This is a question we get a lot, and the honest answer is that WordPress just isn't the best option for most businesses anymore. There was a time when it made sense, but between security concerns, plugin costs, and how much more capable modern development tools have become, a custom coded website is almost always the better choice today.
Why WordPress has fallen behind
A big part of the problem with WordPress is how it's built. Most WordPress sites depend on a long list of plugins, and each of those plugins is usually pulling data from a separate server, often run by a different company entirely. That means your website's stability depends on a chain of outside services staying online and compatible with each other, instead of running on a single, secure system.
With tools like Claude Code and other modern AI assisted development, a web designer can build the exact functionality a business needs directly into the site itself, rather than bolting on a third party plugin for every feature. The result is a website that's more stable, because the code doing the work lives in one place instead of being scattered across a dozen outside services. Hosting everything through a centralized system like Cloudflare also makes for a more secure setup than a typical WordPress install.
The real cost of "cheaper" WordPress sites
WordPress websites also aren't always the budget option they're made out to be. Plenty of web design companies charge $3,000 to $5,000 or more for a WordPress site, and then pass along the cost of the plugins on top of that, often as a monthly hosting or maintenance fee well over $100. Those plugin costs, and sometimes a markup on top of them, get passed straight to the customer. A custom coded site skips that entirely, since there's no plugin ecosystem to license and maintain in the first place.
What about WooCommerce vs. Shopify?
The same logic applies to ecommerce. WooCommerce runs on top of WordPress, which means it carries the same plugin and stability issues. Shopify, on the other hand, handles nearly everything WooCommerce can, with a more stable and secure platform behind it. The one exception is if you sell products in categories Shopify restricts, like firearms and firearm accessories or vape products. Since Shopify is a Canadian company with stricter policies in those categories, WooCommerce can make sense for businesses selling those specific types of products. For nearly everyone else, Shopify is the more reliable choice.
"But I want to make changes myself"
One argument in favor of WordPress is that a business owner can log in and make their own edits. In practice, that means learning a large, often confusing platform, and for most business owners, the website is already the last thing on their to do list. It usually makes more sense to have a web designer handle changes for you.
That's why our hosting includes an hour of changes each month for around $49, just slightly more than a basic Wix or Squarespace plan. Instead of digging through a dashboard yourself, you tell us what you need changed, whether that's text, images, or anything within scope, and a designer who already knows how your site is built makes the update correctly the first time.
The bottom line
WordPress isn't gone, and it still has narrow use cases. But for the vast majority of small businesses, a custom coded website is faster, more secure, and often cheaper to run long term than a WordPress site loaded with plugins. If you're deciding between the two, that's the trade off worth understanding before you commit.