What are the Pros and Cons of Using WordPress as CMS?
WordPress has come a long way from where it initially started. It might’ve been a simple blogging platform back in the day, but it’s now the most prominent content management system (CMS) on the market. As of 2022, 43.2% of all websites online use WordPress, cementing their status as the most significant player in the CMS scene.
Many people use WordPress because of its simplicity and ease of use. Whether you want to start a blog or set up an online business, you can never go wrong using WordPress. However, many other CMS options are available that many website design companies in New Haven, CT, would recommend aside from WordPress.
If you’re reconsidering whether or not to use WordPress as your CMS, you need to know its benefits and drawbacks.
The Pros of Using WordPress as CMS
There are many good reasons why many web designers and developers choose WordPress as their CMS. You’ll understand their perspective and why most choose WordPress over other alternatives below.
1. User-Friendly CMS
WordPress is the most popular CMS today because it is easy to use. Newbies who don’t have a drop in website management skills can easily use WordPress to host their blogs, products, and services. Navigating through a website’s backend, uploading new content, and editing pages can be pretty easy for anyone who selects WordPress as their CMS. Many CMS options are available today, but many still choose WordPress because of how user-friendly it can be.
2. Wide Range of Plug-Ins
Website customization can be challenging without working with a website design company in New Haven, CT. However, many people would be surprised by how convenient such a task can be for WordPress users.
These plug-ins are handy for making the following changes to your website:
- Heightening security
- Improving functionality
- Optimizing usability
- Improving marketing performance
As we speak, there are over 58,000 plug-ins available for website admins to use, each dedicated to making specific functionality changes to your website.
3. SEO
The importance of incorporating the best SEO practices is at an all-time high, and new website owners often need help applying them to their websites. With WordPress, any website admins can optimize their websites for search engines. Many SEO plug-ins on WordPress can help you optimize your content and do other on-page SEO tasks such as meta tags, keyword focus, and so much more. One of the best SEO plug-ins most website design companies in New Haven, CT, can recommend is Yoast SEO.
4. Responsive Themes
WordPress has some of the most responsive website themes to date. Most consumers nowadays access the internet through mobile devices, and website admins must make their websites as responsive as possible.
As the best web design company in New Haven, CT, we recommend the following themes to new website admins and owners:
- Authority Pro
- Divi
- Ultra
- OceanWP
- Astra
5. Open Source Software
Many developers love open-source software, and it’s not an accident that WordPress is one of them. Because of this, many existing and aspiring WordPress programmers can learn, edit, and redistribute the software’s source code. Programmers can openly share their codes online, which helps other developers in creating their websites, therefore saving time and resources.
The Cons of Using WordPress as a CMS
WordPress may be a great content management system, but it has its fair share of limitations and disadvantages. Below are some reasons why some website design companies in New Haven, CT, are careful or even sometimes adamant about using WordPress.
1. Customization
Unbeknownst to many, website customization can be pretty expensive. WordPress is quite a flexible tool compared to many website builders out there. But if you want to customize your website without the aid of a dedicated WordPress developer or a website design company in New Haven, CT, you’ll quickly find yourself stuck.
Additionally, bearing all the weight of your website’s design can be a considerable burden. WordPress can help get your website up and running, but if your chosen theme has tons of customization settings, you’ll eventually feel overwhelmed. There are even some instances where you’d have to rely on custom CSS code, which can make things ten times more complex.
2. Vulnerability
Being an open-source platform has its perks and drawbacks. Since anybody can get its source code, it’s not uncommon for WordPress websites to be a ripe game for potential hackers. If you want to heighten your security and avoid such instances, be extra careful in choosing your plug-ins. Or, you might as well work with a website design company in New Haven, CT, who are experts in WordPress development.
3. Updates
If you’ve worked with a WordPress website before, you probably understand how headache-inducing updates can be. These updates are necessary to keep your website up to speed, but they can be incredibly annoying if done incorrectly. There are some cases where website admins install a new update, only to find their websites knocked off their proper function. Such cases sometimes force them to find the source of the problem the hard way or revert to an older version of WordPress.
4. Speed
Some themes may be aesthetically pleasing and functional, but not all are fast. Some WordPress themes contain many unnecessary generic codes that can make your website clunky and load slowly. If you don’t have prior WordPress experience or you’re not working with a website design company in New Haven, CT, like us, you’ll find it extremely challenging to find those specific codes.
To help you out, here are some of the fastest WordPress themes and their PageSpeed scores:
- GeneratePress (99%)
- Neve (99%)
- Astra (99%)
- Zakra (98%)
- Customify (98%)
Let the Experts Handle Your Websites
Sometimes, WordPress is the ideal CMS, and sometimes it isn’t. That’s why we here at New Haven Web Design Pros let our clients decide what CMS they want for their websites. While we recommend WordPress, we understand that all businesses have specific needs, so we indulge our clients with a plethora of CMS options to choose from. Contact us today to see how we can help create the perfect website for your business!