Is WordPress still a good choice in 2025?
By Markus Backman
March 10th, 2025
WordPress still remains the most popular CMS
WordPress can make your website lack behind
It's good for small websites, but not so much for bigger websites
WordPress, yes or no?
WordPress still remains a popular choice for building websites with. In February 2025, 43.6% of all websites operated with a CMS, was built with it. And if we look at the CMS market per se, WordPress is the choice for 61.8% of all websites.
It's safe to say that WordPress is the most popular choice for creating websites. But while it is great and convenient, it's not the best option out there. However, this varies by the use case and needs you may have, but in most cases, it would always be a better choice to go with a modern website site that is not built around a monolithic system.
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Why is WordPress still so popular?
WordPress is popular because it remains the go-to platforms for building websites. It's been around for more than 22 years, and everybody knows about the platform. For editors, it's relatively easy to use, while there's an ecosystem of different plugin making it the all-in-one choice for many businesses.
Is WordPress a great choice in 2025?
It would not be right saying that WordPress is complete garbage nobody should touch. WordPress is great, but definitely not in all circumstances, and especially not if you want to achieve serious results with your website operations. But let's say, if you need a small to medium site website, WordPress is easy to set up and operate on a basic level. There's many themes and plugins to choose from and you can visually customize your site according to your liking.
However, if you are serious with your website and looking to make the most out of your website, you should not really opt for WordPress in 2025. Large-scale applications that require high scalability and performance may find it limiting, especially as it happens that WordPress' plugin reliance is not the best and it can slow down your site if not properly optimized.
Sure, you can use Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly and such. They are easy to setup and have in many cases "no-code" editors, requiring no coding expertise to develop. While these builders and platforms are totally ok for smaller websites and projects, you are still limiting yourself if you want to make the most out of your website.
While WordPress is all fine for simple websites, blogs, exhibition sites, or small business sites etc, consider a composable tech stack with a Headless CMS installed. That way you don't have to rely on a monolithic stack such as WordPress, but a system where the frontend and backend are decoupled, resulting in much easier operations that cost you less resources and money in the long run.
Composable vs Monolithic architecture
WordPress started as a blogging platform more than 20 years ago. It was built on monolithic architecture, which is an all-in-one solution where the frontend, backend, database, and logic are integrated into a single application.
If your are looking for growth or greater opportunities with your website, you'll quickly realize the monolithic system won't cater your website for growth and expansion.
Composable architecture on the other hand, is an API modular approach to building digital solutions, where all your services and components such as CMS, eCommerce, and analytics are integrated via APIs.
You can choose the best-in-class tools, scale efficiently, and adapt quickly to changing needs. Unlike monolithic systems as WordPress, composable setups give your all the flexibility and customization you need, while you don't have to worry about performance issues.
This is because a monolithic architecture will most likely struggle with larger amounts of traffic since the frontend, backend, and database are all coupled together. So when you want to scale your WordPress site, you need to scale the entire system instead of just the required components. See, that's where Composable comes to rescue!
WordPress is also all about various plugins. That's how you add functions to your site and customize it. While the fundamental idea is great, you'll soon realize that compatibility issues are a big concern, and if one of these plugins stop working, go ahead and update the whole system. And when you start stacking up on plugins here and there to achieve things with your website, prices will pile up.
Composable websites do not use plugins, but instead you can freely pick and choose best-in-class services, such as Shopify if you are building an online store for instance, and simply connect it through API. And there's no need to worry for things breaking all of suddenly.
| Feature | Monolithic (WordPress) | Composable (Next.js, Sanity, Vercel i.e.) |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | All-in-one system (frontend, backend, and database tightly integrated) | Modular, API-driven approach with separate, interchangeable components |
| Scalability | Difficult to scale efficiently, requires duplicating the entire system | Easily scalable by optimizing or replacing specific services |
| Customization | Limited; relies on themes and plugins, which can cause compatibility issues | Highly flexible; allows integration of best-in-class tools |
| Performance | Can be slow due to unnecessary scripts and plugin overhead | Optimized for speed with modern frameworks (e.g., Next.js, Nuxt.js) and caching strategies |
| Security | Higher risk due to plugin vulnerabilities and frequent attacks | More secure by design, with fewer dependencies and attack surfaces |
| Maintenance | Updates can break plugins/themes, requiring frequent fixes | Independent updates for each service without disrupting the system |
| Omnichannel Support | Primarily web-focused | Content can be distributed across websites, apps, IoT, and more |
| SEO & Core Web Vitals | Requires heavy optimization to meet performance benchmarks | Typically optimized with modern frameworks for better SEO and page speed |
| Vendor Lock-in | Tied to WordPress ecosystem and plugin dependencies | No lock-in; businesses can swap components as needed |
| Best For | Simple websites, blogs, or small business sites | Scalable and customized digital experiences for enterprises and growing businesses |
What to choose between?
Consider a WordPress website if you need something like a small marketing, business or simple eCommerce website of some kind. If you are certain you don't need much more than that. WordPress sites are easy to create, and relatively easy to operate. However, the case usually is, that business soon realize they should've opted for something better than WordPress since the beginning, and that usually leads to those businesses needing to migrate to a better setup soon.
Consider a Composable website with a Headless CMS when you know you need to secure for growth and adaption for years to come, and opportunities to build a fully-customized website. It does not matter how small or big you aim your website to be, this setup is always suitable for any kind of website, and costs can be kept very affordable, as there are many Headless CMSs you can get started with for free. You'll get everything you need whether you are creating a small or big website right away.
Bottomline - WordPress in 2025
WordPress is more than 23 years old and it's prime days are over. This is simply because such an old architecture has a hard time sustain itself in todays demanding digital world. WordPress would not be the best solution for a long time investment, especially if you want to secure your website's possibilities to growth and adaption. However, if you don't need much more than a simple website, WordPress would still be a good choice in 2025.
At Ikius, we have been migrating various world-class WordPress sites to the Composable era, with Headless CMSs. If you are considering migrating from WordPress to the new era, or are looking for a modern website with a Headless CMS, get in touch for any inquiry. We are happy to answer just any kind of questions you may have!
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