10 Reasons for WordPress – and When I Advise Against It

Ten years ago, there was an article here with ten reasons for WordPress. Much of it still holds true, some of it is outdated: the old text editor has long since been replaced by the block editor, and since version 7.0 WordPress can talk to AI services out of the box. Time for a new version.

WordPress is still the most widely used system for websites: according to W3Techs, it runs 39.6% of all websites and 58.4% of the websites whose content management system can be identified (as of October 19, 2026). Its share is falling, though – at the start of 2026 it was still 43.0%. So popularity alone is not an argument. The following ten reasons are the ones that tip the balance in my projects. This website runs on WordPress, too.

1. Your website belongs to you

WordPress is open source and released under the free GPL license. There are no license fees, and nobody can change the terms after the fact. You can switch hosts and service providers at any time and take all your content with you. With many website builders, design and content are tied to the platform – moving usually means rebuilding.

2. Edit content without coding skills

Since WordPress 5.0 (December 2018), you work in the block editor: every paragraph, every image and every table is a block that you insert, move and edit. For business websites, I also build custom content blocks, for example for services, projects or contact. You change texts and images yourself, and the design doesn’t break.

3. Flexible enough for web applications

WordPress has long been more than a blog. Custom content types, user roles, forms and interfaces to other systems are part of the toolkit. One example is Thunderbike, one of the world’s leading Harley-Davidson customizers: their website, with thousands of custom bikes, parts and accessories, runs on WordPress. Every model page shows live which vehicle is available right away – without anyone maintaining the data by hand. What else is possible, I show under Web platforms & portals.

4. Plugins: lots ready-made – used with care

There is a plugin for almost every task: forms, multilingual content, shop, appointment booking. That saves time and money, because not every wheel has to be reinvented. But every plugin is also third-party code that needs maintaining. So my rule is: as few as possible, only well-maintained ones – and rather a small custom solution than a plugin that can do a hundred things when you only need one.

5. Security through updates – if someone does them

WordPress is under constant development, and security vulnerabilities are usually fixed quickly. WordPress installs minor security updates to the core automatically, and since version 5.5 it can do the same for plugins and themes if you want. The flip side of its popularity: WordPress is a popular target for attacks. According to Patchstack, 11,334 new security vulnerabilities were reported in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025 – 91% of them in plugins, 9% in themes and only six in WordPress core itself. That’s why security in WordPress isn’t a feature but work: updates, backups and checking that everything still works afterwards. What that involves is covered in the article on the WordPress maintenance contract.

6. A good foundation for Google and AI search

WordPress creates readable URLs and a sitemap, and a lean theme produces well-structured code. For titles, descriptions and structured data, there are mature plugins. But a website is found because of its content, not because of WordPress. That was true in 2016 – and even more so since AI search started compiling answers from websites. More on this in the article GEO instead of SEO.

7. Accessibility is well within reach

Since June 28, 2025, the BFSG (German Accessibility Strengthening Act) has applied to many online services. WordPress doesn’t make a website accessible on its own, but it doesn’t stand in the way either: what matters is a cleanly built theme, an understandable structure and well-maintained content, such as alternative texts for images. What the law requires is summarized in the BFSG guide.

8. Future-proof thanks to a large community

WordPress is open source and has been developed by a worldwide community since 2003. Existing websites can usually be upgraded to new versions without having to be rebuilt. The latest major version, WordPress 7.0 from May 2026, modernized the admin area and brought an interface to AI services into the core. A major version jump isn’t entirely effortless, though: 7.0, for example, requires at least PHP 7.4.

9. Your content is in good hands

WordPress saves every change to pages and posts as a revision. You can go back to an earlier version at any time, and since version 7.0 also with a visual comparison. For the whole website – database, images, plugins – you also need regular backups, ideally automatic and stored off the server. And because your content is stored in an open format, you can export it at any time.

10. Plenty of experts – you don’t depend on anyone

WordPress has extensive developer documentation and an answer to almost every question. For you as a site owner, that means: many experts know their way around it. If your service provider no longer fits, you’ll find another one – even if that provider is me.

When I advise against WordPress

WordPress isn’t the right tool for every job. In these cases, I advise against it:

• When it’s really an application. A client portal with its own database, license management or a billing system is often better off as standalone software. That’s why I built the shop, license server and client portal for the Offenlegungs-XML Editor without WordPress.
• When nobody takes care of updates. A WordPress website that nobody updates for years becomes a security risk. Then you need ongoing support, for example through wp-einfach.de, or a system that doesn’t need ongoing maintenance.
• When a single page is enough. For a simple online business card or a campaign page that hardly changes, a static page is often faster, cheaper to run and more secure.
• When the shop has very specific rules. Where WooCommerce fits, I build on it and extend it. With very specific pricing or licensing logic, a standalone solution is often simpler.
• When your team works well with another system. Switching costs time and nerves. Without a clear reason, it isn’t worth it.

Conclusion

In 2026, WordPress is a very good choice for most business websites: open, extensible, easy to maintain and with a future that doesn’t depend on a single vendor. But it needs care, and it isn’t the right tool for every job. Whether WordPress fits your project is something I’m happy to clarify in a free initial call – 30 minutes by video or phone.