WordPress

Score8.6 out of 10

3,343 Reviews and Ratings

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Reviews

203 Reviews

Videos

Wordpress does almost anything you need it to do - just plugin and go!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

WordPress is used as the foundation for websites that are developed by us for small businesses. Its large library of both free and paid plugins make it easy for small business owners to [...] maintain and edit their own site without requiring strong programming skills. It enables business owners to expand their website and add new features as their needs change. We also use the WordPress platform to write custom plugins for clients needing solutions that are not addressed by the plugin libraries.

Pros

Extremely long support allows [the] business owner to focus on their business and less on patching security exploits, updating code to run on more modern versions of PHP, NGINX, Apache2, etc
Developer-supported plugin library makes it extremely easy to add new features in a very cost-effective way
Built-in blogging functions allows websites to stay continuously fresh by adding new content and improves SEO
Easy to get started - most clients are perfectly fine using built-in features to add new content on their own with minimal programming knowledge
Automatic updates can help make sites more secure
Themes make it easy to get a jump start on design
Ability to self host allows more control over functionality

Cons

Plugins are a double-edge sword and need to be vetted carefully. Due to its market share, WordPress tends to be a big target for security exploits and a vulnerable plugin can bring down an entire website
Older plugins (or certain combinations) tend to break the site and make fixing issue far more complicated
Resource intensive compared to other CMS like Drupal. Bigger WordPress sites will run poorly on cheaper shared hosting solutions (e.g. Godaddy) without proper optimization

Likelihood to Recommend

WordPress is perfect for small business owners who need "popular" solutions (e.g running an online shop, blogs, portfolio sites) It has a very large library of free and paid plugins that can get you a lot of the functionality needed without having a degree in programming. However, knowledge of web development can be helpful for bigger sites - especially those that rely on custom code as the more complex it becomes, the greater the likelihood of encountering weird bugs

For more complex sites, some benefits of WordPress start turning into limitations and add development hours. For example, themes and plugins tend to load in assets that are not all needed for a particular client's usage and this can hurt performance (e.g. Google PageSpeed) and in turn SEO. However, there are third-party caching providers that can offset some of this.

Shion Song

Art Director & Web Developer in Marketing at shion.ca (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

WP is the choice for serious web projects

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our nonprofit mental health center has a WordPress site. I use our site and update it for Public Information purposes and employees from across the organization also access the site for a variety of purposes (HR, IT, etc.). Our use is fairly basic; About Us, Contact Info, Job Openings, information about services, and a few interactive forms. It covers all the basics you would expect from a typical company website.

Pros

It's extremely customizable, given a little patience and/or some basic programming knowledge. I have some of the former and none of the latter.
Lots of templates to choose from to fit the vibe you need.
Once all the hard work of creating a website is finished, it's very simple to make tweaks and updates.
Many plug-ins are available to add functionality to our chosen template.

Cons

I think the block system of page-building is not very intuitive and can take quite a bit of trial-and-error to figure out how to make the page look the way you want.
Within the block system, I think word processing is not as straightforward as it could be. It seems easy to lose your toolbars and then not always know where to look for the desired word processing functions (font, alignment, etc.). I'm more of a word guy than a tech guy, so sometimes I wish this were simpler, or that I could better compartmentalize the content writing from the blocking.

Likelihood to Recommend

While I would strongly recommend patience along with it, I think WordPress is very powerful and customizable. With a little elbow grease, it can do and be anything you want it to be. Also, in my experience, I associate WordPress with having full control and ownership over your site and not having your domain "held hostage" or having to rent it. I've heard horror stories that lead me to believe this isn't true with some services other than WP. Could be hearsay.

Anthony Burke

Public Information Officer in Corporate at Betty Hardwick Center (51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

11 years of experience

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After a dozen years, WordPress is still my go-to CMS, design and development platform.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

As a digital marketing firm, one of whose core services is web design, we use WordPress exclusively for our client websites, as well as for our own. At this point, WordPress powers around 40% of websites on the entire Internet and has come to be the 'gold standard' for content management systems when it comes to search engine friendliness and design/development flexibility.

