress. Its many themes and plugins have not made it a fully modern platform, and in fact, introduce problems of their own.
Some reasons why you should not use WordPress include:
- Security Weaknesses
- Lack of Technical Support
- Faulty Plugins
- Stock Appearance
- High Setup Costs
- Limited Functionality
If you need just one reason not to use WordPress, this is it. Cyberattacks are a major problem for all kinds of systems. They caused over $6 trillion worth of damage last year.
WordPress is an old, complicated system that’s been updated mostly by community volunteers for the past two decades. It has grown so large, with thousands of plugins, that not all every piece can be thoroughly checked.
Users have to combine plugins, themes, and hosting just to make a website. This means multiple potential breach points in your system.
Lack of Technical Support
WordPress is not made by a single private company. It has grown organically over many years by a shifting group of community volunteers.
This means that you can use it for free, but also that there is no dedicated technical support team. Instead, you will have to solve problems on your own or hire an expert.
The good news is that WordPress is so big and popular that a lot of questions have already been answered on sites like StackOverflow. But there is no guarantee that your specific problem will be found there.
The good news is that WordPress is so big and popular that a lot of questions have already been answered on sites like StackOverflow. But there is no guarantee that your specific problem will be found there.
Faulty Plugins
WordPress’s killer feature is also its Achilles Heel. Yes, WordPress offers thousands of third-party apps that you can use to customize your website exactly to your liking. But those plugins are not always high quality.
These plugins are often made by amateurs and do not always receive rigorous quality control. People often release plugins once, and never offer updates. This means a plugin you install could be slow, buggy, or even introduce security vulnerabilities.
Another issue is compatibility conflict. Since the plugins were made independently by many different people, there is no guarantee that they all work together. Developers sometimes install three or four different plugins, only to find out that they clash.
Stock Appearance
Another issue is compatibility conflict. Since the plugins were made independently by many different people, there is no guarantee that they all work together. Developers sometimes install three or four different plugins, only to find out that they clash.
WordPress themes are great for quickly building a great-looking website. They mean you don’t have to worry much about the design yourself.
But any theme you choose will also be used by thousands of other people around the globe. Your website will look pretty much like theirs- and perhaps slightly bland and outdated.
This may not be a bad thing if you have a low-key purpose and just want to get a simple website up fast. But it is inappropriate for, say, large corporations that have lots of cash for their own design team. Even some small businesses may find that having a unique design is worth the cost.
But any theme you choose will also be used by thousands of other people around the globe. Your website will look pretty much like theirs- and perhaps slightly bland and outdated.
This may not be a bad thing if you have a low-key purpose and just want to get a simple website up fast. But it is inappropriate for, say, large corporations that have lots of cash for their own design team. Even some small businesses may find that having a unique design is worth the cost.
High Setup Costs
WordPress was designed for building websites in the early 2000s. Back then, most people put their websites on their own servers and wrote their own HTML. WordPress probably saved a lot of time by factoring out themes and plugins, but today the whole system is rather clunky and complicated.
All these different pieces take up time and energy to put together. The overall cost of building a WordPress site can be greater than using an integrated service like Squarespace or Wix.
Limited Functionality
Despite having thousands of plugins, WordPress is somewhat limited in functionality by today’s standards. WordPress was originally just designed for blogging, which is why those plugins were created, to begin with. They are sort of like band-aids on the whole system, that allow it to do more than originally intended.
WordPress can do more than host a blog. But blog hosting is what it does best. Anything else you use it for will involves stretching the system outside of its strengths.
Alternatives to WordPress
Although WordPress is far and away the most popular CMS tool, it is by no means the best. People are waking up to the fact that it was built for a different time, and can’t always keep up with modern demands.
At JetRockets, we specialize in using Ruby on Rails to build web platforms. Rails is a more flexible system, that was not built with a single purpose in mind. This helps us craft tailor-made applications for our clients, to handle everything from fintech to itinerary building.
At JetRockets, we specialize in using Ruby on Rails to build web platforms. Rails is a more flexible system, that was not built with a single purpose in mind. This helps us craft tailor-made applications for our clients, to handle everything from fintech to itinerary building.