WordPress Myths vs. Reality: What You Need to Know Before Starting

Have you ever heard people say WordPress is only for bloggers or that it’s not safe? These are just a few WordPress myths that continue to circulate!

If you’re new to the WordPress world, then there’s a chance you’ve heard a lot of WordPress myths, too. 

The truth is, that many of these WordPress myths are based on outdated information or misunderstandings. 

If you’re thinking about starting your WordPress site, then it’s essential to know what’s real and what’s not. 

Therefore, in this guide, we’ll break down the biggest WordPress myths and present the real facts.

But why do these WordPress myths even exist? 

Let’s find out!

Why do so Many WordPress Myths Exist?

We all know WordPress is not new. It started in 2003! At that time, it was primarily used for blogs, so, many people still think WordPress hasn’t changed.

Another thing to understand is that the WordPress experience depends on many other factors.

If you combine it with the right services and tools—like good hosting, themes, and plugins—you can build great websites easily, just like we do.

However, others might choose poor hosting or unreliable plugins and face problems. When that happens, they might tell others that using WordPress wasn’t a good experience.

Also, WordPress changes quickly!

There are always new updates, plugins, and features. It’s constantly growing.

If you used WordPress 6 years ago and haven’t kept up with the updates, you might still believe some of the old WordPress myths.

Because of these different experiences, many WordPress myths start and spread.

10+ WordPress Myths vs. Reality You Need to Know

So you know that WordPress myths are everywhere. But don’t worry! We’ll look into them and spill all the facts. 

1. WordPress is Just for Blogging

One of the common WordPress myths is that it’s only for blogging. This was true when WordPress started in 2003, but not anymore. Now, WordPress is a powerful tool that can build almost any type of website you can imagine. 

Big business companies like Meta Newsroom, government sites like The White House, and research and science organizations like NASA use WordPress for their websites.

As we said before, 43.5% of all websites worldwide use WordPress, which is 61.3% of the total CMS market share. 

So, WordPress is not just for writing blogs. You can use it to make:​

• Online stores to sell things
• Business websites
• Photo galleries
• School or church websites
• Job boards
• Portfolios to show your work
• Even online magazines or news sites!

These are just some examples; the type of website you can build is limited only by your imagination. 

So, don’t let these WordPress myths stop you from trying it and building whatever you want.

Still confused? Check out the list of 100+ best WordPress site examples!

2. WordPress is Low Quality Because it’s Free

Next we have one of the popular WordPress myths, that it’s low quality because it’s free. But that’s not true! 

WordPress is free because it’s an open-source software. This means people from around the world come together to improve the software and make it better for everyone.

There’s a global WordPress community made up of thousands of developers, designers, and marketers who contribute by adding new features, fixing issues, and helping users.

Some contributors work at large companies built around WordPress—like hosting providers, theme developers, or plugin businesses.

Others contribute on their own, driven by their belief in the open-source philosophy and the positive impact WordPress has had on their own website journeys.

That’s how WordPress keeps getting new and improved versions regularly.

Until recently, there used to be multiple major releases each year. But now, it’s been decided that a major WordPress version will be released once a year.

In fact, in 2024 alone, there were three major WordPress versions released:

• WordPress 6.5 ‘Regina’
• WordPress 6.6 ‘Dorsey’
• WordPress 6.7 ‘Rollins’

This clearly shows how active and vibrant the WordPress community is and how powerful the platform continues to be!

That means WordPress is not low quality at all!

In fact, it has been adopting the latest technologies from talented contributors worldwide, including Artificial Intelligence. 

From user experience to website speed and security, WordPress offers top-standard features, many of which aren’t available in its competitors.

So yes, WordPress.org is free!

But it’s important to clarify a common misunderstanding related to this myth: “Creating a WordPress site is absolutely free.”

No, it’s not. Only the WordPress software, the Content Management System (CMS), is free. 

Creating a full website requires a few additional things, which may involve some costs. Here’s what you need:

1) Web Hosting

You need a hosting service to run your website. While free options exist, a reliable and professional website needs a paid hosting service. The good news? WordPress hosting is affordable, starting at just about $3/month with popular providers like Hostinger or Bluehost.

2) Domain Name

You may want a custom domain name (like yoursite.com). It usually costs around $12/year from top registrars like Namecheap or Domain.com. However, many hosting plans include a free domain for the first year.

3) Theme & Plugins

WordPress offers thousands of free themes and plugins. Still, you might want to invest in premium ones to enhance performance or add extra functionality.

