Now I don't mean to scare you if you are currently a business owner that hosts your website on WordPress, but I'm not going to lie... WordPress is my LEAST favorite website platform. There are so many things that make it very cumbersome to host a website on WordPress and I am going to give you all of the things you can do to get around it.
A little background on my experience first. I am Jenna, the Creative Director at Market St. Creative. I do all of our website design and development. I have 10+ years of experience designing, creating, and developing websites on WIX, Squarespace, and WordPress. I am currently in charge of managing multiple websites that are hosted on WordPress that are commercial websites (not sleep consulting businesses). If you are wondering why I have such a distaste for WordPress, it's because I work on it almost every day.
Personally, I can navigate, design, and develop websites just fine on WordPress because I am an experienced designer with 10+ years of experience. But when I work with average business owners, they are NOT website developers or designers.
Here are the 3 things that make it SO HARD to use WordPress
WordPress has so many editing tools
I have been on the backend on a ton of sleep consulting sites in WordPress and I am astounded by how many editing tools there are. Here are just a few...
Spectra.
Elementor.
Beaver Builder.
Divi Builder.
Thrive Architect.
WPBakery.
Ultimate Blocks.
Any of these look familiar? How can anyone be proficient at editing their website if there are so many editing tools to choose from? And are you making your decisions on functionality and usability? Probably not. You likely found a pretty template online with a cool style that you now need to edit in WordPress using one of these editing tools. Now you are STUCK with what you have already created. Sounds like a pain in the butt to me!
Plugins, Plugins, and MORE Plugins
Did you notice that maybe the website isn't working properly or you are getting these notifications that you need to upgrade your plugin in order for something to work?! Maybe your editing tool needs an upgrade. Maybe you need to uninstall and reinstall something because something else isn't working on your website. I've been there and it is so confusing and frustrating!
Customer Service is... paying a website developer
Ever notice that if you do have issues with your wordpress site that it is nearly impossible to find someone to help you? You are let to a forum where people similar to you try to find the answer to the problem. There doesn't seem to be an inquiry form or customer service rep that can walk you through your issue. Your best best is to pay a web developer to help solve your issues (and for a good amount of money too).
Now if you already have a web developer in your pocket, good for you! But most sleep consultants don't have that extra cash and would probably want to spend it on other things.
It's confusing as f*ck
Pardon my language, but I feel like every time I go into the backend of a website created by another developer, I am working through a maze. I don't know where things are and how to edit them. Sometimes I spend half my time in snippets of coding to find the answer. I'm sorry.. but NO THANKS!
Also, the dashboard itself is confusing. Where are you supposed to find your pages, your blog, your plugins, apps, and custom-coded features. It's all very overwhelming. Ask yourself, "Does my website ACTUALLY need all of these features?"
What you can do
First of all, if you currently host your website on WordPress and are happy with it. Then no need to keep reading. This post is not for you. But if you currently have a website that is giving you headaches here are a few things I would suggest.
Install Beaver Builder - Personally, I have used Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi Builder and I have found that Beaver Builder is my favorite. It is super easy to use and it has some templates you can work from. I don't ever have issues developing pages with Beaver Builder and sometimes I like to start from scratch!
Get HELP - Let's say you already use Elementor to edit your web pages (like many sleep consultants do). If you are hoping to give your website an upgrade with the layout and design but you have no idea where to start, please contact me! You don't have to figure it out alone and I can't tell you how many tears I've already cried working in WordPress, so you don't have to cry! I already did that for you.
Consider moving away from WordPress - This one might sting a little. What if you've had your website for a while? I am not saying you need to make this move! But maybe you are a new sleep consultant and this is your chance to DECIDE on what platform work best for you. Well, this is your sign that maybe WordPress is not going to be the right fit for you.
Your website should be serving you and your business needs. If you feel like you aren't annoyed by WordPress and maybe you just ignore it altogether, please get the right help so you can use your website to EMPOWER you and your business. Use it to grow your subscriber list, increase your sales, get more inquiries, add your blog, and all of the other things you have planned.
Let me be clear that I can indeed help you with your WordPress website if you already have one. Just take a look at what I did for Katie's site here. I can also help you with your Squarespace and WIX site as well. I will make sure that whatever you end up choosing, you will be fully able and confident to edit it, handle all of the upkeep, and make it fit your business!