Why more marketers are moving their sites off WordPress — and what your team could gain by doing the same.
CMS
To stay on WordPress or not? Let’s settle this once and for all.
Last updated
May 6, 2025
Read time
6 min
Written by
Lindsay Elswick
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Introduction
WordPress has long been a dominant force in the online world. Originally built for content publishing, it gave teams a fast way to get online — and its plugin library made it easy to expand. Even in 2025, WordPress still powers more than 43.4% of all websites on the internet — it’s deeply woven into the web’s publishing backbone.
That foundation worked well when publishing content was the end goal — but today, that’s just the starting point. Today, our websites are expected to generate leads and tie into the rest of your marketing infrastructure. For teams using WordPress, that often means piling on plugins, patching together tools and hoping it all works.
What once felt flexible now eats up time, budget and dev resources — and holds your marketing back.
In response, many teams are shifting to a different kind of setup — one where the website, CRM and marketing automation all live in the same place. Platforms like HubSpot and Ontraport offer integrated web builders that are built to do more than just publish content. They’re designed to drive results across the full funnel — from the first visit to the final conversion.
This article walks through the pros and cons of having your site on WordPress versus having it built into your marketing automation and CRM platform. It gives WordPress credit where it’s due — and helps you figure out whether it’s still the right choice as your team’s needs evolve.
Why WordPress became the default
Why WordPress became the default
WordPress didn’t just make it easy to publish — it changed who could publish. Back in the early 2000s, when content marketing was just beginning to take off, getting a blog or website online usually meant hiring a developer or learning to code. WordPress changed that by giving marketers the power to build and update content on their own.
Over time, its library of plugins grew to cover just about every feature a marketer could imagine: SEO, pop-ups, payments, memberships, forms, forums and more. If you wanted it, someone had probably built it.
That open-ended flexibility is what made WordPress so appealing — and it’s why so many teams still use it today.
Over time, its library of plugins grew to cover just about every feature a marketer could imagine: SEO, pop-ups, payments, memberships, forms, forums and more. If you wanted it, someone had probably built it.
That open-ended flexibility is what made WordPress so appealing — and it’s why so many teams still use it today.
When flexibility becomes a bottleneck
When flexibility becomes a bottleneck
WordPress gives you endless options, but it rarely gives you one clear path. As your site becomes a bigger part of your marketing engine, that flexibility turns into decision fatigue — and complexity creeps in fast.
Say you want to promote a free download on a few key blog posts. In WordPress, that can mean:
Say you want to promote a free download on a few key blog posts. In WordPress, that can mean:
- Installing a popup plugin to promote the offer
- Adding a form plugin to collect email addresses
- Adding a CAPTCHA plugin to block your forms from spammers
- Customizing the form design to match your site’s branding (often via manual CSS)
- Embedding that form manually on each relevant page
- Connecting the form to your CRM
- Creating an automation to deliver the downloadable file
- Setting up a confirmation message or redirect after form submission
- Testing everything to make sure it works across devices
- Double-checking your analytics to make sure conversions are being tracked
- Keeping all related plugins updated — and troubleshooting when an update breaks something
Multiply that by every new campaign, lead magnet or segment you want to serve — and suddenly, scaling becomes a tangle of manual steps and maintenance.
One broken step can mean missed leads, more dev work and lost revenue — all from a channel that should be fueling growth.
One broken step can mean missed leads, more dev work and lost revenue — all from a channel that should be fueling growth.
Your website is now a marketing tool
Your website is now a marketing tool
Today, your website isn’t just a place to share ideas. It’s often one of the first touchpoints a customer has with your brand and a key driver of lead generation and conversion.
To play that role effectively, a site needs to:
To play that role effectively, a site needs to:
- Capture leads from site visitors
- Segment contacts based on topic interest or behavior
- Trigger follow-ups and automations when someone engages
- Deliver gated content or support a member experience
- Track attribution from site visit to conversion
- Schedule consultations or appointments
- Take payment for online purchases
- Provide portals for customers to view their purchase info or loyalty points
- Offer a partner center for gaining and tracking referrals
With the right mix of plugins, dev support and third-party integrations, you can make WordPress do most of this. But that’s the issue: You’re constantly stitching together separate tools just to replicate what other platforms now offer out of the box.
Over time, that approach creates more fragility than flexibility. It slows teams down, increases costs and introduces risks that are tough to scale past.
Over time, that approach creates more fragility than flexibility. It slows teams down, increases costs and introduces risks that are tough to scale past.
The hidden cost of piecing it all together on WordPress
The hidden cost of piecing it all together on WordPress
The average WordPress site uses between 12 and 15 plugins — each with its own settings, maintenance schedule, and potential for breaking something else. Every new tool adds friction that can lead to site crashes and downtime.
In fact, 60% of WordPress sites experience plugin or theme conflicts — and plugin issues are a leading cause of the dreaded "white screen of death," where your site becomes completely inaccessible.
And while WordPress itself may be free, the real costs come from everywhere else:
In fact, 60% of WordPress sites experience plugin or theme conflicts — and plugin issues are a leading cause of the dreaded "white screen of death," where your site becomes completely inaccessible.
