WordPress Misconceptions
WordPress often is derided by hobbyists, those new to starting a business, or those new to digital marketing.
It’s often seen as unsafe due to the volume of WordPress websites that are often hacked, the number of plugins (think apps) that are often (and regularly) hacked or used to spread malware, or simply the sheer number of WordPress websites that represent an amateur approach to online marketing: with many not working on modern phones, not using SEO in any way, not displaying even minimal content, often missing basic contact information, or being scam sites promoting unsavory (or nonexistent) businesses.
But, for WordPress, it’s par for the course.
WordPress is the Earth’s leading, most popular, most used Content Management System. As a seasoned digital marketing expert, who’s been building websites for companies since WordPress began, I’ve never had any issues with it.
What issues I’ve seen and regularly helped others resolve have not been a result of WordPress itself as it has been with people simply trying to build professional-level websites overnight for free, on their own, usually with very minimal (if any) technical knowledge or preparation.
WordPress itself is used by Walt Disney, Beyonce, Katie Couric, Sylvester Stallone, The Rolling Stones, Blondie, Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, MSNBC, BBC America, several banks, the Government of Sweden, several Japanese hospitals, Brown University, several banks, Vogue magazine online, NASA, and millions of others.
Surely these celebrities, governments, businesses, and companies are not all idiots using a “bad” Content Management System. Right?
Why would they entrust millions if not billions of dollars to a system if it were “bad” somehow? Wouldn’t they know something or hire quality developers? You’d think Walt Disney, the company that owns Star Wars, Marvel movies, and a few other franchises and theme parks would be able to hire top developers and want the best online presence they could get. And that’s why they choose WordPress.
So any belief that WordPress is somehow “bad” would come from uninformed perceptions based on experiences with people simply not knowing how to utilize the world’s most popular, and flexible Content Management System.
WordPress is as safe and secure as the people using it, it can be used for any type of online presence, marketing campaign, store, movie studio, mega corporation.
Like life, it’s up to those trying to understand it, to make with it what they can. Given a realistic budget, a profit-driven business that needs more leads and an online marketing division, organized and logical expectations, and timeline, there’s nothing a good developer can’t build using WordPress.