What is WordPress?
WordPress is free software for building websites that you install on hosting you pay for. It's powerful and runs about 40% of the web, but you're responsible for updates, backups and security — which is why it's a poor first choice for a one-person trade that just needs a page.
WordPress is the biggest name in websites and the most misunderstood. Two different products share the name, and the difference matters.
Two things called WordPress
| WordPress.org | WordPress.com | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Free software you install | A hosted service using that software |
| Cost | $0 for the software, $5–$25/mo for hosting | Free tier; paid plans $5–$50/mo |
| Who maintains it | You | They do |
| Plugins and themes | Any, tens of thousands | Restricted on cheaper plans |
When someone says "I have a WordPress site," they usually mean the first one. When someone says "I have a blog on WordPress," they might mean either.
What WordPress.org actually is
A piece of software that runs on a web server. You install it, pick a theme, add plugins for extra features, and write pages. The dashboard is where you work.
It became popular because it was free, flexible, and anyone could extend it. That's also why it has a maintenance burden: thousands of themes and 60,000+ plugins, all written by different people, all needing updates.
What you have to do yourself
This is the part that decides whether WordPress is right for you:
- Keep the software updated. WordPress, your theme and every plugin release updates. Skip them and you get hacked — WordPress sites are the most common target on the web precisely because they're so common.
- Take backups. Before every update, ideally. A plugin update that breaks your layout is a normal Tuesday.
- Watch for plugin conflicts. Two plugins that both work can stop working together after an update.
- Deal with spam comments, if comments are on.
- Renew the SSL certificate if your host doesn't automate it.
Realistically: an hour a month, plus one annoying afternoon a year. If you enjoy tinkering, that's fine. If you don't, it's a subscription to low-grade worry.
What WordPress is genuinely good at
- Blogs and content sites with many posts, categories and authors.
- Online stores, via WooCommerce.
- Sites that need specific functionality — bookings, memberships, directories — where a plugin exists.
- Not being locked in. Your files and database are yours; you can move hosts.
- Hiring help. Every web person on earth knows WordPress, which means you can always find someone to fix it.
What it's bad at
- Simplicity. There are 60,000 plugins because there's no built-in way to do most things.
- Speed, out of the box. A default install with a heavy theme and six plugins is slow on a phone. Fixing that is another project.
- Being left alone. An unattended WordPress site decays. An unattended one-page site doesn't.
Should a plumber use it?
Almost certainly not. A one-page site with five facts about a business doesn't need a content management system, a plugin ecosystem or monthly updates. It needs to load fast and be accurate.
WordPress becomes reasonable when you have a real reason: 40 blog posts, a shop, a booking system with deposits, or a developer you're already paying who works in it.
If someone is selling you a $2,500 WordPress site for a one-person trade with no shop, ask what the other options were. See what a website should cost.
If you do use it
The minimum safety kit: automatic backups, automatic core and plugin updates (or a monthly reminder to run them), a security plugin, and a host that will restore a backup for you. Then don't install anything else unless you need it.
More on the choice: WordPress vs a website builder.