Why we left WordPress behind

I've been working with WordPress for years. It was the standard. Everyone used it, including us. But somewhere it started to wring. And that's when it started to annoy. And finally, we switched. Here's why.

The plugin stack

It started off innocently. A contact form plugin. One for SEO. One for security. One to make things faster. Before you know it, an average WordPress site runs on twenty to thirty plugins. They all need updates. They all have to work together. And they all have their own vulnerabilities. Are you updating one? Chance of something else breaking. Aren't you updating them? Chance that you will be hacked. It felt like a house of cards that you had to keep an eye on constantly.

The speed illusion

WordPress sites are getting slow. Not because WordPress itself is slow, but because the combination of theme, plugins and hosting is rarely optimized. So you install a caching plugin. And an image optimizer. And you're messing around with the database. The site is getting faster. For a moment. Three months later, you're starting all over again. It's pointless. You're more concerned with keeping the site up and running than what the site should actually do. The dependency. This is what bothered me the most. “Can you just change that text in the header?” No, because that's in the theme. “Can you change the color of that button?” Yes, but then I need to enter the code. “Can you move this block up?” Depends on how it was built. The whole point of a CMS is that you can adjust things yourself. But in practice, you needed a developer for almost every change. The customer depended on us. And we were dependent on how the theme was put together. No one had real control.

The switch to Webflow

That's when I discovered Webflow. And everything that annoyed me about WordPress was gone.

• ‍No plugins. Everything is in one platform. Design, development, CMS, hosting. Nothing you need to manage or update separately.
• ‍Really fast. Webflow generates clean code and hosts on a global CDN. Sites load in milliseconds. Standard. Without optimization afterwards.
• ‍Real freedom. Your customer can change texts, change images, add pages. Without anything breaking. Without a developer.
• ‍Design without borders. You are not limited to what a theme allows. You design exactly what you want and build it exactly like that.

So, is WordPress bad?

No. It works great for some situations. Very complex multisite setups, for example. Or if your team knows WordPress inside out and doesn't want to get rid of it. But for most companies I speak to, it's too much on one side and not enough on the other. Too much technical complexity. Too little flexibility where it matters.

What if you're on WordPress right now?

Migrating is easier than you think. Your content can go along. Your SEO positions will be maintained if you do it right. You can take over or improve the structure. We did it dozens of times. It takes a few weeks. And it will benefit you for years. A site that's fast with no hassle. Safe without plugins. And that your team can manage themselves.

Want to experience it yourself?

If you're curious about what your site might look like in Webflow, let me know. We would love to watch. No obligations, no obligations.