Empowering Clients and Streamlining Development: The WordPress Advantage

November 18, 2023

In the realm of web development, WordPress has emerged not just as a developer’s tool but as a game-changer for clients seeking autonomy and ease of use. In this post, I’ll share why I choose WordPress as a developer, with a particular focus on how it empowers clients to manage and edit their websites independently. Additionally, we’ll explore the role of plugins in handling complex functionalities, freeing up development time for more bespoke solutions.

Client Independence

One of the standout features of WordPress, from a client’s perspective, is its user-friendly interface. Clients appreciate the intuitive dashboard that allows them to easily navigate a limited back-end of their website. That being said, even within WordPress, many plugins and page builders have a pretty steep learning curve. I create all my sites with easily edited custom fields, and take care of all the design stuff in the background. This way, my clients can edit their sites content, move things around and create new pages without the worry of messing up the design.

Extensive Plugin Library: A Blessing and a Curse

I’ll start this paragraph off by saying that I have a love-hate relationship with plugins. While I typically prefer to custom-code solutions, the vast array of plugins available for WordPress is undeniable. For clients requiring advanced features or functionalities that would be time-consuming to develop from scratch, plugins are invaluable. I’m not talking about saving a couple hours, I’m talking days.

At the same time, plugins can be the worst decision you can make for a website. I’ve “adopted” quite a few sites over my career from clients who went for the cheap guys and now their website is constantly breaking. One of WordPress’ biggest downfalls is that anyone can get one, slap together a website with a page builder, and call themselves a developer.

The more plugins you use, the higher the security risk, and the higher the risk that they will conflict with each other. Plugin conflicts are the #1 reason why a website goes down, and outdated plugins are the #1 way a website gets hacked.

Support

A key driver behind my choice to use WordPress (other than the fact that it’s the platform my first job used) is its unparalleled popularity in the online world. As the most widely used website platform, there is a massive community of developers, designers, and users. This extensive user base contributes to a wealth of knowledge and support, creating a robust ecosystem of forums, comprehensive documentation, and tutorials. This collective support network ensures that troubleshooting and problem-solving become collaborative endeavors.

I’ve developed on other platforms in the past, including Shopify, Wix, Hubspot, self-hosted websites, and some platforms you’ve probably never heard of (and I can’t remember). WordPress remains my go-to. It takes care of some of the heavy lifting, allows my clients the ability to edit their sites, all while allowing me to maintain as much control as I want.