4) SEO, Security, and Speed Plugins

Great free plugins are available:

• SEO: Rank Math or Yoast
• Security: Wordfence or Solid Security
• Speed: W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache

If you need advanced features, you can upgrade to premium versions.

Let’s calculate the starting cost!

With Hostinger’s hosting plan at $2.99/month, you also get a free domain for 1 year. Combine that with a free theme and plugins for SEO, security, and speed, and your total starting cost is just $2.99/month.

Ready to begin? Follow our step-by-step guide to create your WordPress site today!

3. All WordPress Sites Look the Same

Some people say that all WordPress sites look the same. But that is just one of the WordPress myths!

In reality, themes mainly control the look and appearance of WordPress sites. There are over 13,000 themes available for free from the WordPress theme directory alone. Other than that,  you’ll find a library of 12,000+ premium themes on the ThemeForest.net marketplace.

The truth is, that WordPress gives you thousands of ways to make your website special. You can change the colors, pictures, fonts, and even how the pages move! Two WordPress sites can be as different as night and day.

Big names like Harvard University, The Mozilla blog, and even the TED Blog use WordPress. And check yourself, their websites do not look the same!

What you can do to make your site look unique is to,

• Pick a Unique Theme: WordPress has 13000+ free themes with premium versions. Choose a theme that fits your style.
• Customize Your Site: You don’t have to keep a theme the way it comes. You can change the colors, fonts, logos, and layout. Most themes have easy settings to make changes without needing to know the code.
• Add Fun Features: Use plugins to add photo sliders, pop-up boxes, contact forms, and special buttons. This will make your WordPress website even more different from others.
• Look for Inspirations: Visit websites like TechCrunch or Sony Music, which are built with WordPress. They look so different! 

This will help you see that this is one of the WordPress myths and it’s not true.

For more inspiration, go to our list of popular types of websites, it’s a detailed guide with examples.

4. WordPress is Not Good for eCommerce

This WordPress myth says that WordPress isn’t good for online stores. However, many businesses use WordPress to sell products every day.

But, do you know there are many WordPress eCommerce plugins that will add eCommerce features to your WordPress sites? 

One of the most popular is WooCommerce, which powers more than 4.5 million eCommerce sites worldwide.

Also, you can choose from 3000 WordPress themes made for online stores from the WordPress.org theme directory. This makes your store look nice and work well. Moreover, there are many plugins for shipping, taxes, and customer reviews for your eCommerce site. 

Besides, many companies use WordPress to sell online. For example, Root Science and Porter & York have successful stores built with WordPress.

So, selling physical goods or digital downloads, it’s easy with one of the WordPress eCommerce plugins.

Moreover, go through our step-by-step guide on how to set up a WooCommerce store with WordPress.

5. WordPress Can’t Handle High-traffic Sites

Another popular WordPress myth is that it can’t handle lots and lots of traffic. Some people think WordPress will break if too many visitors come at once. 

But that’s not true! The reality is that WordPress can handle very busy websites if you set it up the right way.

Many famous websites, like Time Magazine use WordPress. Don’t you think they get millions of visitors every day? So, this WordPress myth is wrong.

Therefore, if your site isn’t working well during high traffic, here are some easy tips:

• First, it’s all about choosing a strong web hosting company that is made for high-traffic sites. Most hosting companies offer high-end plans for high-traffic sites. You can use them. Or you can also opt for more powerful hosting types like VPS and dedicated servers.
• You’ll find many caching plugins like WP Rocket, which include page caching, cache preloading, browser caching, mobile device caching, and more. That way, when lots of people visit, your site loads fast and doesn’t get tired.
• Another thing you can do is use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). It’ll expand your website’s server capacity and serve content to users from the closest server. This will help people load your site quicker, no matter where they are. Cloudflare is most popular CDN for WordPress sites.
• Importantly, always update WordPress, themes, and plugins. New updates help your site stay fast and strong.

After all these, we’re sure you’ll get over those WordPress myths!

6. WordPress is Not Secure

Malware and brute force attacks are common on all websites, it’s not just with WordPress!  However, some people say WordPress is not secure. 

The truth is, that WordPress can be very secure if you take care of it.​

It all depends on how you set it up. If you leave your WordPress site without any strong security options, it is likely to get hacked. 

Besides, WordPress’s security largely depends on the hosting. Therefore, choosing a secure hosting service helps. 

Hosting services like Hostinger, Kinsta, Pressable, etc, offer free SSL certificates, daily & on-demand backups, vulnerability scanners, WordPress auto-updates, free CDN, and more. 

So, simply blaming WordPress for security is a myth, isn’t it?

