Is WordPress Good for Small Business Websites?

If you’re setting up a website for your small business, you’ve probably heard WordPress mentioned more than any other platform.

Friends recommend it. Web developers suggest it. Article after article ranks it as the top choice.

But is WordPress actually good for small business websites, or is it overhyped?

This is a fair question to ask.

Picking the wrong platform could cost you hundreds of pounds and weeks of wasted effort. You might end up locked into a system that doesn’t fit your needs. Worse, you could find yourself rebuilding everything from scratch in two years when you outgrow your original choice.

Your website represents your business online, and the platform you choose affects everything from how easily customers find you on Google to how much you pay each year to keep things running.

This guide gives you a clear, honest answer based on what actually matters for UK small businesses. By the end, you’ll know whether WordPress suits your situation and have the confidence to make the right decision.

What Makes WordPress Popular With Small Businesses

Before examining the specifics, it helps to understand what WordPress actually is and why it dominates the website market.

It Powers Over 40% of All Websites

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that lets you build and manage a website without writing code. It started as a blogging tool in 2003 and has grown into the most widely used website platform in the world.

The numbers speak for themselves. WordPress powers more than 40% of all websites on the internet.

That includes major corporations like Sony Music, The Walt Disney Company, and Time Magazine, along with millions of small businesses worldwide. This widespread adoption reflects genuine advantages that keep people returning to the platform year after year.

This popularity means proven reliability, endless resources for learning, and no shortage of developers who can help if you get stuck.

You’re building on a platform with a twenty-year track record, not betting on something unproven that might vanish next year.

What Is WordPress?

The Real Benefits of WordPress for Small Businesses

Now let’s examine the practical advantages that make WordPress appealing for UK small business owners.

It Won’t Cost You a Fortune

WordPress core software is completely free. You can download it, install it, and run your entire website without paying anything for the platform itself.

This differs from website builders like Wix or Squarespace, where you pay monthly fees simply to use their system.

What you will have to pay for is web hosting (where your website lives online) and a domain name (your www web address). Expect to spend around £10-15 per month for decent hosting and £10-15 per year for a .co.uk domain.

Your first year might cost £75-150 depending on which hosting package you choose. Compare that to Wix or Squarespace, where you’re paying £12-30 per month just for platform access, plus domain costs on top. Over three to five years, WordPress works out significantly cheaper for most businesses.

Some premium themes and plugins do cost money, but these are optional and thousands of free options exist for most needs. You can start with free tools and upgrade later only if specific paid features would genuinely help your business grow.

You Stay in Complete Control

One of WordPress’s biggest advantages is ownership.

Your website belongs to you.

Your content belongs to you. Your customer data belongs to you. You’re not renting space on someone else’s platform with their rules and restrictions.

If your hosting company starts performing poorly or raises prices, you can move your entire site to a different provider without losing anything. This portability matters.

With Wix, their system locks you in, making it extremely difficult to take your site elsewhere if you outgrow them or simply want to change. WordPress gives you freedom.

This ownership also means you can customise almost anything. Want a specific feature? There’s probably a plugin for it. Need your site to look a certain way? You can adjust the design. With website builders, you’re limited to whatever they choose to allow within their system.

It Grows With Your Business

WordPress can scale from simple five-page brochure sites to complex e-commerce stores handling thousands of products and orders.

You don’t need to switch platforms as your business grows.

Start with a basic website showcasing your services. Later, add a blog to attract visitors through search engines. Eventually, you might want to sell products online or take bookings.

WordPress handles all of this through its plugin system.

WooCommerce, the most popular e-commerce plugin, is free and powers millions of online shops worldwide.

Need a booking system for appointments? There are plugins for that. Email marketing integration? Covered. Membership areas, customer portals, directories, portfolios, event calendars, contact forms with GDPR compliance built in.

Whatever your UK business needs, WordPress can accommodate it.

Finding Help Is Straightforward

Because WordPress is so widely used, there’s a huge pool of developers and designers who know the platform inside out.

So if you need professional help with your website, you won’t struggle to find it. Thousands of freelancers and agencies specialise in WordPress design and development.

This competition keeps prices reasonable and means you can find someone whose style and expertise match your needs.

You’re also not locked into working with one person forever. If your original developer moves on or you simply want a fresh perspective, any competent WordPress professional can pick up where they left off. The platform is standardised enough that handovers are straightforward.

Compare that to a custom-built website where only the original developer truly understands how everything works.

This flexibility works well for small businesses. You might build your initial site yourself, then bring in a designer later to polish the look. Or you could hire someone for the setup and handle day-to-day updates yourself.

WordPress gives you options that proprietary platforms simply cannot match.

WordPress and SEO: Why It Helps You Get Found

If you want customers to find your business through Google, your website platform genuinely matters. WordPress has real advantages here that can make a measurable difference to your visibility.

Clean Code That Search Engines Understand

Search engines prefer clean, well-structured code, and WordPress delivers this as standard.

The platform was built with good coding standards that make it straightforward for Google to understand and index your pages. Mobile responsiveness comes built into most modern WordPress themes too, which matters since Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites in search results.

