Why Build a WordPress Website-The Pros & Cons of WordPress 

Why Build a WordPress Website-The Pros & Cons of WordPress 

Building an e-commerce or blog website has been much easier in recent years with the many web builders on the market. One that is very popular is WordPress, with statistics for 2025, which powers approximately 43.5% of all websites globally, which makes it the most popular content management system (CMS) with a large share of 62.5%, which is very impressive. If you are not onboard with WordPress yet, let me tell you that as of 2025, there are over 478 million websites globally. As of Google, the second-place website builder is Squarespace, with a market share of 18%. Wix and Shopify are popular web builders, but WordPress is easy to use with many YouTube videos to help you build your next amazing website. 

Why is WordPress the leading web builder on the market? 

There are many advantages to building a website compared to Shopify, BigCommerce, SquareSpace or wix and that is the cost? WordPress is “FREE” compared to paying $16-$29/month for the ones mentioned. So why is WordPress free? It is classified as open-source software, which means that it is free to use but allows users the freedom to modify and redistribute the software. The founders who started WordPress back in 2003 are Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. The philosophy is rooted in the belief that everyone should have access to promote, improve, collabate in new ways and innovations with an enormous community of developers and users. The other competitors on the market are falling behind such a great web builder. 

How does WordPress Work? 

WordPress works with a single theme only, unlike plugins that you can as many as you need to build your site, I will talk about the different plugins that you need to run WordPress. The basis of the coding language of the system. The main 3 coding languages are PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor, ordinarily known as “Personal Home Page” created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994) HTML (Hypertext Markup Language by British Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 and is back bone of all websites) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets by Hakon Wium Lie and Bert Bos in 1994) This is the rich history of how WordPress started and how it works, but I have to tell you about the different plugin that are needed for WordPress, but it is advised not to have more than 15-20. There are hundreds of themes on the market, and in the backend of WordPress, selecting a theme is very important as you want the developer of that theme to update it regularly, provide reliable security, be easy to use, and ensure fast page loading. No one wants a slow website when they visit it? 

Pros 

• Flexibility and Extensibility — Thousands of themes and plugins let you add almost any feature: e‑commerce, membership, forums, multilingual support, SEO tools, and more. 

• Large Ecosystem and Community — Extensive documentation, tutorials, forums, and third‑party services make problem solving and learning fast. 

• Content‑First Workflow — Built for publishing: posts, pages, media library, scheduling, and revisions are native and easy to use. 

• Design Options — Choose from lightweight themes for speed or visual builders (Elementor, Divi) for pixel control; block themes and Full Site Editing increase design flexibility. 

• Cost Control — Core WordPress is free; you can scale costs by selecting hosting, premium themes, or paid plugins as needed. 

• Ownership and Portability — Self‑hosted WordPress.org gives you full control of files and data; you can migrate between hosts or export content. 

• SEO and Performance Tools — Mature SEO plugins, caching solutions, and CDNs help optimize search visibility and load times. 

• E‑commerce Ready — WooCommerce and related extensions turn WordPress into a full online store with payment, shipping, and inventory features. 

Cons 

• Maintenance Burden — Core, theme, and plugin updates are frequent; you must manage updates, backups, and compatibility testing. 

• Security Responsibility — Popularity makes WordPress a target; insecure plugins, weak passwords, or outdated software can create vulnerabilities. 

• Performance Risk — Poorly coded themes/plugins or too many extensions can slow a site; optimization and caching are often required. 

• Plugin Dependency and Lock‑in — Relying on specific plugins for critical features can make future migrations or redesigns harder. 

• Learning Curve for Advanced Customization — Basic setup is easy, but custom templates, PHP edits, or complex integrations require developer skills. 

• Quality Variability — Themes and plugins vary widely in code quality and support; vetting is necessary to avoid technical debt. 

• Hosting Costs for Scale — Small sites run cheaply, but high traffic or resource‑intensive features may require VPS, managed WordPress, or dedicated hosting. 

When WordPress Is a Good Choice 

• You need full control over content, design, and hosting. 

• You plan to scale features over time (blog → membership → store). 

• You want access to a large plugin marketplace and community support. 

