Today, WordPress is considered one of the de facto standards of the Internet. Millions of companies and individuals use it to advertise their services or present their ideas on the Internet. For this reason, choosing WordPress as a basis for a startup’s site seems to be a logical option. After all, everyone, including the biggest players, is using it, right? In this article, we review why this sort of inertia in thinking is not always justified and why modern startups are ditching WordPress and choosing alternative platforms for faster launches and better UX.
Feature Creep in WordPress
WordPress is undoubtedly one of the most flexible platforms for creating sites on the market. This is, of course, one of the main strengths of the platform: you are limited only by your creativity here. At the same time, this flexibility comes at a price because it also requires many excessive functions. WordPress, even in its default form, has many features that will never be used by most site owners. These features can weigh down a project, slowing it down from the start. Moreover, one needs to use plugins and add their custom themes to finalize a site. All this quickly results in projects that are overloaded with unused features that slow down sites and make them extremely difficult to manage for startups, which often do not have enough resources to perform costly optimizations. It is for this reason, for example, that many startups are turning to companies that can deliver a high-quality Webflow development service.
High Maintenance Costs
WordPress sites are usually costly to manage from multiple perspectives. Many plugins for the platform require subscriptions that can quickly add up and become unsustainable for a startup. Since plugins are usually developed by software specialists with very different fields of expertise, there is also a tendency towards compatibility issues that can arise at any moment and require additional investments for a fix. Lastly, while the platform is flexible and can theoretically support all types of content, its age (WordPress was released in 2003) is already starting to show. It can support new forms of content (for example, VR or AI integrations), but its capabilities in this regard are becoming increasingly limited. All this means that startups using WordPress inevitably have to prepare for additional expenses that will very likely rise due to those issues.
Different Target Audience
WordPress is oriented towards users who want to manage very large amounts of content based on several pre-made templates. For example, the platform is great for bloggers who want to publish large amounts of content based on one or two templates. It is also great for enterprises that focus on consistent style and standardized templates.
The problems of the platform start to manifest when one needs many custom elements or simply does not need much content. For example, a startup that wants to deliver a custom page for every product it produces is likely to quickly encounter scalability problems with WordPress. The platform is also too heavy if you need a small “business card” site that has a minimal number of pages or only offers one landing page. WordPress simply has too many features that are unnecessary for this type of site.
Alternatives for Startups
So, what are some alternatives that modern startups can use?
Many platforms on the market today are offering an easy-to-use, lightweight experience that fits the needs of startups specifically.
1. Webflow. Webflow is an excellent choice for startups looking for a powerful design tool that doesn’t require extensive coding knowledge. It allows users to create visually stunning websites with a focus on UX by using custom and pre-made blocks offered within the platform. The platform combines all the features necessary for maintaining a small site and scaling/expanding it at any moment. Available modules cover design, CMS, and hosting. Webflow’s responsive design capabilities ensure that sites look great across devices, making it particularly suitable for startups that prioritize aesthetics and user experience.
2. Squarespace. Known for its clean templates and user-friendly interface, Squarespace is ideal for startups aiming for a quick and stylish launch. It offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface for creating sites and combines many other features that are vital for launching a website: users can immediately use built-in hosting, marketing, and e-commerce tools. Squarespace includes built-in SEO tools capabilities, making it easy for startups to set up online stores or portfolios without the need for extensive customization. In short, it’s perfect for businesses wanting to showcase their products with minimal fuss.
3. Shopify. For e-commerce startups, Shopify is one of the best alternatives to WordPress available on the market today. It offers a robust platform with a variety of templates designed specifically for online sales. Thousands of stores are using Shopify as their go-to platform for site creation today. The main strength of the platform is its integration of all the features necessary for an online shop. It offers powerful inventory management, built-in payment processing, and various types of third-party app integrations. All this simplifies the complexities of running an online shop. Startups can focus on marketing and sales rather than getting bogged down by technical issues. Shopify requires some customization, but it independently handles the majority of technical aspects.
4. Bubble. For those who want to build interactive, database-driven web apps without extensive coding, Bubble offers a visual programming platform. Bubble is more complex than Webflow, offering more features and requiring a little bit more coding. However, this also means that the platform is significantly more flexible. It allows startups to prototype and launch apps quickly, adjusting features on the fly as user feedback comes in. At the same time, the included features allow for some advanced customization. This can significantly reduce time to market for software-based solutions.
Conclusion
All in all, each of these platforms provides startups the flexibility to launch efficiently and manage their online presence without the feature creep and complexity that often come with WordPress. They cater to a range of different business models and user needs, offering a strong alternative to the more traditional platforms that are often in the spotlight but are, in many cases, not the best choice for startups. Moreover, many software development companies like Keenethics are turning towards new technologies like Bubble. In short, extensive ecosystems of open-source and business communities have already formed around these projects.
