Why is WordPress Underrated? 5+ WordPress Limitations

WordPress powers over 75 million sites on the web.

Even though WordPress development services are very much popular nowadays, we still feel WordPress doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Despite a few so-called limitations, WordPress is widely used by developers to build various kinds of websites. WordPress is used to build not only websites but also various web applications even though WordPress is tagged as just another logging platform. 

We are not getting into the debate whether WordPress is the best CMS available or not but WordPress is definitely underrated for so many reasons. 

Also, we are not here to blindly defend that WordPress is the best CMS. Instead, we will discuss the problems or limitations that few developers say.

5+ Limitations in WordPress

1. WordPress is Open-source and its PHP

As we all know, WordPress is an open-source CMS built using a programming language called PHP. One main reason why WordPress gets this much hate is because of the fact that it’s built on the Php language. We all know that PHP has its own limitations in terms of scalability and security to an extent. 

WordPress Limitations (WordPress as Open-Source PHP) - ColorWhistle

But it’s not the case exactly and moreover, WordPress is moving more towards the future and it’s visible in its future updates. Also, WordPress projects its future as Gutenberg which is based on React.

WordPress moving towards React is a good sign that they are constantly making an effort to stay relevant.

And just because WordPress is open-source doesn’t mean that it has lots of problems. Yes, WordPress is a free platform and is available for users to use to develop websites for free. We agree this is an issue as anyone can develop anything. There is always a chance of poorly coded themes and plugins being built. But WordPress as a system is doing its best to ensure security and solve other issues due to poorly coded themes and plugins by releasing regular updates.

Also, WordPress has lots of plugins or themes of high quality with clean codes and top-notch security which are regularly maintained. So, if we can select the correct themes and plugins which are regularly maintained and the ones which have a high number of downloads, this isn’t really an issue or problem to be worried about.

2. Role of Plugins and their limitations

We all know plugins are a core part of the WordPress ecosystem. There are plugins available for any and every functionality like Gallery, Contact Forms, Ecommerce, SEO, and many more. 

As there are multiple plugin options available for each functionality, there lies a problem with which one to choose. It’s always better to go with the ones which have the highest number of installations and ones which are regularly updated. 

WordPress Limitations (WordPress Plugins Role's and Limitations ) - ColorWhistle

Also using too many plugins will affect the website’s performance. So, we need to ensure that we are always keeping an eye on what plugins we use and is it necessary to use those plugins. Apart from a performance issue, there are also chances of compatibility issues as well due to the usage of too many plugins. 

Another limitation with the plugins is we get to choose from what they offer rather than what we actually need. The choices we have here are either to compromise by choosing a similar plugin or create a new plugin from scratch.

Having said all these, there are many well-coded plugins that solve most of the issues we discussed here and also there are various premium plugins that are well maintained and provide many premium features which free plugins don’t provide. 

Another thing to consider here is that it’s not necessary to use plugins for each functionality just because they are available as plugins. We need to ensure that we are using plugins only if there are essential and it’s not easy to build the functionality without the plugin. 

For example, Using a Woocommerce plugin is a necessity as it’s a must to develop an eCommerce website but using a plugin for a Gallery or a Carousel is not a must as it can be developed by ourselves with a little bit of code.

3. Security Risks

There are many claims that say WordPress websites are insecure and prone to cyber-attacks more often. There are different ways to look at it. 

We all know WordPress is the most popular CMS platform and WordPress powers more than 43% of all the websites which are on the internet. Security attacks are common for any website or CMS. As WordPress is the most popular CMS, it’s an easy target for hackers. Also, it’s not really the problem with WordPress alone. A hacker can find a loophole in any plugin or theme which is not well-coded and gain access to the website. So, as long as we are using top-tier themes and well-coded & maintained plugins, we can always ensure the website is safe and secure.

WordPress Limitations (WordPress Security Risks) - ColorWhistle

Apart from that, WordPress is popular and has various security plugins like iTheme Security, and All in One WP Security which provide various layers of security to safeguard the website from malicious attacks.

A few notable features of Security features are Constant Security Monitoring, Malware scanning, Firewall, Bruteforce protection, File change detection, Changing Admin URL, Lockout suspicious users, Activity Logs, and much more.

