During a recent estimate, WordPress was the tool that powered a little more than 21% of the websites on the internet. Despite that or maybe because of that, there are a lot of misconceptions about what this powerful CMS platform can or cannot do. As with all popular things, there is a lot that people don’t know about WordPress. Often, that gap in knowledge is filled by false information. Here, we debunk seven of the most common misconceptions about WordPress.
1. It is nothing more than a blogging tool
WordPress is a powerful web software and can be used to create different types of websites. The misunderstanding about WordPress only being a blogging tool has its origins in the fact that it did indeed start out as a blogging tool and then evolved over the years into a lot more than that.
2. It has to be low quality because it is free
WordPress is an open source software. This means that its code is accessible to anyone to read, scrutinize, and for suggesting changes or corrections to it. By being developer friendly, WordPress has developed into a state of art software that was created and is being maintained literally by thousands of talented minds.
3. WordPress is a security nightmare
Being open source has its uses. The WordPress code has been studied and scrutinized for security loopholes by brilliant minds from all over the world. Also, there are some excellent security plugins available for WordPress sites that make protecting them a breeze.
4. Support regarding WordPress is hard to find
Even though WordPress is free, it has spawned a whole ecosystem of companies that make money by selling premium WordPress products. It is in their interests to keep WordPress robust and convenient for users. As such, there are a lot of forums and free tutorials available online. For those who feel more secure with the notion of paid support, there are independent businesses and developers who offer just that.
5. It cannot be used for e-commerce
It is true that WordPress does not come with a shopping cart or provide other e-commerce solutions. However, installing these on your website is a simple matter of downloading and installing a plugin that provides the same functionality.
6. It could shut down any day
Many believe that a free entity like WordPress that is not owned by someone in particular cannot possibly have a future. On the other hand, exactly the opposite is true. Because of the many companies and businesses that make money based on WordPress products and services and the fact that it is open source and welcomes corrections and suggestions from any and all developers, WordPress actually is amazingly versatile with even more potential for development in the future.
7. WordPress is for beginners
While it is true that WordPress is extremely convenient and easy even for the beginners to use, it is by no means a software limited only to the beginners. Indeed, it is used by governments and large corporations, some of which belong in the Fortune 500 list.
There are many false notions doing rounds about WordPress. We have tried to clarify some of the most popular and misleading ones. However, the best way to make full use of its potential is to stay ahead of new developments and updates related to WordPress.