How did WordPress come to power more than 40% of the web after over two decades? Maybe it did because of its themes welcoming diverse types of sites. Maybe it did because of its plugins and robust framework, encouraging developers to create ambitious projects. Or maybe it did because the accessibility behind its approach allowed both experienced and inexperienced designers and developers to come up with results to be proud of.
The roles that WordPress can adopt have evolved and expanded so much that just thinking about it can be overwhelming. For many of us, it is the platform of choice. And naturally, the more complex it gets, the more difficult to define its path.
In the era of AI, where models are continuously changing the way we create software, aligning with the new reality becomes incredibly difficult, especially because that reality itself keeps shifting.
Because of its nature, WordPress itself is being developed on multiple fronts at once. This didn’t used to be a big problem, taking into account all the benefits that come with choosing it. But now, with increasingly capable AI models becoming key players in the development field, the criteria for choosing technology have shifted.
What was once considered beneficial is now perceived as complex and expensive. The open nature of WordPress, with a rich ecosystem of fully-featured plugins and themes, has grown beyond what most projects can reasonably manage.
For that reason, private solutions like Shopify have found their way in. They don’t offer what WordPress does, and they never will, but they promise potential customers freedom from maintaining the platform, and that is seductive, we must admit.
But what are the costs of choosing these kinds of solutions? Being subject to specific terms and conditions? Not being able to grow beyond what they offer? Having to adapt to what is available? Paying extra fees without having an alternative? Not owning the content? There are plenty of costs. Costs that didn’t used to exist.
The lack of freedom to choose.
That being said, does this mean project owners are doomed to choose between freedom and simplicity? Clearly, the solution will not come from commercial companies. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The AI has raised expectations about speed and simplicity. And by doing so, the natural friction of the WordPress ecosystem is now perceived as more challenging than ever. And nobody budgets for what cannot be predicted.