Are you planning to build your own website with WordPress but do not know where to start? Worry not; you have come to the right place. In this WordPress reviews, we will walk you through all you need to know about this website builder, including:
- An Overview of WordPress
- Pricing
- Flexibility & Customizability
- WordPress Plugins
- WordPress Themes
- SEO Optimization
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Security.
Let’s wait no more and get right into it!
An Overview of WordPress
Before delving into the detailed reviews on WordPress, let’s start by taking a quick glance at all the fundamentals of WordPress. This includes what WordPress is, the pros & cons of WordPress, and the way it works.
What is WordPress?
In the first part of our WordPress reviews, we will introduce you to what this platform is.
WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that has revolutionized the way individuals and businesses build and manage their websites. It is known for its flexibility, which allows users to create every kind of website, from simple blogs or forums to complex webpages like eCommerce or business sites, with ease.
This platform supports a wide range of themes and plugins, enhancing its functionality and allowing for extensive customization. As the most popular website builder in the world, WordPress powers over 40% of the top 10 million websites on the internet, making it a go-to choice for content creators and web developers alike. Its strong community support and ongoing updates ensure it remains cutting-edge and secure for users seeking a reliable and scalable web solution.
What types of websites can you build with WordPress?
Now, after explaining WordPress, we will introduce you to the different kinds of websites you can build with this platform in our WordPress reviews.
WordPress is a remarkably versatile platform that empowers users to create a wide array of website types tailored to diverse needs. From small personal blogs and large news portals to sophisticated eCommerce stores and professional portfolios, WordPress can handle it all.
Its extensive range of themes and plugins allows users to build educational sites, membership sites, forums, and even social networks. For businesses, WordPress is ideal for creating corporate websites, service-oriented platforms, and online booking systems. Its adaptability makes it suitable for virtually any kind of project. With WordPress, both beginners and experienced developers can execute their vision with precision thanks to its tools and features.
The differences between WordPress.org & WordPress.com
Our WordPress reviews would be incomplete if we did not mention the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
If you search for the term “WordPress” on Google, you might’ve noticed that two results appear on your screen: WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
The easiest way to distinguish between WordPress.org & WordPress.com is to remember that the former is the free, self-hosted version, and the latter is the fully hosted version with a monthly fee.
Throughout our testing period with both versions, we found that self-hosted WordPress provides greater control over your website due to its exceptional flexibility and customizability.
*Please note that in our WordPress website reviews, we will focus on the .org version, which is the self-hosted version.
How does WordPress work?
Next, we will explain how this website builder works in this WordPress reviews.
WordPress operates as a powerful, user-friendly content management system (CMS) designed to streamline the process of building and managing websites. Because WordPress is an open-source, self-hosted website, it can work in any way you want it to. It all depends on your coding skills, the plugins you install, and the themes you choose.
If you are a newbie, do not be afraid. WordPress provides tutorials and lesson plans to help new users get used to its working process.
Users interact with WordPress through its intuitive dashboard, where they can add, modify, and organize posts, pages, and media using a simple editor.
Whether you're setting up a blog, an eCommerce site, or a business portal, WordPress makes web development accessible to everyone, from novices to experts. Themes and plugins extend the functionality of WordPress, allowing users to customize the appearance and enhance the capabilities of their sites without needing to code.
From our experience, the table below will show you WordPress platform pros and cons as a website builder:
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Now that you have a better grasp of this website builder, let's move to the main part of this WordPress reviews. We will provide an overview of WordPress, including its pricing, flexibility, themes, and more, and also present some alternative platforms.
WordPress Price
The first thing we will mention in the main part of our WordPress reviews is pricing.
One of the biggest benefits of this platform is that it is free to download and use, providing a cost-effective solution for users looking to create a basic website.
Although you can create a website with WordPress for free, hosting and domain registration typically involve fees. Moreover, for those seeking enhanced functionality and professional design, you can purchase premium themes and plugins from third-party developers. Throughout our testing period with WordPress.org, it will cost you about $8 to $300 per month to run a website. Please note that the expense of running a WordPress website varies depending on its size and complexity. Simple websites such as blogs or forums will cost less than eCommerce stores.
