Despite WordPress being the most popular website builder in the world, there are a lot of misinformation about WordPress on the internet. Some of these common WordPress myths and misconceptions end up confusing users and leading them to choose the wrong platform. In this article, we will debunk the top WordPress myths with detailed explanations, so you can choose the best website platform for your needs (whether it’s WordPress or not).
Note: When we say WordPress, we are talking about self-hosted WordPress.org, not to be confused with WordPress.com. They are two different platforms, see our guide on the difference between WordPress.org vs WordPress.com.
1. WordPress is Just a Blogging Tool
One of the most persistent WordPress myths is mistaking WordPress as just a blogging software.
It is not.
WordPress is a powerful website builder that can be used to build almost any kind of website imaginable. It powers more than 31% of all websites on the internet, and a vast number of these websites are not just blogs.
WordPress is used for corporate sites, building an online store / eCommerce site, online magazines, and so much more. It is used by governments, universities, and many Fortune 500 companies.
The popular WordPress eCommerce plugin, WooCommerce, is actually the biggest eCommerce platform in the world (larger than Shopify, Magento, and others).
Want to start a non-blog website using WordPress? Here are some guides that you may find helpful.
- How to make a website
- how to make a small business website
- How to create a WordPress membership website
- How to start an online store
- How to create an online marketplace
If this is not enough, then here is a full list of different types of websites you can create with WordPress.
2. WordPress is Not Secure
Another common myth that we hear often is that WordPress is less secure than some other proprietary software.
WordPress is very secure, and this is one of the reasons for its popularity. WordPress is an open source software which means its source code is available online for anyone to study and find security loopholes.
WordPress is extremely flexible, and its security can be further strengthened by taking a few extra steps.
Malware and brute force attacks are common on the web and are not just limited to WordPress. This is why there are specialized security services like Sucuri which provide monitoring service and website firewall to protect against common web threats.
You can make your WordPress site even more secure by taking simple steps like using strong passwords and by following some security best practices.
We have prepared a step by step WordPress security guide that will help you secure your website like a pro.
3. WordPress Does not Support eCommerce
Another prevalent WordPress myth is that it does not support eCommerce. By default, WordPress does not come with a shopping cart feature.
However, there are plenty of WordPress plugins that add eCommerce functionality to WordPress. The most popular of them is WooCommerce, which powers more than 42% eCommerce websites in the world.
Whether you want to sell physical goods or digital downloads, you will be able to do that quite easily with one of the WordPress eCommerce plugins.
We have a step by step guide on how to start an online store with WordPress.
4. Future of WordPress is Uncertain
WordPress is a free and open source software. Many people who don’t know how open source software work, believe in the myth that the future of WordPress is not clear, and it could just suddenly disappear.
WordPress is not developed by a single person, but a community of passionate and professional developers. It is a protected trademark owned by a non-profit organization called WordPress Foundation, which protects the WordPress brand name and promotes the open source software.
There are thousands of small and large WordPress companies selling products and services based on WordPress. Many of these companies actively participate in the WordPress community.
The WordPress community is not just one company, person, or a small group that would just suddenly disappear. It consists of hundreds and thousands of people from all over the world. While WordPress itself is free, this eco-system alone powers millions of dollars in annual revenue for businesses involved.
In short, WordPress is not going anywhere and its future is bright.
5. There is Very Limited Support Available for WordPress
Another common concern expressed by some beginner level users is that since they are not paying anyone to use WordPress, there is no one to help them out when they need support.
There is a ton of free WordPress support available all over the internet. WordPress.org the official website has a very active support forum where you can ask your questions for free and get help from other WordPress users.
WPBeginner itself is a free online resource site with tons of WordPress tutorials and guides.
Here are some of the useful resources that you will find on WPBeginner (all of them are totally free).
- WPBeginner Blog – The central place for all our WordPress tutorials and guides.
