Gray Matters Graphic Design & Photography

Graphic Design and Photography

Why We (Usually) Don't Work With WordPress

Creative Industry, Our Graphic Design ServicesSarah Vogl

So. It’s 2022, and you’re on WordPress. Finding an agency specializing in AND recommending WordPress is getting rarer and rarer.

If you’re on WordPress and trying to make significant changes to your site, I recommend switching to a different Content Management System (CMS) like Squarespace.

For most creative agencies, the workload and consequent cost of recreating your site from scratch on Squarespace are less than the cost of making significant changes to your site on WordPress.

There are still cases in which something a client needs can not be accomplished using the customizations and integrations available through Squarespace, but I find this incredibly rare.

Here are some tips when it comes to deciding on your content host:

  1. Hire a professional: Let’s be honest: you don’t have the time for the technical shenanigans. You’re busy. You need an expert to help you navigate the decision-making process.

  2. Focus on your goals: Instead of thinking about the technical changes, list your greater dreams for your current site and your business/blog/etc. is helpful.

  3. Critically assess what kinds of changes you’re looking to make. Any significant changes to your template will necessitate many more changes to other plugins on the site, and the costs of all this add up quickly.

With the aging technology of WordPress, it will become obsolete at some point in the future. I do not recommend investing substantial funds into a Content Management System that's been considered outdated for as long as I've been practicing web design (since 2012).

This may not be the answer you're looking for, but many designers like myself will not in good conscience sell you a service that we don't feel is worth the cost. (Plus, WordPress plugins are nightmare fuel. No, thank you.)

If you're interested in switching from WordPress to Squarespace, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about the process. It's easier than you'd think!

Happy clients who have migrated from WordPress to Squarespace:

Featured
Blacksburg Bagels | Bakery Website Design
Blacksburg Bagels | Bakery Website Design

blacksburgbagels.com

Appalbrandy — Writing about Appalachia | Squarespace Website Design
Appalbrandy — Writing about Appalachia | Squarespace Website Design

Brandy Renee McCann (Appalbrandy.com) reached out to us to replace her Wordpress site with something better. She came prepared with some examples of other writers’ sites that she liked. One of the main goals (besides typical things such as a general design upgrade and improvements to SEO) was to find a way to better showcase and organize the scope of Brandy’s writing work.

HazelBea Catering | Expedited Website Re-Design
HazelBea Catering | Expedited Website Re-Design

This client came to me for an “emergency” website re-design. Yes, you read that correctly… An emergency!! Direct visits to the website worked as normal, but when you searched for her business on Google and clicked on the listing, you’d be re-directed to a totally different website that had nothing to do with her business. This problem was likely a result of either an outdated or insecure WordPress plug-in. I consulted my colleagues (who are more proficient in WordPress things than I), who agreed with my assessment of the situation. We determined it was easier and faster to start a whole new site from scratch than to try to fix the bug on the existing site.