Web hosting
Because WordPress is a self-hosted website builder, you will have to research and find the most suitable hosting service provider for your website and your budget. This will cost about 3$ to 30$ per month, depending on your need. Several hosting providers offer specialized WordPress hosting packages that streamline installation and maintenance, often including additional features like automatic updates and enhanced security.
Domain name registration
The expense for a domain name could cost you around 1$ to 40$ per year from the best domain name registrars since WordPress does not provide this feature. However, you can save the cost of a domain name by using the hosting plans of top website hosting providers. Many of the top web hosts now provide a free domain name in the hosting services for their customers.
Premium themes
WordPress provides thousands of free themes for its users, but if you want to make your website unique, you might have to pay for a special theme. There are two ways to make your website special: purchasing premium themes from a third-party theme designer or hiring someone to customize a new theme for your website. The cost of these options varies depending on your demand, about 2$ to 200$ per year.
Premium plugins
On WordPress, plugins enhance your site with additional features and capabilities, ranging from SEO enhancements to functionalities for accepting online payments. While many plugins are available for free, there are also premium plugins that offer more advanced functionalities. The cost of these plugins varies depending on your specific needs, ranging from $2 to $1000 per year per plugin.
WordPress Flexibility
WordPress stands out in the world of website builders for its exceptional flexibility. In this WordPress reviews, we will explain what makes it an ideal platform for users who want to customize and scale their websites to specific requirements.
As an open-source website builder, WordPress offers the unique advantage of allowing developers to modify its core code and expand its capabilities through custom themes and plugins. This extensive customization enables the creation of diverse types of websites, from simple personal blogs and portfolios to complex eCommerce sites and large-scale corporate platforms.
Additionally, WordPress seamlessly integrates with numerous third-party tools and services. This includes payment gateways, SEO tools, and marketing automation software, enhancing its functionality.
With the support of a robust community and ongoing updates, WordPress not only adapts to the current technological trends but also ensures future scalability. WordPress delivers a flexible and dynamic solution that can grow and evolve with any business’s online strategy, whether for a small startup or a multinational corporation.
WordPress Plugins
WordPress plugins are essential tools that enhance the functionality and efficiency of websites built on the platform. Hence, we can not miss out on this feature in our WordPress reviews.
The WordPress repository boasts thousands of free plugins that cater to virtually any need a website owner might have. These plugins serve a myriad of purposes, from improving SEO and increasing site speed to adding complex functionalities like eCommerce capabilities or social media integration.
Although all of its plugins are free, please note that some of them require an upgrade to access full features. These allow WordPress users to customize their sites extensively, improve user experience, and optimize performance without requiring extensive coding knowledge.
WordPress plugins provide the necessary resources to enhance and expand your site's capabilities. Whether you're looking to add contact forms, optimize your content for search engines, or secure your site against threats, WordPress can help you do it all.
You can go to the Plugins section in your Dashboard to search for new plugins, add needed plugins, or manage what you have installed.
Besides, if you can’t find plugins that meet your requirements in WordPress plugin store, you can purchase them from third-party plugin developers such as WisdmLabs, PluginHive,…
WordPress Themes
The fastest and most efficient method for constructing a website is by using premade themes. Therefore, the variety of website themes will be an additional point of consideration in our WordPress reviews.
WordPress offers an extensive library of free themes, encompassing thousands of options that cater to a broad range of styles and functional needs. Moreover, if you want to specialize your website, you can buy premium themes from third-party developers or hire a designer to create a unique theme.
Free themes
A free theme is a great starting point for those new to web development or operating with limited resources, providing essential design features and customization options.
Although free themes might be great for a beginner, there are some considerations to keep in mind:
- Free themes often lack regular updates and support. This can make them more vulnerable to security threats and compatibility issues with newer versions of WordPress.
- The quality of coding in free themes can vary. Poorly coded themes might slow down your website or cause functionality problems.
- The source of the free themes is crucial. Downloading themes from untrusted sources could pose risks to your website's security.
To mitigate these risks, always choose free themes from reputable sources like the official WordPress Theme Directory. You can find free, trustworthy themes in the appearance section of your website’s dashboard. Besides, you should check for recent updates and active installation support regularly.
Premium themes
On the other hand, opting for premium WordPress themes brings several significant advantages, particularly for those aiming to create a more professional or feature-rich website. Unlike the free option, WordPress does not provide premium themes. You can only find this kind of theme from third-party developers.