- WPBeginner Dictionary – Our WordPress glossary is the best place to familiarize yourself with the WordPress lingo
- WPBeginner Videos – New WordPress users can start with these 23 videos to master WordPress.
- WPBeginner on YouTube – Need more video instructions? Subscribe to our YouTube channel with more than 110,000 subscribers and 10 Million+ views.
- WPBeginner Blueprint – Check out plugins, tools, and services we use on WPBeginner.
- WPBeginner Deals – Exclusive discounts on WordPress products and services for WPBeginner users.
However, if you would feel more comfortable by paying someone, then there are many WordPress developers, agencies, and businesses that would offer you paid support as well. See our article on the best places to hire WordPress developers.
6. WordPress is Free so It Must be Low Quality
Another common WordPress myth is that since WordPress is free, then it must be low quality. Beginners have asked us why would developers do their best work for a free software?
WordPress is not developed by just one person or a small team. It is developed by thousands of developers and is used by millions of websites. The code is open source for anyone to read, scrutinize, and examine for quality.
It follows and adheres to the very best programming practices. The code behind WordPress is rock solid, developer friendly, open, and free. It is also a state of art publishing system with a very easy to use interface. This is why WordPress is immensely popular and way ahead of any other CMS software in the world.
WordPress is used by some of the largest brands including but not limited to CNN, Microsoft, Adobe, The New York Times, and many more.
7. All WordPress Sites Look Similar
A common WordPress myth among beginners is that all WordPress sites look alike. WordPress uses themes which control the visual appearance of any WordPress powered website, and there are thousands of WordPress themes available. Many of them are free, but you also have large collection of premium WordPress themes as well.
There are premium WordPress theme shops like StudioPress, CSSIgniter, Themify, and many others who sell beautifully designed WordPress themes for all kind of websites. These themes come with customization options of their own, so you can change colors, layout, add your own logo and do anything you want with your theme.
Last but not least, there are powerful WordPress page builder plugins that allow you to use a simple drag and drop interface to create your own layouts without any programming skills.
To sum it all, your WordPress site will look exactly how you want it to look!
8. WordPress is for Beginners
Another common myth that we often hear from users who don’t know much about WordPress is that it is more suitable for beginner level users who don’t know any CSS, HTML, or programming.
This is not entirely true. While WordPress is extremely easy to use for beginners, it is also used by corporations, businesses, and developers. WordPress is equally popular among beginners and advanced level users.
For beginners, the good part is that they can create their websites without learning any programming or web design skills. For developers, WordPress provides great flexibility to extend the software with custom code using plugins and themes.
9. WordPress is Not Well Suited For Large (High Traffic) Sites
This myth is promoted by developers of other platforms who fail to acknowledge that WordPress powers some of the most popular websites on the internet. This includes high traffic websites like Techcrunch, The New Yorker, Variety, and our own site WPBeginner.
Since WordPress is a self-hosted platform, you are responsible to manage its performance and scale your server resources as your website grows. We have a step by step WordPress performance guide that will help you learn how to take control of WordPress performance.
If you don’t want to deal with the technical side, then you can use a managed WordPress hosting provider like WP Engine that takes care of the technical side for you.
We hope that this article helped you debunk the common WordPress myths and better understand the true power of WordPress. You may also want to see our article on interesting facts about WordPress (infograph).
If you’re not convinced about WordPress, then we recommend taking a look at our list of popular WordPress alternatives to see if any of the other platforms better suit your needs.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Dan Fleischhacker says
It is stressed over and over that WordPress blog setup is free. That is not so. They recommend a three month “contract” that is about a hundred dollars. How is this “free?”
WPBeginner Support says
Hi Dan,
Please note that we are talking about self hosted WordPress.org and not the WordPress.com. Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
WordPress.org the software is free. Please see our guide on Why is WordPress free?. You will still have to pay for hosting (all websites on the internet need hosting) and a domain name.
Admin
Walter Schlupp says
Perhaps you mignt make clear from the beginning whether the page is on wordpress.org or wordpress.com. From reading I gather it is wp.org, because amentioned feature are not availble in wp.com.