Pros

The rock solid architecture and code base is great alone, but the open source nature of WordPress that has fostered a massive global community of 3rd party developers who create plugins, add-ons and enhancements, both functional and design related, is amazing.
WordPress is extremely easy to install and, because it's become the de facto CMS for most websites, many hosting companies make installing it even easier with 'push button' tools inside the hosting account that allow you to install it without any technical experience or need to access the actual directory via FTP etc.
When working with client websites, another feature I really appreciate is WordPress' ease of migration. I build a client website on my own server, and then move it to the client's hosting account when it's complete and ready to go live. I use a simple plugin that allows me to do this in just a few clicks from the front-end WordPress dashboard, without the need to access the database or hosting backend.

Cons

While the amazing WordPress developer community has created hundreds of useful plugins for adding functionality like duplication pages and posts, changing the display order of pages and posts in the dashboard and migrating a site, it would be nice if WordPress would create those features (and others) built into the platform. It can be cumbersome to install so many plugins (and shouldn't be necessary for WordPress-specific functions related to administrating the WordPress platform itself.
Another major shortcoming that's frustrated me for years is the extremely limited functionality of the Media Library. For a site that has lots of media (images, videos, etc.) it's incredibly difficult to organize and manage. There really needs to be a folder system to separate, group and search for media items. I've tried countless 3rd party plugins that try to overcome this, but have yet to find one that is effective as well as drag and drop easy.

Likelihood to Recommend

I believe WordPress has the features, flexibility and user-friendliness to be the best choice for building virtually any website. The only exceptions might be for an extremely specialized web application that needs to be built from the ground up, or an ecommerce website. While you can certainly build and operate an ecommerce website with WordPress (using 3rd party plugins, like WooCommerce), competitors such as Shopify and BigCommerce are extremely specialized in focusing exclusively on ecommerce, are easier to use and have 'out of the box' features built in that are specifically for running an ecommerce website.

Jonathan Rockett

Founder, Business Development in Marketing at Sizzling Digital (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

12 years of experience

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Wordpress -- Great for Content Creators, Curators

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our company uses Wordpress for our main web site, where we house program information, news, faculty profiles, forms and handbooks. I use it specifically for a school at the university, and nearly all of the web sites on our university's server are built on WordPress. The shortcode and frameworks of WordPress are relatively easy to learn and use, and, despite exploring other options periodically, we've stuck with WP.

Pros

WordPress' shortcode for things like tables and columns allow for simple copy and paste to format pages.
Though shortcode can look identical across pages, there are sometimes anomalies that occur and result in incorrect formatting. This can result in time spent/wasted in digging through code to find the one character/line/command that's causing the error. For a programmer, this might not be an issue/for a content creator or manager, this is a headache.
Wordpress' site dashboard is really easy to navigate and customize.

Cons

Wordpress could make shortcode easier to organize and retrieve within the dashboard itself. Currently, I peruse message boards and existing pages to find the codes I need.
Sometimes, edits I make that are saved don't stick. This happens rarely, but it's frustrating.
Better troubleshooting from WordPress itself. Oftentimes, my Wordpress functions and layout set by our developers are vastly different from what I find on message board threads. It often results in dead ends, confusion, and me having to call our developer for a fix.

Likelihood to Recommend

I only have minor complaints. I create and curate content for our site, and it's been easy to learn and get the functionality I need. I work in the site daily, and for the daily needs we have -- embedding video, photo galleries, stories, etc. -- [WordPress] handles the content and load well.
The media component is well-designed and easy to navigate.