Premium themes are typically developed with advanced features that are not available in free themes. These features might include more sophisticated visual elements, such as sliders, advanced galleries, and interactive elements that enhance user engagement and the overall aesthetic of the site.
Another major advantage of premium themes is the dedicated support offered by their developers. This support is invaluable, especially for users who do not have deep technical knowledge. Theme developers provide assistance with setup, troubleshooting, and updates, ensuring that the theme continues to run smoothly alongside the evolving WordPress core software.
Additionally, premium themes are regularly updated to address security issues and compatibility with new WordPress versions, which helps to keep the website secure and functioning properly.
These benefits make premium themes a worthwhile investment for users who are serious about their online presence and require a more robust, secure, and aesthetically pleasing website.
Custom themes
If you want to make your website unique, hiring a developer to create a custom theme is a good option. A custom theme ensures that your website stands out with a unique design that perfectly aligns with your brand identity and meets your specific functional requirements.
Working with a developer also allows for greater control over the website’s features, performance optimizations, and security measures, which can significantly enhance the user experience. Moreover, a developer can provide ongoing support and updates, ensuring that your site remains compatible with the latest web technologies and security standards.
While this route may involve a higher initial investment compared to using pre-made themes, the benefits of having a professionally designed, one-of-a-kind website often outweigh the costs, particularly for businesses aiming to establish a strong online presence.
WordPress SEO Optimization
SEO Optimization is one of the most important aspects of any website builder. Hence, this will be another factor that we will discuss in this WordPress reviews.
WordPress provides a level of SEO control that is typically superior to what other drag-and-drop website builders offer. This extensive control is crucial for optimizing your site's performance in search engine results pages (SERPs).
With WordPress, users can modify key elements like meta tags, alt attributes for images, and other HTML tags directly within the CMS, which can significantly influence how search engines understand and rank your site.
Moreover, WordPress’s plugins allow for even deeper SEO enhancements. Plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All-in-One SEO Pack are powerful tools that provide comprehensive SEO management.
These plugins can help optimize your website in various ways. They can create sitemaps to improve search engine crawling, provide suggestions for content optimization, and assist in generating structured data. This structured data is crucial for enhancing your site's visibility in search engine result page (SERP) features like rich snippets.
By using these tools, users can make specific adjustments to their websites to better align with search engine algorithms, ultimately boosting visibility and attracting more organic traffic.
WordPress Ease of Use
The next part of our WordPress reviews will be the ease of use of this platform.
Building a website with WordPress can be challenging for beginners. Its rich array of features and customizable options may initially seem overwhelming for newbies or people who do not have deep technical knowledge.
WordPress is different from other streamlined, drag-and-drop website builders specifically designed for simplicity. This platform offers a more complex platform that requires a basic understanding of certain technical concepts like themes, plugins, widgets, and sometimes a bit of HTML/CSS.
For someone new to web development, the sheer number of choices in themes and plugins, along with the need to manage hosting and domain settings, can complicate the setup process. Additionally, optimizing the site for performance and security requires navigating more complex settings and configurations.
Furthermore, achieving a specific design or functionality often requires adjusting theme files or adding custom code, which can be daunting without some coding knowledge.
However, don’t worry too much just because you are a newbie. WordPress is relatively straightforward to manage. Its user-friendly dashboard organizes all backend activities efficiently, enabling you to update pages, publish articles, install plugins, and perform other administrative tasks with just a few clicks. Moreover, WordPress also provides documentation that can help its users get used to its working environment.
WordPress Customer Support
As we mentioned above in this WordPress reviews, WordPress is a free, open-source website builder that does not have an official customer support channel. This lack of direct support can pose challenges for users, especially those new to website creation.
Unlike other drag-and-drop website builders, WordPress users can rely on community-based support for installation, troubleshooting, and site optimization.
This support comes in various forms, such as online forums, detailed documentation, and user-generated tutorials. While the WordPress community is active and resources are plentiful, navigating these can be time-consuming and might not provide the immediate, personalized assistance that a dedicated support team would offer.
WordPress Security
Because security is one of the most important features of any website builder, we cannot overlook this aspect in our WordPress reviews.
If you are wondering, “Is WordPress reliable?” the short answer is YES. WordPress has a security team to address problems such as resolving the vulnerability in the PHP XML parser in shared dependencies.
