WordPress for small businesses: pros, cons and upkeep

WordPress is a free, very flexible system that runs a large share of the world's websites, and almost any web designer can work on it. Its strength is freedom: any host, any design, a plugin for nearly everything. Its cost is upkeep. A WordPress site needs regular updates to WordPress itself, its theme and its plugins, plus backups and some security care. If someone reliable does that for you, it is a fine choice. If nobody does, it is the most common way small-business sites end up broken or hacked.

Two different things called WordPress

People mean two things by the name:

WordPress.org is the free software. You (or your designer) install it on hosting you rent from a company like Bluehost, SiteGround or GoDaddy. You control everything and are responsible for everything.
WordPress.com is a paid service that runs WordPress for you. Updates and security are handled; on cheaper plans you have less freedom to add plugins and themes.

Most small-business WordPress sites built by local designers are the first kind. The rest of this guide is mostly about that one.

What WordPress does well

You own it. The site's files and database can be copied and moved to another host. Nobody can lock your site inside their platform.
Designers are everywhere. If your designer retires, someone else can pick it up.
It can grow. Blog, online booking, an events calendar, a store, members-only pages: there is a plugin or a theme for each.
It is good at writing. WordPress started as blog software, and posting articles or news is straightforward.
Lots of help. Almost any problem has been met and solved by someone before.

What it asks of you

Updates, constantly

WordPress, your theme and each plugin release updates through the year, many of them fixing security holes. Skipping them for months is how sites get broken into: old plugins with known weaknesses are what automated attacks look for. The hosting company also updates the server software WordPress runs on, and an old site can stop working when that happens.

Plugins that depend on other people

A plugin is an add-on written by someone else. Some are maintained by large companies; some by one person in their spare time. Plugins get abandoned, change their pricing, or clash with each other after an update. A typical small-business site might run fifteen or twenty of them, and each is a small dependency.

Premium themes and plugins with yearly licences

Many designers build with paid page builders and premium plugins. Their licences often renew yearly; if they lapse, updates stop, and the site slowly becomes outdated. Ask your designer which licences your site uses and who pays for them.

Backups

Your host may keep some backups, but often only for a few days, and not always ones you can restore yourself. A proper setup keeps automatic backups somewhere other than the server itself. Who has a copy of your site? covers this.

Speed

WordPress sites built with heavy page builders and many plugins can be slow on phones. It is fixable with caching, smaller images and fewer plugins, but it is something to watch. How to test your website speed for free shows how to check.

A realistic upkeep routine

If you or your designer maintain the site, this is the minimum:

Every month

Update WordPress, the theme and all plugins, after taking a backup.
Open the site on your phone and check the home page, a service page and the contact page.
Send a test message through the contact form.

Every three months

Delete plugins you do not use. Deactivated plugins still sit on the server.
Check that backups are running and that one can actually be restored.
Review who has admin logins and remove anyone who no longer needs one.

Every year

Check licence renewals for premium themes and plugins.
Ask your host which PHP version (the server software) your site runs on, and whether it is current.
Change admin passwords and confirm two-factor sign-in is on.

Signs a WordPress site is not being looked after

The dashboard shows many pending updates, or plugins flagged as not updated in years.
The site shows strange pages you did not create, or Google results show odd titles in other languages. Spammy pages on a hacked website explains what to do then.
A browser or Google warning appears when people visit.
The contact form stopped sending, and nobody noticed for weeks.
Your designer is unreachable and nobody else has the admin login.

Who WordPress suits

A good fit if:

You have a designer or care plan that handles updates and backups.
You plan to post articles regularly or need a specific feature only WordPress offers.
You want the freedom to move hosts and designers.

A poor fit if:

Nobody will do the monthly updates.
Your site is five pages that rarely change.
You want to edit your hours without facing a complicated dashboard.

For a simple brochure site, a lighter setup with less to maintain is often the calmer choice. Website maintenance: what needs doing and how often compares the upkeep of different kinds of sites.

What to do this week

Find out who has the admin login to your WordPress site, and make sure one is in your name.
Log in and count the pending updates.
Ask your designer or host: who updates the site, how often, and where are the backups kept?
List the plugins and premium licences, and their renewal dates.
If the answers worry you, decide whether to pay for proper upkeep or move to something simpler.

If your WordPress site has good content but has become a chore to maintain, you can see your site rebuilt first on a simpler setup, with every old page address kept working.