Teddy Wade says
Is it true that WordPress does not allow banner ads to appear on WordPress.org created websites that are sold by the site owner, or by an affiliate company, or by Google Adsense? I’ve found info online that says no and some that says yes.
WPBeginner Support says
WordPress.org has no control on your website. You can do whatever you want with it.
Admin
Shazia faqir says
Really good article here on WordPress misconceptions, iv just recently begun working with WordPress to build a blog site, although it does take time to understand how it works, pages, posts, catergories but it is much easier than creating a website using all the HTML, CSS and php; especially when your not a dab hand at programming.
Anirban Pathak says
Great Post. Please tell me how to add background music in our wordpress blog.
I mean to say when somebody check our website then he or she can hear music.
James Todd says
Thanks for this information on WordPress. When I wanted to build a website for PC repair and service, my son who is much more experienced with website design and marketing (having done it for the past 11 years), suggested I start with WordPress because it is easy to learn but with unlimited possibilities. He was right!. After building my own I have found a few clients for website work and enjoy it immensely.
As time goes on I am learning new things everyday having to do with design, and especially customizing the site to suit my needs and those of my customers.
I have had to use other software to modify and update sites originally built on platforms other than WordPress. Just reminds me how great WordPress is.
And hats off to the community as well. I haven’t had a need or question that hasn’t been cared for by one of the thousands of people who write articles and provide tutorials, by text or video. I hope as time goes on to share what I have learned with others.
WordPress is first class all the way!
Mark Evans says
One of the best things about WordPress is its user-friendliness. It’s one of the biggest reason why I encourage all my startup clients to use WordPress because it gives them the freedom to easily and quickly make changes.
Les Waldeck says
A big buzzword nowadays is “silo structured” site, the idea being to imitate an “authority” site, with the aim of helping your site climb up the SERPs.
Problem is: all the advice on this matter suggests that one can only achieve a “virtual” silo with WordPress, using Categories, or by direct linking one page to the next in the silo. One cannot really structure the directories and files as you would with other methods.
Both WordPress plugins I have create only virtual silos: Mo Mia’s SEOZen premium plugin (via Alex Becker) and Istvan Horvath’s WP Ultimate Silo free plugin.
Have you perhaps already written a post on this topic?
WPBeginner Support says
No we have not written about this. Silos are basically sites with organized content (which can be done by categories). While not the only way, it is probably the most efficient way of accomplishing this.
Using breadcrumbs to show proper structure in the site is also helpful.
Admin
virendra sharma says
Please tell me how to add background music in our wordpress blog.
I mean to say when somebody check our website then he or she can hear music.
Help me asap please
sigmundo says
i wouldn’t put music on a website played automatically, but let the user take full control of this! you can easily add any mp3 in a site using an audioplayer-plugin…
Mike says
Great article about WP. Really love the “factoid” #6. Microsoft Frontpage, which was purchased, not Microsoft designed, cost money. Microsoft what? LMAO
Best FTP client? Filezilla….free, etc., etc.
Pooria says
Great Article Thanks.
John Parkinson says
Syed,
Nicely done! Could I have your permission to make reference to this post during a presentation I am going to give at WordCamp Dayton?
J
Editorial Staff says
Ofcourse John. I wish I can be at WordCamp Dayton. Fingers crossed to see if I can pull some sort of magic out.
Admin
Nathan Driver says
How’s that magic working – it would be great to have you attend the first WCDayton
Dave Navarro says
What’s the source on that 22% figure? I’m working on a report and could use that info.
Thanks!
Editorial Staff says
Hey Dave,
We used this number from two sources.
First the recent article TechCrunch did:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/13/matt-mullenweg-becomes-automattic-ceo-as-toni-schneider-shifts-focus-to-new-products/
Second W3Tech Survey
http://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-wordpress/3/all
-Syed
Admin