Here are some extra things you can do!

• Update Everything: Keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated. Updates fix problems and keep your site strong.
• Use Strong Passwords: Make your passwords hard to guess. Use letters, numbers, and symbols. Don’t use “admin” as your username.
• Add Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): 2FA adds an extra lock. Even if someone knows your password, they can’t get in without a special code.
• Install a Security Plugin: Use security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri to help protect your site from security breaches.

As a site owner, keeping your site secure is your responsibility. 

If you want to dive more into securing your site, then we’ve prepared a detailed guide on how to secure your website for you. 

7. WordPress Sites are Slow

Every day we browse a site and find some of it slow, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a WordPress site. 

We’ve heard many people say WordPress sites are always slow. But that’s not true! It’s just one of the many WordPress myths.

The truth is, that your hosting provider plays a major role in how fast or slow your site loads. A high-quality hosting dedicated to WordPress can make a huge difference in your site’s performance. 

Besides, many hosting providers have dedicated WordPress hosting like Hostinger, Bluehost, DreamHost, Pressable, Kinsta, etc.  

Another thing you need to be clear about is that your site’s speed depends on how you set it up. If a WordPress site is slow, it’s usually affected by the number of tools you use. 

More than that, how and what plugin are you using to slow down your website? Because the fact is, too many or poorly optimized plugins will slow down your WordPress website. 

If you’re not satisfied, then we did a speed test of The Harvard University, a website created with WordPress. The image below shows it passed the speed test with flying colors for both desktop and mobile. 

If you’re skeptical about the speed result, you can also check it for yourself in Page Speed Insights. Just add the site URL and wait for the result.  

Also, here are easy things you can do to make your WordPress site fast:

• Yes, hosting comes first, so choose a good hosting company made for WordPress sites.
• Besides plugins, it’s also WordPress themes. Because themes have too many heavy things like big pictures and fancy designs, pick a simple, clean theme that loads fast!
• How about avoiding using unoptimized media? You can make your pictures smaller with tools like TinyPNG or plugins like Smush.
• Constantly update everything. We’ve said this before, and it’s a fact that updates help your site stay fast and fix problems.

So instead of just believing in WordPress myths, start optimizing your site and have a smooth experience with WordPress.

8. WordPress has Limited Support for Users

We know WordPress is open-source, so some people say WordPress doesn’t have much help if you get stuck. Why? Because they think there’s no dedicated support team?

But that’s not true! It’s just one of those WordPress myths.

The real truth is that WordPress is the platform with the best support for users. There are many ways to get support when you need it.

You can find tons of free WordPress support available all over the internet. If you visit WordPress.org, the official website, you’ll find active support forums. Just ask your queries for free and get help from the contributors and other WordPress users.

Also, every theme and plugin on WordPress.org has a support forum. For example, take a look at the support forum of the Rank Math SEO plugin. 

In the image above, you can see that none of the queries are ignored. This shows how active the support community is. Similarly, all the other plugins and themes in WordPress has their support forum, you just need to ask your queries.

Also, our site, SiteSaga, is a free online resource with many WordPress tutorials and guides. You’ll find dozens of blogs like ours, and if you search for your queries on the internet, you’ll find tons of pages with the answers. 

Not just blogs, there are tons of video content on YouTube to help you, like SiteSaga. You’ll even find the official WordPress YouTube channel with the latest news, updates, and tutorials. 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the official channel, just search your query on YouTube, and you’ll be flooded with answers. 

Besides, if you’re ready to pay and need more help, then there are WordPress development and maintenance service companies like WP Mount ready to help. 

Also, if you go to freelance websites like Fiverr or Codeable, they have WordPress experts who can fix things for you.

You are not alone when using WordPress. So, just don’t believe this WordPress myth, and reach out for help. 

9. WordPress Plugins Always Slow Down Websites

Have you created a website using WordPress? What is the number of plugins you’ve used? 

Some people say that using plugins makes WordPress slow. But that’s not true for every plugin. It’s just another one of those WordPress myths!

In fact, some plugins actually help make your website faster, like caching plugins, image optimization tools, and CDN integrations. It might sound ironic, but the right plugins can improve your site’s performance.

Beyond performance enhancements, WordPress plugins help you add cool features, like contact forms, slideshows, galleries, and shopping carts. 

However, you must be mindful of the number and quality of plugins you install. While plugins can enhance your website, having too many, especially poorly coded or redundant ones, can slow down your site. 

It’s not just about quantity; it’s about choosing the right plugins that serve your site’s needs efficiently.