Verified User

Manager in Marketing (1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

8 years of experience

WordPress: a versatile tool for all experience levels.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Incentivized

May 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use WordPress for our website content management. It is used only in our communications department. For our needs, it provides us a way to connect with our audience, share information that could be pertinent to them, and offer resources and solutions for clients. It's an easy-to-use tool that is universal, meaning new folks who join our team can quickly get up-to-speed and make edits to content on the site as needed. It also means that not just one person is responsible for making such edits, which allows flexibility and sharing of responsibilities.

Pros

Integration of plug-ins to create a custom user experience.
WYSIWYG editing options are great for less skilled folks
Cross-team collaboration is possible with varying levels of access to administrative or simply content-related editing.

Cons

Some plug-in integration could use improvement, though that is likely a concern external developers need to address.
Seeing past drafts of posts or overwriting a previous saved post can sometimes be cumbersome and nevre-wracking.
It can be extremely difficult to address problems, as there often can be, when updates are made automatically and access to the backend is gone.

Likelihood to Recommend

I feel like WordPress is great for a mix of experience levels. It does require some basic knowledge of management programs, but with some assistance in getting it set up and a tutorial of how to navigate it, I personally prefer WordPress over any of the other tools that limit your ability to customize and change things, like Squarespace or GoDaddy's builder. For folks without the ability to be trained, it might not make sense to use, as there could be a large learning curve. For us Millennials, blogging was our jam in the early 2000's with LiveJournal and Blogger. That prepared us well for a world where WordPress can do more than simply act as a blog.

Ashley Mumm

Public Relations Manager at Oregon Food Bank (51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

9 years of experience

Verified on LinkedIn

Excellent Value for Money and Easy to Use

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use WordPress for my coaching website and blog. I use it for funneling new clients to me for questions or to get to my blog. It helps me manage my content in an organized way and to market my small business. It’s a great tool and quite simple yet effective way to get to the public.

Pros

Simple to use
Organizes my content
Easy to blog

Cons

A lot of updates for security
Too many plugins
Website vulnerability

Likelihood to Recommend

[WordPress is] suited for a simple website that is not too complicated. Mine is a coaching site so it is a pretty effective tool for me.

Susie Gasparovic MBA

Registered Client Associate at Susie G Consulting (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

7 years of experience

View profile

Great Platform! No Reason To Use Anything Else For Web Development!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

When I started my company over 5 years ago, I made the decision to only build websites on the WordPress platform. Since then, we have launched over 100 websites. From basic websites to e-commerce, we have had great success with the platform's adaptability to any functionality we need. We have not seen any drop off in SEO effectiveness since making the switch from straight HTML coding. While we mange several HTML sites, we have exclusively built all of our new sites on WordPress. Ease of use and the ability to do whatever we want has made it a no-brainer for our entire agency.

Pros

Simple to use with only a basic understanding of web development needed for many tasks.
The availability of plugins means that anything we need to do, there is a plugin for it. For basic things, the plugins are free. For more advanced things, there is a cost but it is affordable in most cases.
Adaptability with third-party resources means that our sites will not conflict negatively with different browsers, devices, and other alternative platforms.
There are an unlimited number of designs and elements and more are being created every day.

Cons

Obviously, security and hacking is always an issue. If it was easier to update templates that would be helpful.
Plugin conflicts are not as much of an issue these days but still can cause problems from time to time.

Likelihood to Recommend

In most cases, I would recommend using WordPress for your website. We have used it for a wide range of types, including e-commerce, without any issues. If you need a very complex, very custom design, you might try a platform like Joomla or Drupal, but then you run into the issue of needing a niche programmer to maintain and troubleshoot any issues. With WordPress, anyone can edit and maintain the site, and that is one of the big pluses of using the platform.

David Fox

President | Sales & Marketing Advisor in Marketing at Spider Marketing Group (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

9 years of experience

View profile

WordPress is a great tool for engagement

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Currently, I use WordPress to share and promote the diverse history of the university. Stories and research are produced weekly and released to the campus and campus community. This has helped with donor and alumni engagement...who doesn't love looking back on memories and the special quirks of their alma mater? While I manage the site and write the content, the material is picked up by marketing, advancement, student life, and other offices to use in their various campaigns.

