When you look at the internet as a whole and the websites that are active and creating content today, WordPress is completely dominating every other CMS platform out there. However, just because everyone is using WordPress it doesn’t mean it’s the best platform for running every website you create.

For example, if you were to create a single page website that was just going to be used for an online resume or profile, you likely wouldn’t need to have a complete install of WordPress to create something worthwhile. Just like in the early days of the internet, websites were built out of HTML and very static in design. For the most part, these types of websites are still being used and are quite effective today — which also don’t require any databases, programming or Advanced WordPress themes.

5 Reasons WordPress Might Not Be the Best Option for Your Next Site

As much as I love WordPress and use it on nearly all of my sites, today we are going to look at a few different examples of when WordPress likely isn’t required. A perfect example of this can be seen in one of my case studies where I created a social media resource site that went on to generate a million dollars in profit, yet it was made of pure HTML pages and not a single lineup programming. Granted, this was years ago and the internet was a lot more simple then, but you get the point… you don’t need WordPress to create something amazing.

WordPress Might Be Overkill for New Users

As simple as WordPress might be to install and use for many of us, for new site owners and bloggers this can be quite a complicated task. Even with one click installation from many web hosting companies, many people might quickly be turned off once they log into WordPress and see so many options available for them. It doesn’t take much to discourage someone when they are first starting out. One complaint that we often see in reference to WordPress and why people didn’t find success with blogging or even get their site live is that they simply didn’t know where or how to get started.

Whether WordPress is seen as a platform that can be seen as too overwhelming for users, or simply too much for a basic site, the question always seems to be a hot topic on Quora, with many experts leaving their own feedback and advice.

WordPress isn’t for Everyone

As I mentioned earlier, WordPress is amazing for someone who wants to create a content-heavy site with a lot of options. However, for most people this might not be the case. That is why there is still such a demand for drag-and-drop website builders that allow people to go live with their sites in just minutes versus having to install software and using a platform they are going to have to learn.

One such example of this is Duda, which not only focuses on making the process of site creation easy but also on site performance and monetization as well. Another interesting thing about the platform is that they’ve made an effort to go after the WordPress audience and show why they are considered a better solution. With built-in marketing tools, SSL set up with every website and dedicated customer support, it’s these type of premium services that can pull existing users away from WordPress. In comparison to WordPress and other site builders, Duda has also made a big focus on page speed, which can show 70% longer sessions on a website, 35% lower bounce rates and 60% more pageviews being delivered.

This same business model is working extremely well for many site builder based companies. Unless you are a “site owner” and really want to work on your site and creating content, WordPress likely isn’t even on the minds of the average person creating a site.

WordPress is Free… in the Beginning

At its core, WordPress is free. It’s free to download, it’s free to create content and it’s even free to download some plugins and WordPress themes from their website. However, if you want to create a professional WordPress site and have it become a money maker or generate a lot of traffic there is a lot of work, time, effort, and money that will likely have to go into it.

A quick example of this would be to upgrade to a premium WordPress theme or even a custom theme. This in itself will likely cost at least $100 and could scale into the thousands if you went with a custom design. For new WordPress users this usually isn’t something they think about but as the explorer into more options, this is where many unexpected costs will come in to rise.

At the same time, it’s also important to note that WordPress.org is free to download and use, but you are still going to need a domain name and web hosting to use the software. WordPress.com is another option, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone go with a free blogging platform, as users will be very limited in what they can do with their site, how they create content and also won’t have complete ownership of their site.

WordPress has Open Vulnerabilities

Whenever you build a website with software there is always the potential for holes, leaks, and openings for hackers and bots to make their way in. This is especially true when using a platform like WordPress which uses WordPress themes and plugins that might need to be updated every time a new version or issue comes to rise. While this is true with most website builders and CMS platforms, it’s not something you will often see with a flat HTML website or one that is hosted through a drag-and-drop solution. Again, just another potential headache for someone that is only going to create a simple website.

To further back up these statements and the possible vulnerabilities within WordPress, we can reference these statistics from Wordfence:

• There are currently a total of 37,300 plugins available in theWordPress.org repository
• 17,383 of those plugins have not been updated in the past 2 years.
• 13,655 plugins have a compatibility tag of 3.x. WordPress 4.0 was released in September 2014.
• 3,990 plugins have not been updated since 2010 which is over 7 years ago.
• There are 29,892 additional WordPress plugins in the plugin source code repository that are not listed in WordPress.org in the plugin directory.

Unless you are actively using and updating your WordPress site, it might not be the safest option for your brand or business in the long run.

Which Site Builder or CMS is Best for Your Site?

Before going live with your next website, take a few moments to think about how you would like to create it and what you would like it to turn into in the months to come. If it’s a simple website and one that you are not going to update often, then you likely don’t need to use WordPress.