But since this platform is self-hosted, its users will be responsible for maintaining and securing their websites. This means that users must take proactive steps to manage their hosting environment, perform regular updates, and ensure that their sites are protected against security threats. They must also back up their data regularly to prevent loss in case of hardware failure or other issues.
Moreover, securing a WordPress site involves more than just installing security plugins. It requires understanding best practices such as securing file permissions, using strong passwords, and implementing measures like two-factor authentication.
If you are a beginner, you should seek help from reliable hosting providers that offer robust security features and support. Managing these aspects can be a significant task, especially for those without technical expertise, but it's crucial for ensuring the long-term health and safety of their websites.
WordPress Alternatives
While you are still considering whether WordPress suits you, we will help you answer the question, “What is better than WordPress?”. The table below will introduce you to some WordPress alternatives to this website builder.
WordPress | Weebly  | Wix  | Squarespace  | |
Pricing | Free, plus hosting price (3$ to 25$ per month) | From 0$ per month | From 17$ per month | From 16$ or 25$ per month |
Domain name | No | From 10$ per month with Personal plan and above | Free for 1 year | Free for 1 year with annual plans |
Drag-and-drop interface | Require plugin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
SSL certificate | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
eCommerce features | Require plugin | For any plan | From 29$ per month with Core plan and above | From 23$ per month with Business plan and above |
SEO tools | Require plugin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Customer support | Community Forums | Various channels | 24/7 customer care for all plans | 24/7 customer support for all plans |
Detailed reviews |
Weebly
The first choice for you is Weebly. Weebly is a straightforward website builder that makes it easy for anyone to create a website, regardless of technical skill. It features a simple drag-and-drop interface and a variety of pre-designed templates that help users quickly set up a professional-looking site.
Weebly also supports eCommerce with tools for online selling, such as shopping carts and secure checkout. Additionally, it offers SEO tools to help enhance site visibility. Available in several pricing plans, including a free option, Weebly is suitable for personal projects as well as small businesses looking to expand online.
Wix
Another choice is Wix. Wix is a popular website builder known for its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for users of all skill levels to create good-looking websites. This platform offers a wide range of templates and customization options, allowing users to tailor their sites to their specific needs and aesthetic preferences. Wix also includes a variety of built-in features such as eCommerce tools, SEO capabilities, and mobile optimization. With comprehensive plans that cater to both beginners and advanced users, Wix is a solid choice for anyone looking to build a personalized website with ease.
Squarespace
The last option is Squarespace. Squarespace is a popular website builder celebrated for its elegant designs and professional-looking templates. It is straightforward to use, enabling anyone to craft an attractive website effortlessly. Squarespace is particularly strong in supporting eCommerce, providing robust tools for creating online stores. It also offers built-in SEO features that help improve your website’s visibility on search engines. This platform is ideal for artists, bloggers, and even small business owners seeking a polished online presence. Squarespace also offers various pricing plans to suit the different needs and budgets of its users.
Additionally, if you're considering another website builder, please check out our reviews of Best Website Builders.
WordPress Reviews: FAQs
Is it worth paying for WordPress?
Yes, paying for WordPress is often worth it if you need advanced features, better customization, enhanced security, and professional support.
Does WordPress own your website?
No, WordPress does not own your website. When you use WordPress software, you retain ownership of your site's content and data. If you want to try out self-hosted WordPress, you can easily migrate your website.
Is WordPress really that good?
Yes, WordPress is highly regarded for its flexibility, extensive customization options, and strong community support. Its ability to adapt to a wide range of needs, from personal blogs to large corporate websites, makes it a popular choice worldwide.
Conclusion
To sum up this reviews of WordPress, this website builder is quite hard to use if you are a beginner. But as long as you can fully take advantage of its features, WordPress can help you create any kind of website you can think of, whether it’s a blog, a forum, or an eCommerce website.
We hope that after reading our WordPress reviews, you will be able to determine whether it fits your needs and budget. If you choose to migrate to this robust platform, LitExtension can be of assistance! With over 10 years of experience in working with platform infrastructures and 300,000+ successful migrations, we can ensure a smooth and seamless transition for your online business.
Don’t forget to check out LitExtension’s blog and join our Facebook Community for all things eCommerce.
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