WordPress, which began as a blogging platform, is now one of the most popular content management systems on the web. Its popularity is largely due to its being free and familiar for most digital marketers and IT professionals. However, as a DXP (Digital Experience Platform) consultant, I believe that WordPress is not the best choice for marketing sites of businesses making close to and over $1 billion in annual revenue. There are several leading DXPs that will catapult these businesses into the new digital age, will increase revenue and conversions from the website, and will significantly increase IT team efficiency. Here’s why:
1. Security Risks
Because WordPress is so popular (and it is open source), it is a huge target for hackers. Developers know WordPress well, so they know how to hack it. The statistics are alarming: WordPress sites are subject to over 95% of hacks on CMSs and face around 90,000 attacks per minute.
WordPress sites, due to the open-source nature of the platform, are also dependent on plug-ins and themes for most of the functionality. Developers write these plug-ins and place them out on the marketplace for general use. This means that a WordPress site pulls in code from many external developers that could contain vulnerabilities. To keep your site as secure as possible, you must keep WordPress and PHP updated as well as each and every plug-in and theme that you add.
In recent studies, Sucuri found that many popular plug-ins were vulnerable to serious risks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). Additionally, many vulnerable sites in their study cited that they were on outdated versions of PHP because some of their plug-ins did not support the latest version. These plug-ins and themes introduce so many dependencies and risks that simply aren’t necessary.
2. Team Efficiency
Honestly, managing one WordPress site sounds exhausting. I have talked to clients who manage as many as 30+. If your business is doing this, you have a serious opportunity to make your team more efficient. Keeping plug-ins and themes updated for all sites is a large task, and it must be done to keep your site as secure as possible. Developers and DevOps Engineers can spend a lot of time proactively preventing and reacting to site attacks. So, yes, WordPress is “free” – but what is the true cost to your organization?
Switching to an enterprise-level DXP can offload so many tasks to free up your IT team to focus on other initiatives. Plug-ins and themes will be in your rearview mirror. Depending on which platform and products you choose, you may not have to manage or pay for hosting anymore. AI-integrated tools can be configured in a “set it and forget it” fashion. Your enterprise products can be integrated with each other to enable marketing to do more without developer involvement. Picture your organization running as a well-oiled machine with your DXP supporting you and helping you accomplish your goals.
3. Digital Leads & Revenue
Hearing someone say “we don’t really make money from our website” makes me want to scream. There is no reason that should be the case in 2023/2024. You are making money from your website. If you think you aren’t, your website strategy isn’t where it needs to be. One of the best quotes I’ve seen around LinkedIn is “Your website is your only salesperson who works 24/7.” Even if you don’t have an eCommerce website and you don’t make direct revenue from your website, it should be driving leads and conversions and bringing in business.
The way you drive those leads and conversions is through direct interactions and touchpoints with your visitors. Specifically, personalized content driven by a robust user base and omnichannel content delivery that gives your users a consistent experience with your brand across all touchpoints. You can accomplish this with an enterprise-grade DXP that offers sophisticated tools to help you get to know your users. Your digital presence is worth an investment beyond free, open-source tooling.
Wrapping Up
We have all faced a tough market over the past few years, so it seems like an easy decision to choose a free CMS over a DXP solution that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. However, there are significant trade-offs that come with using WordPress, and it can be a risky decision for your organization. Switching to an enterprise-grade DXP can result in significant efficiency gains and increased customer loyalty and revenue. With the shift to headless in the CMS market, the technology side is heavier on popular front-end technologies like Next, React, and Vue. This means that you won’t have to go out and find a bunch of developers who know .NET or a specific CMS technology.
Perficient partners with Adobe, Optimizely, Acquia, Sitecore, and Contentful for web solutions. We understand that a site migration can be a significant undertaking. We can help with every step of this process, from platform selection and strategy through launch and beyond. Contact our team to get started with this step in your digital transformation.
