WordPress migration: pros and cons

Many businesses consider a WordPress migration. But there are both pros and cons to doing this, and it’s not always the best solution for every business.

WordPress market share varies quite a bit depending on which source you choose to believe. But with estimates ranging from 38% to 70%, it’s still arguably the most popular content management system (CMS) for websites and is well ahead of its competitors. It has also been voted best CMS several years in a row.

Because of its popularity, it is usually at the top of the list for consideration. If you’re currently thinking about moving your website to a new CMS, here are what we consider to be the biggest pros and cons of migrating to WordPress.

As a small parenthesis, it’s important to note that we’re talking here about WordPress.org, the powerful software that is “self-hosted”. It’s different from WordPress.com, which is hosted by WordPress and is much more limited in its capabilities.

Benefits of a WordPress migration

1. Good for SEO

WordPress has a simple URL structure that search engines – including Google – have always loved. The code behind WordPress is simple, making it easy for search engines to index websites built on it. On top of this, there are some popular SEO plugins that help even more and that you can easily manage internally.

2. Extremely customisable

Because it’s so widely adopted, there are thousands of extensions – called plugins – available for WordPress. Most of them are cheap or free and perform all sorts of powerful functions, such as e-commerce, form management, social media integration, forums, galleries and slideshows, and much more. There are also unlimited ways to customise the software itself, allowing you to create a unique design that perfectly reflects your company’s brand and values.

3. Easy to use

WordPress is widely considered the most user-friendly CMS. It’s fast, easy to manage, and doesn’t require extensive coding skills to manage content. It’s easy for your marketing staff to publish new posts and pages, add and resize images, or edit existing text. Your IT staff will be able to handle the backend operations, such as updating plugins and the WordPress software. So you don’t have to pay a third-party company for the day-to-day management of your website.

4. It’s free

WordPress doesn’t tie you into a CMS that requires monthly or annual maintenance fees. If your current site is built on a custom CMS, you’ll almost certainly pay every time there’s an update. Whether it’s a simple security update or a major software update, you’ll have to pay your provider to do the update for you. WordPress is free, open source and they don’t charge for it. Of course, you will need to perform a certain amount of updates and maintenance with WordPress. But there are no fees for WordPress software updates. Some large companies may handle the update process through their IT department, although many prefer to outsource it to a specialist agency to avoid any potential problems.

5. WordPress has a built-in blog

WordPress was originally built as a blogging platform, so it has excellent blogging capabilities. Blogs are great for adding content to your website. When you add a blog post, WordPress also adds other pages to your site. Additional pages, in the form of archives, categories, and tags, are all automatically added to your site and the search engines will index these. Plus, search engines like regularly updated websites and blogs are the easiest way to achieve this.

6. Longevity and scalability

WordPress websites are highly scalable. You can expand functionality when you need to, by adding new capabilities. You may want to introduce e-commerce later, perhaps with WooCommerce, or expand to add a community forum or social networking application. As long as you have sufficient hosting, it can handle large amounts of data without compromising performance. You can keep adding pages, posts, images, and media almost indefinitely. This gives your WordPress site a secure long-term future and allows it to continue to grow and evolve over time.

7. Access to developers

Because of its widespread distribution and popularity, WordPress benefits from a large developer community. Many more developers and coders are skilled in WordPress than in other content management systems. Businesses can feel confident basing their websites on WordPress and know that they will always have options in the future.

Disadvantages of a WordPress migration

1. Cost

The actual process of migrating your website to WordPress will cost you. If you have a large or complex website, as many SMEs and larger businesses do, migrating to WordPress is a serious undertaking. You might be able to do it in-house if your staff has the necessary expertise. But it’s more likely that you’ll need to work with a WordPress developer who has experience carrying out WordPress migrations. There are many automated CMS migration services on the market, but most often some customisation will be required. The extent of the customisation will depend on the complexity of your website.

2. Time-consuming

A thorough and “real” WordPress migration is time consuming. It needs to be planned and executed efficiently, with time set aside for the almost inevitable issues and troubleshooting. Contingency plans are crucial to a successful WordPress migration. It can take weeks or months from planning to final implementation, so you need to ensure you have the necessary time to invest in a WordPress migration.

3. Complexity

A WordPress migration is not a simple task. It’s a complex project and must be handled carefully and systematically. To make it go as smoothly as possible, you may want to use a company with experience in handling WordPress migrations. Some WordPress migrations are simple, but for business-critical websites, a professional approach guarantees success. An experienced agency will be adept at anticipating and overcoming the typical bottlenecks and problems that such a large IT project often encounters.

4. WordPress is not the best at everything

Although it is the most popular website software, there are some applications where WordPress is not always the best option. It’s great for business websites, ecommerce operations, and for content marketing. But some parts of WordPress are built by volunteers. Aspects like translation of the administration area, for example, are not professionally outsourced and volunteers can add their own translations. For global operations, where employees in other countries manage the site in languages other than English, the quality of translation can sometimes be lacking.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are both advantages and disadvantages to migrating to WordPress. However, with fewer drawbacks, and with the widespread popularity of the system, WordPress offers the best option in most cases. If your website is crucial to your business, the time and budget required for a WordPress migration always represents a sound business investment.

Do you want to migrate to WordPress? Whether you’re using Umbraco or Episerver, we make it easy for you. Learn more about how you can migrate from Umbraco to WordPress or migrate from Episerver to WordPress with us.