With these security measures, we can always ensure that the WordPress site is safe and secure.
If you want to fortify your website’s security, consider partnering with a reputable WordPress development agency that can implement top-tier themes and maintain well-coded plugins.

4. Slow Loading Speed

We all know that website speed and performance are as important as the website’s core feature itself. A website that loads fast will help in getting a higher Google ranking and also reduce the bounce rate to a greater extent as well. Also at the same time, user experience is also dependent on the website speed. If the website is too slow, no one would be interested to use the website.

“WordPress websites are slow” is the major complaint that developers keep telling time and time again. But is it completely true? Not really. Yes, WordPress websites can be slow but that doesn’t mean that we cannot develop a fast-loading website using WordPress.

WordPress Limitations (WordPress Loading Speed) - ColorWhistle

WordPress websites can become slow if we use too many plugins, heavy themes, and poorly coded page builders for building the website. Apart from these, Other factors like using large-sized uncompressed images, cheap hosting, and unreliable CDNs can also affect our website’s speed and performance.

Also, Readymade themes and Page builder plugins like Elementor, Divi, and WPBakery play an important part in slow-loading websites. If we are looking for a few advanced features like Drag and drop functionality, we have to let go of a few aspects in terms of speed and performance. So, we have to decide whether we are ready to compromise a few extra functionalities to make the website load faster.

Readymade themes are not really built without considering a single business or industry in mind. Most of them are multi-purpose themes that contain many unwanted features. So, we need to be careful while selecting ready-made themes and ensure that we are not selecting the theme which provides many more features than we actually need.

If we follow proper coding standards and reduce the use of plugins, we can ensure that the WordPress website loads faster than any other website which is built properly.

Do have a quick read about how we built a WordPress website that loads faster and also exceeds performance expectations.

5. WordPress is Maintenance Heavy

This has always been a topic for debate on how maintenance-heavy WordPress is. And we can always find people complaining that it’s hard to maintain WordPress without the Developer’s help. This is contrary to how many development companies sell WordPress to clients that WordPress is easy to use and easy to manage and maintain a WordPress website without a developer’s help. So where’s the disconnect here?

The reason is pretty simple. If the website is developed properly by following coding standards and using top-tier plugins and themes, the maintenance of the WordPress website would be pretty simple. But if the website is not developed properly, then it’s going to be a problem whenever we update a plugin or theme or WordPress which results in a compatibility issue. 

WordPress Limitations (WordPress maintenance List) - ColorWhistle

And another area of concern is the clients taking things into their own hands by trying out different plugins by themselves where it’s always safe if this kind of work is done by the developer.  

Also, there are a lot of complaints regarding updates released by WordPress, Plugins, and themes. Updates are released frequently for various reasons like Security Fixes, New Features, and fixing other reported issues. So this is more about how we see it. Not all updates have to be updated. We always have to read the update log to understand more about the update and then decide if this is really needed or not. 

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Conclusion

Even though there are a few points listed as Cons, WordPress is the most popular and great tool to develop any kind of website or web application. Every CMS or Software will have its own limitations. What we have to see is whether the Pros outweigh the Cons. In this case, it’s a no-brainer that WordPress has so many advantages than the so-called disadvantages.

There is a reason why it is so popular and widely used. In our opinion, WordPress is the best CMS available in the market which provides a number of possibilities to build anything and everything using WordPress. 

So, WordPress isn’t going anywhere and it’s going to be at the top for a long time as it has a clear roadmap for the future as well with Gutenberg as the core. And, if you are serious about building a WordPress website that works and performs well in the long run, work with a professional WordPress development company like us, send us a message or call us at +91-944-(278)-9110

WordPress Development Company - ColorWhistle
Rajeev
About the Author - Rajeev

Rajeev is a WordPress developer with 7+ years of experience in building websites across various industries such as travel, education, real estate, and e-commerce with performance & website loading speed being the core objectives. He's also passionate about API-based website development as he believes it could enable businesses to go above and beyond in creative ways. Outside of work, he is yet another Federer fan who dreams of someday watching Federer play at center court and he loves endurance cycling & playing badminton during his off time!

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