About 10 years ago in a remote basement not too far away, a group of developers were committed to creating the most intuitive way to build websites and blogs they could imagine. Fast forward to today, and that basement creation is now WordPress, one of the leading content management systems (CMS) on the Internet. At last count, almost a quarter of the top one million websites now use WordPress as their platform. And since it cut its teeth with a content development focus, it is the most widely used blogging platform as well.
But just because it’s popular and obviously effective doesn’t mean that you should get a WordPress site right?
In the interest of disclosure: I should say that, at Kolbeco, we are WordPress fanatics – and our clients love this about us. We have been witness to the ways it has been key to building our client’s confidence.
But maybe, just maybe, WordPress is not for you. If you’ve been wondering questions like “Why is WordPress so slow? Why is it so hard to use?” – below are the best reasons (we could think of) that WordPress is not for you:
You like to build things the hard way.
WordPress was created for open source coding – it is the gathered wisdom of entire teams of web geeks across the internet. That means it flexes the power of many minds and fingers. They have created the platforms now endless themes, plugins, functionalities and capabilities. The managed WordPress hosting providers will take the stress out of configuring your website.Those creations are vetted – publicly – by other geeks for how effective they are. If you are the type of person who would rather reinvent the wheel, WordPress is not for you.
Your business is likely to stay the way it is – nothing will change.
WordPress is highly flexible and customizable. It’s a great fit for people who want to settle on an out-of-the box theme and plugin. But it’s also a great fit for people who need a web solution that is highly flexible and customizable. Since the community of developers is always contributing to expand the software, there are countless combinations of options for adding customization and functionality to a website. So if you know your business needs will never change and your customer’s attitudes or buying behaviors will remain static, then WordPress is not for you.
You enjoy being held hostage by a team of nerds.
WordPress sites are custom designs and uniquely crafted for each of our clients and their particular marketing and branding needs. But the core of the site is the CMS – that ever-changing content – which has an intuitive user interface. It allows our clients to make adjustments to words and images as the need arises. But perhaps you prefer the way of creating change tickets and waiting for the updates to appear. If so, WordPress is not for you.
You are not concerned with protecting your data…or that of your clients.
WordPress is updated often bringing with it new enhancements. It is always running the latest software that is tested for security and browser compatibility purposes. That means the content and data is safer and always compatible. But if you prefer to create your own layers of security and fixes, then WordPress is not for you.
It’s safe to say we are WordPress fanatics. We think it’s one of the best tools in marketing. After all, while you may have ads and social media accounts, your website is your presence on the Internet that is all yours. It’s the one storefront that most businesses have. So, if you value the safety, effectiveness and usability of that storefront, then WordPress is probably a good fit for you.
photo credit: WordPress needle cushion 2 via photopin (license)