Pros

Various use of media...images, documents, videos...these all enhance the story-telling
Easy promotion across different social media platforms
Arranging content categorically for easy search

Cons

I use the free version, and have no complaints about it. If I upgraded, maybe I'd see what I was missing out on, but can't speak to anything at the moment.

Likelihood to Recommend

WordPress is very easy to work with. It provides an outlet for storytelling and allows others to engage with my work, when [they] otherwise would not. I work in archives, which is fairly closed off from the public. Using WordPress allows me to showcase our amazing collection and our department's import and impact on the campus, even though we're in the background.

Mary Burke

Special Collections Manager at Hardin-Simmons University (201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

6 years of experience

View profile

WordPress is Our Choice!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

At my non-profit organization, WordPress is used within the development/fundraising and marketing departments. We lean more towards use in conjunction with fundraising efforts and try to tie it into current mailings or impact reports. As a health organization, we have also posted content related to health concern months such as Pink October for breast cancer awareness.

Pros

User friendly for the most part
Website is easy to follow
Easy to preview posts

Cons

I wish it were a little more intuitive at times
Would like to see some internal tutorials

Likelihood to Recommend

For a novice like me, it isn't super hard. I am not a social media person in general so most of my actions in this area are related to work. I have used WordPress to create blogs for health related focuses and to support other fundraising activities within our non-profit. I fell it works well for these. I have not tried it for other areas so far.

Terri Betts

Director of Development at Health Care Center for the Homeless (51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

6 years of experience

View profile

WordPress is very customizable at the cost of user-friendliness

Rating: 5 out of 10

Incentivized

May 11, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use WordPress across the whole organization. It addresses managing our website.

Pros

Customizable - you can alter the code.
Established - it has been around for a while.
User friendly - it can be set up so anyone can make changes.

Cons

Increase security.
Make more user-friendly for non-coders.
Add more options for customization for non-coders.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well-suited if you have an in-house developer who can run continual maintenance on the site. If you don't have a developer, then it can be costly and challenging to make updates and protect your site from attacks. WordPress can be very customizable if you have the knowledge to do so.

Verified User

Administrator (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

15 years of experience

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Video reviews

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After a dozen years, WordPress is still my go-to CMS, design and development platform.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

The rock solid architecture and code base is great alone, but the open source nature of WordPress that has fostered a massive global community of 3rd party developers who create plugins, add-ons and enhancements, both functional and design related, is amazing.
WordPress is extremely easy to install and, because it's become the de facto CMS for most websites, many hosting companies make installing it even easier with 'push button' tools inside the hosting account that allow you to install it without any technical experience or need to access the actual directory via FTP etc.
When working with client websites, another feature I really appreciate is WordPress' ease of migration. I build a client website on my own server, and then move it to the client's hosting account when it's complete and ready to go live. I use a simple plugin that allows me to do this in just a few clicks from the front-end WordPress dashboard, without the need to access the database or hosting backend.

Cons

While the amazing WordPress developer community has created hundreds of useful plugins for adding functionality like duplication pages and posts, changing the display order of pages and posts in the dashboard and migrating a site, it would be nice if WordPress would create those features (and others) built into the platform. It can be cumbersome to install so many plugins (and shouldn't be necessary for WordPress-specific functions related to administrating the WordPress platform itself.
Another major shortcoming that's frustrated me for years is the extremely limited functionality of the Media Library. For a site that has lots of media (images, videos, etc.) it's incredibly difficult to organize and manage. There really needs to be a folder system to separate, group and search for media items. I've tried countless 3rd party plugins that try to overcome this, but have yet to find one that is effective as well as drag and drop easy.

Likelihood to Recommend

Jonathan Rockett

Founder, Business Development in Marketing at Sizzling Digital (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

12 years of experience

View profile