And while WordPress itself may be free, the real costs come from everywhere else:
- Plugin licenses and premium themes
- Developer time to troubleshoot issues, keep plugins updated and maintain your site
- Hosting, security and backup tools
- Time lost copying content between tools or fixing broken flows
That all adds up fast — especially when you consider that 63% of WordPress sites have at least one outdated plugin, with most having two or three. The more outdated tools you’re juggling, the harder it becomes to keep your site stable, secure and running smoothly.
What your team could be doing instead
What your team could be doing instead
While some people may choose to switch from WordPress because of the constant site crashes and issues, many switch because they realize how much more they could be getting from their site — and how much time they’re losing to tasks that should be automatic.
When your team is stuck troubleshooting broken forms, syncing tools or reformatting pages, the creative, strategic side of marketing gets pushed aside. Instead of launching new campaigns, you're chasing tech issues.
But when the systems run themselves, your team can:
When your team is stuck troubleshooting broken forms, syncing tools or reformatting pages, the creative, strategic side of marketing gets pushed aside. Instead of launching new campaigns, you're chasing tech issues.
But when the systems run themselves, your team can:
- Launch new content faster — with follow-ups and tracking already in place
- Personalize CTAs and page content based on real-time lead data
- Test campaigns and iterate quickly, without dev bottlenecks
- Track performance from first visit to final conversion
- Publish more often, with less time spent pasting, syncing or fixing
These are the kinds of things that actually drive growth — and they’re only possible when your content, data and automations work together by default.
What it looks like when everything’s connected
What it looks like when everything’s connected
When your website, customer data and automation live in the same system, you stop thinking about how everything fits together — because it already does.
Instead of manually gluing tools together, you get one platform with all the essentials built in: a website, a CRM, automation, lead capture, email and SMS, performance tracking, memberships, payments and more — no extra plugins required.
That also means one login. One monthly fee. One support team. And no surprise updates that take your site offline while you’re in the middle of launching a campaign.
Because the entire system is managed by the same team — not a dozen third-party developers — updates and new features work across the board. You’re not stuck checking plugin compatibility or rewriting your own workflows every time a tool changes.
And because everything’s connected, the entire customer journey becomes smarter. A blog visitor sees an offer tailored to their segment, fills out a form, and is instantly added to the right follow-up campaign — no syncing required. Their data updates in real time, so if they book a call, your sales team already knows what they downloaded, what they care about, and how to speak to their needs. You see the full picture, from first click to closed deal.
Ultimately, you have more control over your website and your entire customer journey.
Instead of manually gluing tools together, you get one platform with all the essentials built in: a website, a CRM, automation, lead capture, email and SMS, performance tracking, memberships, payments and more — no extra plugins required.
That also means one login. One monthly fee. One support team. And no surprise updates that take your site offline while you’re in the middle of launching a campaign.
Because the entire system is managed by the same team — not a dozen third-party developers — updates and new features work across the board. You’re not stuck checking plugin compatibility or rewriting your own workflows every time a tool changes.
And because everything’s connected, the entire customer journey becomes smarter. A blog visitor sees an offer tailored to their segment, fills out a form, and is instantly added to the right follow-up campaign — no syncing required. Their data updates in real time, so if they book a call, your sales team already knows what they downloaded, what they care about, and how to speak to their needs. You see the full picture, from first click to closed deal.
Ultimately, you have more control over your website and your entire customer journey.
How to know when it’s time to move on
How to know when it’s time to move on
If your site is still doing what it needs to do — and you have the team and tools to keep everything running — there’s no reason to overhaul what works. But if you’ve been feeling the friction, it’s worth asking:
- Are you spending more time maintaining tools than creating content?
- Are you relying on dev help for basic marketing workflows?
- Are you missing out on opportunities because your tools don’t talk to each other?
- Are your plugins creating more problems than they solve?
- Are you duplicating effort across tools just to get a single campaign out the door?
- Are you putting off updates because you’re afraid of breaking something?
- Are you struggling to track which site content actually leads to conversions?
If the answer to any of those is yes, it might be time to consider moving to an all-in-one platform.
The switch doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Many teams move their most important pages over before they rebuild their entire site — unlocking immediate wins without starting from scratch.
The switch doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Many teams move their most important pages over before they rebuild their entire site — unlocking immediate wins without starting from scratch.
Final thoughts: A smarter way forward
Final thoughts: A smarter way forward
WordPress helped marketers get online. But today, publishing is just the beginning — and if your site is expected to do more, the platform it’s built on should, too.
Modern teams need more than plugins and patched-together tools. They need connected systems that support the way they work: agile, data-driven, and focused on growth.
If you’re feeling the strain of juggling tools or patching together workflows, it’s not just a tech problem — it’s a growth blocker. The good news? There’s a better way. One system, purpose-built to bring your content, data and automation together, so you can do more with less effort — and finally focus on what really moves the needle.
Modern teams need more than plugins and patched-together tools. They need connected systems that support the way they work: agile, data-driven, and focused on growth.
If you’re feeling the strain of juggling tools or patching together workflows, it’s not just a tech problem — it’s a growth blocker. The good news? There’s a better way. One system, purpose-built to bring your content, data and automation together, so you can do more with less effort — and finally focus on what really moves the needle.
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