• You prefer ownership and portability of your site and data. 

When to Consider Alternatives 

• You want a no‑maintenance, fully hosted solution with minimal setup (consider hosted builders like Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify for simple stores). 

• You need ultra‑high security and compliance out of the box and prefer a managed platform with strict controls. 

• You require a very small, static brochure site where a static site generator or simple HTML/CSS is cheaper and faster. 

Practical Checklist Before You Build 

1. Define goals: blog, portfolio, membership, or e‑commerce. 

1. Choose hosting: shared for small sites; managed WordPress or VPS for growth and performance. 

1. Pick a lightweight theme and test demo performance. 

1. Limit plugins to essentials; prefer well‑maintained, popular plugins. 

1. Set up security: WAF, strong admin passwords, two‑factor auth, and regular malware scans. 

1. Automate backups to offsite storage and test restores. 

1. Optimize performance: caching, image compression, and CDN. 

1. Use a child theme for code changes to preserve updates. 

1. Create a staging site for testing updates and major changes. 

Recommendation 

If you want control, extensibility, and ownership—and are willing to invest time or budget for maintenance and security—WordPress is an excellent platform. If you prefer minimal upkeep and a guided experience, evaluate hosted builders or specialized platforms instead. 

Choosing your Theme? 

There are many web builders out on the market, but WordPrees.org don’t get confused with WordPress.com both are different builders. You might say why not Shopify, Wix, Squarespace or Weebly. You can build a website with any of the builders mentioned, but WordPress is an easy, very reliable platform to customize your business looks. WordPress customization is where your site really starts to feel like yours. It’s the stage where you shape the design, layout, features, and user experience, so your blog or business stands out. Customization is the moment your website stops being a generic template and becomes a reflection of your voice, your brand, and your goals. It’s where design meets strategy.  

WordPress Themes. 

What a theme is 

A theme is a collection of files (PHP templates, CSS, JavaScript, images) that tell WordPress how to display posts, pages, archives, headers, footers, and other parts of your site. Themes use the WordPress Template Hierarchy and the Loop to decide which template file renders for each page. Changing the theme swaps those templates while leaving your database content intact. 

How do you get a theme? 

When you install WordPress on your hosting platform, it will install a basic default theme by Twenty Twenty-Four. You can keep this one or upload your own. I have a life-time usage of Divi Theme, and it is an easy theme to use and understand. I would still recommend YouTube videos on Divi to understand and learn how to build pages. I have a basic idea of how to build my website and I enjoy having fun, I not a skilled programmer of websites but I have created the basic building blocks for a professional to fine tune it, I am a photographer and sometimes you have to get your hands dirty, learn and adapt to building your business. Take a look at my site and tell me what you think? https://flashmyportrait.com  

WordPress is built on one theme and many plugins to run your site like Security, SEO, WPForms, Contact Form, Cashe, WooCommerce, Payment Gateways, PayPal, Backup and Restore. There are many to select but remember the more you have the chance your site may slow down. 

WordPress plugins add features to your site without coding; pick only well‑maintained, widely used plugins, keep them updated, and use security plugins and backups to reduce risk—Springfield, OR users should prioritize a firewall + malware scanner and regular backups. 

 

Core components 

• Template files (PHP): index.php, single.php, page.php, header.php, footer.php — these output HTML for different page types.  

• Stylesheet (style.css): Declares theme metadata and global styles.  

• Functions file (functions.php): Registers menus, sidebars, theme supports (e.g., post thumbnails), and enqueues scripts/styles.  

• Assets: Images, fonts, and JavaScript that provide interactivity and visuals. 

How WordPress chooses templates 

WordPress follows the Template Hierarchy: when a URL is requested, WordPress looks for the most specific template file available (for example, single-{post-type}.php before single.php, then index.php). This system gives themes fine‑grained control over different content types and taxonomies. 

Types of themes and tradeoffs 

• Free themes (WordPress.org): Reviewed and safe for basic sites; limited advanced features.  

• Premium themes: More demos, built‑in features, and support; can be heavier and slower if bloated.  

• Block (Full Site Editing) themes: Built for Gutenberg blocks and global styles; enable editing templates via the block editor.  

