Why I (almost) never recommend Wordpress to freelancers

You're new as a freelancer, or maybe you're starting a sidehustle, and now you need a quick way to set up a website. You ask for advice and Wordpress is frequently mentioned. And I have opinions.

"I'm new as a freelancer and need a website, what should I use?" I see this question frequently in chat groups from excited creatives, with no coding skills, hoping for guidance. If I have time, I glance at the replies, and there they are, without fail. The Wordpress enthusiast. They have the best of intentions, but when following their advice, you might embark on a time consuming adventure when all you wanted was a landing page showing what you can offer the world.

Now, hear me out. I'm not throwing shade on Wordpress here. Me and Wordpress go way back. I started building my own sites in HTML before it was cool and my blog, built in Wordpress, was part of my application to the program I studied and probably the main reason I got accepted (it was certainly not my high school grades). I have since built and managed WP-sites for friends and clients* and project managed more sites than I can count, both in Wordpress and other CMS. I've also been the go-to person in my friend circle for any WP-related questions.

All this to say I have some experience here.

Why do people recommend Wordpress?

Wordpress has a reputation as a blog platform, but it hasn't been one in a long time. Wordpress is a full-scale CMS, with a lot of functionality. Some built in, most available as plugins.

I would consider Wordpress under the following conditions:

• You truly need it to be very customizable, with possibility to connect it other services and API's. If you don't even know what I mean by that last part, chances are you should not chose Wordpress.
• You have fundamental knowledge and interest in HTML/CSS/PHP. You enjoy playing with code and solving problems.
• Or, you have one or two Wordpress developer you can work with long-term, ideally paying them (as a former "friend with tech skills who's happy to help friends out", it does get old pretty quickly with website which require ongoing maintenance).

Who should not go with Wordpress (and what instead)?

Most people who post in chats, asking for advice, has a different set of requirements and not enough experience to articulate them. If they are a freelancer who's just starting out, they usually need a website that ...

• ... looks esthetically pleasing and modern, but have some flexibility with designing pages.
• ... is easy to manage by themselves with low risk breaking things.
• ... require no technical maintenance.
• ... possibility to build an email list, contact form, and online shop.

Which is why I more often than not, recommend Squarespace. (But there are plenty of other options if you prefer, I hear Wix being mentioned a lot.) Squarespace is boxed in and will not allow you have full technical control. It will, however, allow you to structure your content in an simple way, is easy to maintain, requires no updates from you or a developer, and the risk of breaking something beyond repair is almost non-existent.

But what about the pricing?

Sure, Wordpress is free. The tricky thing with free is that it seems to create a short-circuit in our brains. "Free?! Awesome, I don't mind putting in some extra work for something I don't have to pay for!"

Classic case of forgetting to value your time (and mental well-being). Say you work for clients for an hourly rate. You charge, let's go low here, say €30 per hour. You're just starting out, you have a few clients, maybe 40 hours per month. €1,200 is what you can invoice for your side hustle.

A platform that you can manage easily yourself might cost more. But are also considering the time and effort you need to spend? Is tweaking little details on your website the best use of your hours? Or should that time, just maybe, be spent on building your brand, creating content, market yourself, hustle to get new clients?

Squarespace's cheapest plan is €15 monthly for reference.

But what about SEO?

I'm not going into a discussion of the best platform for SEO. I know Wordpress is most commonly referenced as the leader here, but I'm no expert in this area. I do however want to point out that while SEO is something to consider, so is what business you have and how you are planning to market yourself. Are you selling products, SEO is likely more crucial than if you are a niche freelancer who mainly gets clients through network and your personal brand.

Ranking high on Google is difficult even with the most SEO-optimized platform, and even that won't help you if you are not updating your website. So, what is most crucial for you here?

Final note

There are always exceptions to any rule, but the amount of people I've met who ended up with a Wordpress site they feel overwhelmed with and ended up abandoning, is pretty significant. Usability, or joy of use, is an important factor. So please, dear tech nerds, stop recommending Wordpress across the board for people who just need something simple to get started.

*Shouldn't have done that, I'm not a developer, sorry past clients. I was in my twenties and didn't know better. 🙃