WordPress is one of the most used website builders today. More than 75 million websites in the world use WordPress today which accounts for over 20% of the total number of websites that are active. Now that’s impressive and some people don’t think twice before choosing WordPress. However, all that shines is not gold and this holds true for WordPress as well. In order to make an informed decision, you should be aware of all aspects of WordPress so you can decide accordingly.
WordPress is one of the most widely used CMS website builders.
Strengths Of WordPress Website Builder
- You don’t need to be an expert in coding to operate WordPress web builder. You can easily make small changes as you are provided with a framework. This framework allows non-technical users to make amendments as necessary although it hinders you from making big changes and customizations.
- You get more than 45,000 plugins to work with. For most people, this is more than enough as the choice is vast. These plugins help you add the functions to your website that you want and allows you to be more creative when it comes to doing more with your website apart from simply writing a blog.
- You can develop and maintain your own website with the help of WordPress. This is an advantage if you want to do the entire design and development yourself. It is comparatively much cheaper than if you had to hire others for developing your website. Moreover, there are lots of options for you to choose from.
- WordPress is the website builder which enables you to develop your website faster all thanks to the open source nature of the builder. If you have hired a developer than there is no reason for him to start with nothing as there is a lot he can already work with. The code is shared between people all over the world.
- There are a plethora of templates for you to choose from. This allows you to get started on website building as you do not have to start from scratch. You can use the templates to design your website although you do have to pay for these. You need to be choosey as every template does not support all types of plugins available.
- Mobile users are increasing by the day and WordPress makes it easy to transition from the big screen to the small screen. This saves you from having to build a separate mobile application for your website. This is cost-effective and saves time as well.
- There is an inbuilt SEO function in this website builder which allows your website to do well. However, you do need some knowledge about SEO in order to succeed with this. If you are new then you will need to learn SEO first and then proceed.
Weaknesses Of WordPress
- The open source nature of WordPress can be a problem as problems may arise in the future. You may be limited with regards to the development aspect or you may have to deal with legal issues later. The users’ data and how you are going to handle it is a big question that you need to think about. You may need to hire a specialist for it.
- If you want to customize then you have no option but to learn to code and use it to build your website. WordPress was developed for blogging websites and forums which is what makes it difficult if you want to build a website that is not any of those types. This is why WordPress can seem limited in this regard.
- If you are looking for a scalable website builder then WordPress may not be the best option out there. If you want to make changes to the website’s structure then it can be easier said than done because you might run into problems such as speed issues and plugins.
- Updates are a part of WordPress and they take place more rapidly. While this is great, you need to keep up with these updates so that your website is running smoothly. If you do not update your plugins, your website will not run properly and there will be problems. You need technical knowledge for this and you need to keep a copy of your website just in case things go wrong.
- The is known for being slow and this can make a huge difference. It takes only two seconds or more for users to be irritated if your website does not load the content. This means you might lose on potential customers pretty easily.
- WordPress requires you to dedicate some time to learn how to work with its framework. As changes are made regularly, you need to be aware of them to stay ahead with WordPress’s latest developments. It is not a drag-and-drop solution which is why you need to spend time understanding it before you proceed.
- There is no customer service available at WordPress. Of course, if you have the time and patience to look for answers on the Internet, good for you. But if you think that you will get customer support then you are wrong. You are on your own.
As you can tell, WordPress is not the most flexible option out there and it is not for everyone. If you feel like WordPress does not fit the bill for you then you can try out some other website building tool. You may be better off choosing another website builder as it will be a better fit for you. You can try Shopify as it has been created to be flexible for all types of ecommerce websites. Shopify is a powerful website builder that is most likely to meet your needs.