Even though WordPress has been the top platform that deals with web development and management for years, there’s still a surprising number of commonly accepted myths and misconceptions that people cling on to.
Some of these misconceptions were, in some way, true at one point, but we’ve since gone a long way to still take them seriously.
To ease your mind into using WordPress, we’ll debunk the five most common of these misconceptions and provide you with the truth of how things really stand now.
WordPress is only for bloggers
When WordPress first launched, it was intended for running blogs – that part is true. In the years since, however, it has evolved so much that it can run any type of site you can think of. As we’ve already mentioned, it’s the most widespread platform out there, and all of those users can’t be only using it just for blogs.
The reason WordPress has evolved from such a specific purpose beginning to a tool that encompasses so much more is its nature. Being an open-source program means it available for anyone to improve upon it, from which steams a virtually endless supply of plugins, widgets, themes, editors, etc. all of which are created for the purpose of expanding the original build into something that has limitless possibilities.
Furthermore, showing that they follow the trends, WordPress has switched to a block editing principle that in no way fits the “just for blogging” perception some still have. If the basic change in working with WordPress isn’t enough, in recent years, there’s been an influx of visual editors that even more drastically change the user interface and the way you interact with it. Using something like Elementor will make it feel like you aren’t even using WordPress at all.
With all these changes, versions, and additional content on the side, there is simply no reason to think, in 2020, that WordPress is used just for blogging when it’s clearly a full-fledged platform capable of running any type of site.
WordPress is just for beginners
Stemming from probably the same place where WordPress is perceived to be just for blogs, it’s similarly thought to be just for those starting out in web development. This can’t be farther from the truth. Granted, there are times you’ll need something built from scratch, but these instances are highly specific and, therefore, exceedingly rare. The third-party content we’ve touched on will most likely provide you with everything you’ll need.
Having said that, most of the time, using WordPress is easy. However, easy doesn’t necessarily mean deprived of functions. Naturally, using content others developed and optimized could be viewed as something aimed at beginners, but the more you know about the matter, the more you’ll get out of it, going so far to be able to create your own plugins and apps. The beauty of WordPress is precisely in the variety it provides. You could be an emerging developer who’s just getting the hang of everything or a seasoned veteran who’s seen and gone through every coding method of the past twenty years, and in both cases, you’ll be able to put out a final product.
If you need any more proof of how competent a platform and how robust a tool it is, look no further from Microsoft or Adobe – two huge names in the tech industry who run their sites from WordPress.
WordPress isn’t secure
This one probably isn’t as widespread as the two that came before, but you can still hear someone say that you shouldn’t use WordPress for anything “serious” because your data won’t be secure – nothing could be further from the truth.
Namely, because of the open-source nature of the platform, the devs make it an emphasis to prioritize security. Imagine the thing you’re working on is open to the public. Most of the time, the contributions are purposed to elevate the features you’ve put in place; however, every once in a while, something gets through the cracks that aim to hurt all you’ve worked for. There is absolutely no doubt that you’ll put in extra work to make sure you have a deterrent for anything and everything they’ll throw at you.
In addition, a percentage of those that contribute also work on security features to protect their work and so on. You see the pattern beginning to form, don’t you? Because so many people are working on improving WordPress, they’re bound to come up with all the things that could possibly bring it down and prevent that from happening beforehand.
Just the fact that WordPress has been around so long and you’ve never heard of any significant crash or leak is proof enough they’re doing their job keeping everything as secure as possible.
WordPress has a lack of dedicated support
Because WordPress is developed and maintained by community contributors, it gives out the wrong idea that you’ll be lacking proper support if you would need it at any point. While it is true that it’s community maintained, the support provided is top-notch.
To start it off, you have the WordPress Codex at your disposal – a virtual encyclopedia that includes documentation on how things work and list the most common issues with the accompanying solutions. Everything contained within is thoroughly checked by experienced developers, so there’s no chance you’ll get the wrong information.
If that’s not enough for you, there’s also the forum. This isn’t your usual forum, however. The community is immensely active and helpful. After you’ve elaborated on your issue, the answers are soon to follow, and a very high number of cases are useful.
Although it doesn’t have a formal support service, the knowledge provided by the community is on par with anything you’d get anywhere else.
WordPress isn’t good for eCommerce
This was perhaps true in the beginning when the platform was just starting out, but nowadays, it’s definitely not true. The main reason for the turnaround is WooCommerce.
It’s one of the most popular plugins of all time, and it creates your site into a webshop so easily you won’t believe it. To put it into the perspective of just how good WooCommerce is – around 40% of all eCommerce sites are run through it. Just imagine, almost every other webshop you visit is a WordPress site running WooCommerce. That fact alone is more than enough to debunk the archaic notion a successful eCommerce site can’t be made and run in WordPress.
Conclusion
In our quick overview, we believe we’ve uncovered some truths that maybe you weren’t so sure of and were holding you back from using WordPress. There are still more things people get wrong about WordPress, but these are the ones that are not only the most common but probably also the ones that tend to put off potential users the most. Essentially, you need to stay informed about the tools you’re using, and this is the perfect way to get to know what strengths WordPress actually has – be sure to use them.