• Multipurpose vs. niche themes: Multipurpose themes offer many layouts; niche themes are tailored to specific industries. Choose based on flexibility vs. out‑of‑the‑box fit.  

Customization and extensibility 

• Customizer & block editor: Most themes expose color, typography, and layout controls via the Customizer or block editor patterns.  

• Child themes: Use a child theme to safely override templates or styles so updates to the parent theme don’t erase custom code.  

• Plugins vs. themes: Themes should handle presentation; plugins should add functionality. Avoid embedding critical features in a theme to prevent “lock‑in.”  

Quick decision checklist (for Springfield, OR users launching a blog or small business site) 

• Prioritize speed: pick a lightweight theme (Astra/GeneratePress/Kadence).  

• If you want visual building: choose a theme compatible with your page builder (Elementor/Divi).  

• For long‑term flexibility: use a child theme for custom code and keep functionality in plugins. 

How to choose (quick guide) 

• If speed & Core Web Vitals matter: choose GeneratePress or Astra — they’re built for minimal bloat and fast load times.  

• If you want visual design without code: choose Divi (visual builder) or Kadence (block + builder integrations).  

• If you’ll run WooCommerce: prefer themes with WooCommerce demos and conversion features (Astra, OceanWP, Divi).  

• If you use Gutenberg: pick Neve, GeneratePress, or Kadence for native block support and patterns. 

 

 

 

 

Plugin Types: 

• WooCommerce for E-commerce selling and creating products and subscriptions 

• PayPal and Stripe is gateway to take payments and deposit in your bank account. 

• Security against hackers, Firewall, login and malware. Wordfence is a must. 

• Contact forms like WPForms let customers contact you. 

• Seo like Rank Math or Yoast. 

• Amelia or Booking to schedule bookings and payments of services offered. 

• Jetpack for security 

• Protecting images from right-click 

• Image optimizing, cleaning, compressing, and caching to improve page speed. 

• MonsterInsights helps marketing 

• Google Analytics understands how customers land on your website and the statistics. 

How plugins work (overview) 

Plugins are modular PHP packages that hook into WordPress actions and filters to extend functionality (e.g., SEO, forms, e‑commerce). They run inside your WordPress environment and can modify admin screens, front‑end output, database queries, and REST endpoints. They do not replace core content—posts and pages remain in the database when you switch themes. 

Types of plugins you’ll commonly need 

Core categories 

• Security — firewall, malware scanning, login protection. Essential for sites handling logins or payments.  

• Backup & restore — scheduled backups stored offsite (S3, Dropbox). Critical for recovery after compromising.  

• Caching & Performance — page caching, asset minification, CDN integration to improve load times. 

• SEO — metadata, sitemaps, schema, and content analysis. 

• Forms & Lead Capture — contact forms, surveys, payment forms. 

• E‑commerce — product catalog, cart, checkout (WooCommerce). 

• Analytics & Monitoring — traffic, uptime, error logs. 

Security best practices for plugins 

• Install only from trusted sources (WordPress.org, reputable vendors).  

• Check active installs, recent updates, and support threads before installing.  

• Limit plugin count; remove inactive plugins and duplicates. 

• Use a security plugin (WAF + malware scanner) and enable two‑factor authentication for admin accounts.  

• Schedule automated backups and test restore regularly. 

There are hundreds and thousands of great plugins, some are free, and some have a monthly fee. The most important thing about plugins is how often they are updated, reviews, and usages. The more you have, can slow your website can be, depending on the hosting that you have. There are websites that can check your website speed, like PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom Tools. These are not plugins but help you understand how your website is running. 

Once you have your domain name, hosting a platform that installs WordPress, your theme and plugins, you can start building your site. 

Once your site is up and running, it is good to tell Goggle to index your pages. A new website will take time to rank in Googe and Bing, all of the search engines. You can do free advertising on all social media sites, Yelp, Craigs List, Angies List, Thumbtack, Next-door, Groupon, Bing, Better Business Bureau, plus many more internet sites. 

On your website good t add keywords and meta tags to your pages and images this helps Google, the search engines understand and know what you are talking about, writing blogs helps page ranking over time with the use of longtail keywords what people are looking for.