Here’s how you can use plugins the smart way:

• Don’t add too many plugins and use the ones that help your website the most.
• Choose plugins with a higher number of downloads, good reviews, and regular updates. 
• If you’re not using a plugin, delete it. Even if it’s turned off, it can still slow down your site a little.
• You can check your site’s speed with free tools like GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights. If it’s slow, try turning off one plugin at a time to see which one is the problem.
• Always keep your plugins updated, old ones can make your site slower or cause problems.

So you can see, it’s not the problem of WordPress plugins, it’s just the choices you’ve made. 

10. WordPress is too Difficult for Beginners

Are you new to WordPress? Or have you heard people say WordPress is difficult to use?

We’ve heard people say WordPress is too hard to learn. But that’s not true! We were new when we started, and we did fine!

Believe us, it’s just another WordPress myth that makes you feel overwhelmed.

On WordPress.org, you’ll find 100+ popular sites made using WordPress. These are just a few, and there are more on the internet.

Ask anyone using WordPress, and the only word you’ll hear is “easy.” Many beginners use it daily to build websites, even if they have never made one.

Here are some easy ways to get started with WordPress:

• First things first, watch videos and read articles on what WordPress is used for, create a site from scratch, what is a WordPress theme, etc. Don’t worry, it’s not like reading a coding language. 
• Then, start with a beginner-friendly theme like Astra or Neve. These themes are easy to use and look nice without much work.
• WordPress’s default page builder is Gutenberg, which uses a simple block-based editor. So, you can create pages by adding and arranging content blocks without coding.
• Also, YouTube has many WordPress videos that are made just for beginners. You can pause and follow along step by step.
• Don’t try to build a big, fancy site right away. Start small, maybe a blog or a simple page about yourself.

The more you use WordPress, the easier it gets. So give it a try today and don’t back out just because of the WordPress myth.

We also have a simple, step-by-step guide to start a website from scratch with WordPress, try it!

11. WordPress Sites are Hard to Maintain

Do you have a WordPress site? How often do you maintain your site? Is taking care of a WordPress site really hard? Have you heard this from someone else?

If you ask us, that’s not true! 

The truth is, if you do a few small things often, keeping your site safe and running is easy, even if you’re a beginner.

If you check the official directory of WordPress themes and plugins, you’ll notice they get updates regularly. 

Also, in your WordPress dashboard, you’ll find the update option for your theme and plugins. Just click “Update” when you see it. It only takes a minute!

Moreover, WordPress also gets updates more often. You can find it from your WordPress dashboard. Go to “Dashboard> Updates” and if there’s anything new, you’ll see it. 

And as we have said before, update, update, and update everything!

Still, if you have any issues, then reach out to fellow WordPress users, hire an expert, or go through tutorials. There is nothing you won’t find a solution for regarding WordPress. 

With just a little care now and then, your site will stay healthy and happy!

12. The Future of WordPress is Uncertain

Are you one of those who worry that WordPress might not be around in the future because it’s free? You might believe this if you’re new to WordPress. But that’s just another WordPress myth.​

In reality, WordPress is supported by a huge and active community of developers, designers, and users worldwide. It’s not controlled by a single person or company, and it’s free and open-source forever. ​And we can confidently say that it just won’t suddenly disappear.

Because, even though WordPress is free, its ecosystem alone powers millions of dollars in annual revenue for the businesses involved worldwide.

Some amazing numbers are:

• WordPress developers are the highest-earning job with 65% available for the platform. (Source)
• And then Content creators 21%, designers 8%, support specialists 4%, and content managers 2%. (Source)
• Almost half of the users say that 25-100% of their income comes from WordPress. (Source)

Moreover, many businesses build their services around WordPress, offering themes, plugins, hosting, and more. These companies often contribute back to the WordPress project, helping it grow and improve.​

Additionally,  as technology evolves, so does WordPress. For instance, the integration of AI is boosting WordPress’s capabilities. This makes website building and management even easier. ​

In short, WordPress is not going anywhere! So why worry?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below, let’s go through some of your burning questions about WordPress!

Conclusion

This concludes our deep dive into WordPress myths. We hope we’ve cleared up any doubts you have about WordPress.

If you have any queries, let us know in the comments. We’ll be happy to help you.

And don’t worry, this is exactly how everyone feels when using WordPress for the first time. Our site, SiteSaga, is also built in WordPress, and if you love it, then we guarantee that you can achieve something similar easily. 

You may also want to explore our guides on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and digital marketing! You’ll get greater insights on how to grow your blog and succeed with it!

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