This might seem like a strange topic to find on the blog of a WordPress design and development agency, but our friend Kevin Bird from Cloud KB suggested it and it got me thinking…
If WordPress is so bloody brilliant, why on earth wouldn’t you use it? Surely there is no excuse.
Well actually there are some good reasons not to use WordPress and here are our top 5:
1. You don’t like WordPress
It sounds crazy that you would dislike the CMS that is more popular than all of the others put together, but maybe you have your reasons. Perhaps you don’t like the grey interface, you don’t like the fact that it is built on PHP, you’re a developer who thinks that you are clever enough to build something better, or maybe it is just so darn popular that it makes you want to rebel against it.
If you have your reasons, post a comment and let us know. Bottom line, if you have actually tried WordPress and you are one of that rare species that didn’t like it, then don’t use it.
2. You can’t accept compromise
WordPress is an amazingly powerful system with a vast range of plugins to add almost any functionality you can think of. But, WordPress and its plugins all have their own way of doing things. In your dream world, there might be some things that you wish worked differently. Most people accept that if you use something off the shelf then it won’t be 100% the same as if it was custom built just for you, whether it be clothes, cars, electronics or a CMS. There must be some detail that isn’t exactly the way you want, but you accept that the pros by far out weigh the cons.
However, some people can’t accept that and in those cases you need to forfeit the cost and time savings of a solution like WP and get something custom built just for you.
3. You don’t want a CMS
All websites have content, and they nearly all need a system for managing that content (that’s a CMS), but that assumption leads people to some wrong decisions.
Some people literally don’t need to update their website and if that’s the case, you can’t go wrong with a good old fashioned HTML site.
Not just that, but sometimes the thing you are trying to build isn’t really a website, but an online software with another purpose. For example, we have our own task management tool called Nail Gun and despite being a WordPress agency, we didn’t base it on WordPress because it just didn’t make any sense.
Even if WordPress can do what you want, there are always other ways of doing things and you need to decide what is best for your specific project.
4. You want an iPhone app
WordPress can power all kinds of websites across any platform with a web browser, including mobiles and tablets.
However, it is not an iPhone app, or an android app, blackberry app, windows mobile app or any other kind of mobile app. You install an app directly on your phone, whereas WordPress is installed on a Web server accessible from any web connected device, whether that be your phone, your friend’s tablet or your Mum’s dusty old PC.
They are different technologies with totally different purposes, so it is important that you know what you are trying to achieve in your project and chose the most appropriate technology. In some cases you might need an app AND a WordPress site.
5. You are the real Napster!
If you are trying to build something truly new and ground breaking, you might well need to start from scratch.
Napster, Twitter, Facebook, eBay, TripAdvisor and all the other truly revolutionary websites had to be built from the ground up. Why? Because what they were trying to do had never been done before. If you are one of the rare but amazing geniuses that has an idea for the next big thing (or has stolen an amazing idea), then you are probably also one of the few people who should not start their project with WordPress (Apart from your corporate website of course. And your blog).
Conclusion
In conclusion, WordPress is insanely popular because it is insanely good at a huge number of things, but there are always exceptions and if you have researched the options and found a solution more appropriate to your specific project then we would whole heartedly recommend you to use that option.
If you want to throw your 2 cents into the hat, leave a comment and tell us what you think is a good reason not to use WordPress.
