Making the right choice when picking the tools for your website can be decisive for its success. This includes staying clear of some WordPress myths that can damage your strategy.
WordPress is among the best Content Management Systems (CMS) available, almost becoming a synonym for it. With powerful features, it is able to power any kind of website and provide value to your business and your customers.
The choice of CMS is highly important for the success of your website. It is something that determines the features you will have access to as well as the quality of your user’s experience. Being able to do a lot with your tools allows you to build the best possible online presence for your company.
However, it is still common to hear some WordPress myths that cast doubt on the undecided. Is it just for blogs? Perhaps its weak security? Or maybe its tech support is lacking? Have you ever heard any of that?
In this article, you will learn that such statements are far from true. After all, the best way to fight misinformation is with solid arguments. Here is what you will read:
Shall we go? Read on!
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Is WordPress the most popular CMS?
Firstly, t is important to know the difference between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org, since the former is a free blogging platform and the latter is the CMS we are discussing.
WordPress is the most popular CMS worldwide by a large margin, according to usage data. It is used by over 27 million websites currently online while also corresponding to over 60% market share according to isitwp.
That is a substantial amount, since the second most used CMS, Wix, powers 3.3 million websites. Squarespace and Joomla follow it.
WordPress is free and open-source, being maintained by a large collective of developers around the world. Its base features allow for content publishing on any scale, but you can extend them further by installing plugins and visual themes.
Such qualities have contributed to WordPress becoming as popular as it is now. However, such positive attention attracts myths and falsehoods that can deter people from trying it out.
9 common WordPress myths debunked and explained
Have you ever heard a WordPress myth and completely discarded the idea of working with it?
Below, you will see the 9 most common WordPress myths and the actual truth regarding each one of them.
1. WordPress sites all look similar
This is one of the most common WordPress myths and it does not reflect the full potential of this tool as a CMS. Your website can be customized to look however you wish it to be. You just need to create the right design for it.
It is true that most of the WordPress sites that look similar use the same free WordPress themes. Those ready-made layouts can be added to your installation to modify the look and feel of your website. However, if you wish to have a design that is true to your brand, you need custom themes.
So, in order to avoid the risks of having a website that looks too similar to others, make sure to work with a custom theme for your pages. This will be important in order to stand out on a competitive web.
2. WordPress lacks tech support
By using WordPress as a CMS, you also have access to a vast knowledge base and community support forums. Those two features will make sure that you have no issues working with WordPress for your website.
The knowledge base, called the WordPress Codex, is a full manual on everything site owners need to know when using WordPress. It is easy to navigate and provides information separated by category alongside a search function.
With the tech support forums, you can submit your questions and have them answered by other users of the community and WordPress staff members. You can also use it to search for your issue and find previous discussions about it.
3. WordPress is just a blogging tool
Do you still associate WordPress only with blogs? It is true that it is a handy tool for those who need a blogging platform. You can even live blog on WordPress. However, this CMS is also able to power several other kinds of websites. Those range from corporate websites to even online stores!
That is because WordPress, as a CMS, can have its features further enhanced by the use of the right add-ons. By extending these functions with the best WordPress plugins and themes, you are able to do more with your website and turn it into what you need.
After all, let’s not forget that WordPress powers almost 40% of the entire internet. That statistic most certainly does not only include blogs. Some examples of websites that run on WordPress include eBay, Forbes, The Walt Disney Company, Samsung, and the personal pages of Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, and Katy Perry.
4. WordPress is insecure
If you believe a lack of security to be a barrier to use WordPress for other kinds of websites, such as online stores, then you should rethink that idea. As a platform, WordPress is constantly updated and maintained by its staff to make sure that it is always secure and protected against threats.
This, of course, depends on your WordPress installation always being up-to-date, so never leave any updates pending. This myth surely comes from bad experiences involving insecure WordPress installations that lack proper updates.
In addition, in case you want to go even further, just install the best WordPress security plugins that add extra layers of protection to your site. You can also preserve your data through regular backups with the right plugins.
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5. WordPress is free, so it must be low quality
Not everything that is free must be low quality. Furthermore, just because you spend money on a solution does not mean it will provide you with value.
WordPress is a community-led open-source project with hundreds of developers from around the world. It is actually because of its open nature that WordPress has such high quality. All of those developers are able to contribute by taking care of all the bugs and incompatibilities before you get updates on your platform.
The WordPress Foundation is a non-profit organization, so it survives through donations. The reason they do not charge for WordPress is not related to its quality, but rather regarding the vision they have for the platform.
6. WordPress is not the best for high-traffic websites
Expecting to get high traffic on your website should not have a direct impact on your choice of CMS. WordPress can handle such demand very well since it depends mostly on the quality of your host.
That means you are responsible for taking WordPress and installing it on your host of choice. How well your website works is dependent on that service’s performance.
You also need to make sure to pick the right infrastructure plans from your hosting service. If you expect a lot of traffic, you must make a choice that is compatible with it.
7. WordPress does not work well on mobile devices
If you believe this myth, that is usually because you must have had a bad experience using a WordPress website on your phone or tablet. This can happen in cases where the theme layout is not mobile responsive, which is something the site owners need to take care of.
The theme’s features are independent from WordPress. Therefore, when choosing yours, you must make sure to pick one that has a responsive design. That will make it work well on mobile devices and provide a good experience to your visitors.
Under the hood, WordPress also has several optimizations related to a good mobile experience. For example, the built-in layout editor is responsive and adapts your content to the user’s viewing dimensions.
8. WordPress is too difficult to use
Despite being a highly powerful tool, WordPress is not complex. The most important WordPress functions are appropriately labeled, its configurations are simple and you are usually able to find what you are looking for by choosing the right menu options.
Managing a website is something that might take up a lot of your time. By working with WordPress, you can be sure that you will always be able to do what you need without spending too much time troubleshooting or looking for missing features.
With that in mind, even if you need help installing and using WordPress, there are several ways to go about it. Most hosting services can do all the work for you and do not forget about the availability of tech support features offered by WordPress themself.
9. WordPress is not adequate for e-commerce
Building an online store is perfectly possible with WordPress.
By working with the right plugins—such as WooCommerce—, you are able to turn your website into an online store with all the features you need to generate sales. This means displaying products, having a functioning checkout, and even the ability to offer discount codes.
With it, you are able to enjoy the other benefits of WordPress while achieving your goals of selling products online.
Now that you have learned the truth behind the most common WordPress myths, now is the time to dive deeper into what this tool can do for you. Check out its features and plan how your business can take advantage of them to create the best online presence to achieve results.
You should also make sure that your website has a great performance. See our infographic on how your page speed can impact your sales!
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