Full Control Over Your Optimisation

Beyond the basics, plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math make search optimisation accessible even if you don’t fully understand the technical side.

These tools guide you through setting up page titles, meta descriptions, and other elements that help your pages rank well.

You also get complete control over every SEO setting.

Want to edit your URL structure? Change how your titles display? Add schema markup to help Google understand your content better?

WordPress lets you do all of this.

Many website builders restrict what you can adjust, limiting your SEO potential before you even start trying to rank.

This control matters particularly for businesses competing in local search results. Proper optimisation can mean the difference between appearing on page one for “accountant in Manchester” or being buried on page five where nobody looks.

The Honest Challenges You Should Know

WordPress isn’t perfect, and you deserve to know the downsides before committing. Understanding the challenges helps you make a better decision and prepares you for what to expect.

You’ll Need to Learn Some Basics

WordPress isn’t as instantly simple as Wix or Squarespace. There’s a learning curve, and you should expect to spend some time working things out.

The good news is that basic tasks are genuinely straightforward. Creating pages, writing blog posts, adding images, and updating content works through the block editor (called Gutenberg), which uses a visual interface similar to Word.

Most people feel comfortable with everyday tasks within a week or two of regular use.

The curve steepens when you want to do more advanced things. Customising your theme’s design, setting up complex plugin configurations, or troubleshooting problems takes more patience.

You don’t need coding skills for basic use, but some technical comfort helps when things don’t work as expected.

Luckily, free help is everywhere.

YouTube has countless WordPress tutorials covering every topic imaginable. Facebook groups and forums are full of helpful people. Most themes and plugins include documentation.

If you get truly stuck, WordPress developers typically charge £40-80 per hour for assistance, and most problems take less than an hour to fix.

Maintenance Is Your Responsibility

Unlike website builders where the platform handles everything behind the scenes, WordPress requires some housekeeping attention from you.

This isn’t complicated, but it is something you need to know about upfront.

WordPress releases updates regularly to improve security and add features. Your themes and plugins also need updating.

Applying these updates usually takes just a few clicks, but you need to remember to do it regularly. Ignoring updates leaves your site vulnerable to security problems that could harm your business.

You’ll also need to handle site backups.

If something goes wrong, you want a recent copy of your site ready to restore.

Some hosting companies like Krystal and 20i include automatic daily backups. Otherwise, you’ll need a backup plugin. Either way, this responsibility falls on you or someone you pay to manage it.

WordPress core software is well-maintained and secure, but poorly coded plugins or weak passwords can create vulnerabilities. Using reputable plugins from the official WordPress directory, keeping everything updated, and following basic security practices will keep your business site protected.

WordPress Maintenance for Small Businesses

WordPress vs Website Builders: Which Suits You Better?

The honest answer is that neither WordPress nor website builders like Wix and Squarespace are universally ‘better’. The right choice depends entirely on your specific situation and priorities.

When WordPress Makes More Sense

Choose WordPress if long-term costs matter to you. The platform becomes cheaper over time compared to ongoing monthly subscription fees, saving you hundreds of pounds across several years.

WordPress also wins if SEO matters to your business strategy. You’ll have far more control over optimisation than any website builder offers, which translates into better visibility on Google when done properly.

The platform suits you if you plan to grow your website over time, adding features, content, or online selling capabilities. It’s also the right choice if you want genuine ownership and flexibility without being locked into a single company’s system forever.

If you’re willing to spend a few days learning the basics and don’t mind handling occasional maintenance, WordPress delivers excellent value. Most sole traders and small business owners find the learning curve manageable once they get started.

When Wix or Squarespace Might Work Better

Consider alternatives if you need a website live by next week with zero learning time. Wix and Squarespace let you drag and drop your way to a finished site very quickly.

They also suit people who have absolutely no interest in technical aspects and prefer a completely hands-off approach. You pay more each month, but someone else handles all the maintenance and security worries.

For very simple websites that won’t change much over time, the convenience of website builders might outweigh WordPress’s advantages. A basic one-page site with contact details and a few photos might not need the flexibility WordPress provides.

What Are WordPress Page Builders?

Making Your Decision: Is WordPress Right for Your Business?

After weighing the advantages and challenges, here’s how to decide whether WordPress suits your business.

WordPress is a strong choice if you:

• Want to control your website and aren’t afraid to learn something new
• Need extensive SEO capabilities to attract customers through Google
• Plan to add features or content as your business develops
• Value cost-effectiveness over absolute simplicity
• Want to own your content without platform restrictions

Consider alternatives if you:

• Need something working immediately with no learning curve
• Have a very limited budget and extremely simple needs
• Have no interest whatsoever in anything technical

For most businesses with growth ambitions, WordPress offers the best balance of control, flexibility, and value.

Yes, there’s learning involved. Yes, you’ll need to handle maintenance.

But the trade-off is a website that truly belongs to you and can grow alongside your business for years to come.

If you decide WordPress is right for you, start by choosing reliable UK-based hosting, picking a quality theme that suits your industry, and learning the basics one step at a time. Thousands of other UK business owners have successfully figured this out. You can too.

Frequently Asked Questions