I recently spoke with Vitali Lutz about building websites on WordPress in the modern web, and I asked him if it is still a solid choice for an affiliate website. He told me that WordPress is one of the most flexible options available, and it's free.
He is right, of course. However, we need to establish whether WordPress is always the right choice for websites, especially affiliate niche sites.
The situation here becomes nuanced very quickly.
I usually create static websites based on HTMLy or other very lightweight CMSs. These offer both blazingly fast load times and plenty of configuration options to optimize the website for any niche and project.
However, the problem is that they are still very minimal, and thus lack the flexibility we are used to when using flagship solutions like Drupal, WordPress and similar systems.
WordPress for niche sites
I'm building affiliate sites. Usually very small ones. Before starting such a project, I plan the content and size of the site before even beginning the technical process of buying web hosting and a domain and installing a CMS.
Throughout planning comes always first!
Many niche sites are based on WordPress. This is not surprising, because WordPress powers almost 40% of websites on the web. Either WordPress is that good, or the promotion and recommendation of the system is excellent — I would say both.
In most cases, WordPress shines thanks to its flexibility.
I don’t really know how big my next project will be. You could end up creating hundreds of posts despite planning to create only 20 or 50. This often happens when a site proves to attract traffic and needs to be expanded to increase its profitability.
Its flexibility comes from the huge number of free plugins and themes available. Once you have installed them, simply select the right plugins for your site and give it a professional design by choosing a suitable theme, and you're ready to start creating content.
Building a website with WordPress is no rocket science.
The loss of lightness
Flexibility comes at a price when it comes to website builders. Take a look at how complex Wix and other website builders are under the hood.
The more flexibility you need, the more features need to be implemented.
The whole thing becomes heavier.
The same applies to WordPress. Building a site of up to five static pages can definitely be done without WordPress. That's my strong opinion. Just build static sites or pick a lightweight flat file CMS, and you're good to go.
WordPress is currently over 10 times heavier than when it reached version 1.0 in 2007. Just imagine how much more code has been included, and how much more RAM and server resources it needs to work properly today.
People don't see this.
They only see the convenience of publishing their next masterpiece with as few clicks as possible. They don’t care about the technology behind the website. Furthermore, they just want it to work the way they need it to.
Conclusion
To conclude, the web is now very mature, and there is always a better alternative. I’m not saying that WordPress is a bad thing. I just want to say that it depends on the kind of project whether it makes sense to use WordPress or not.
If you want to build something without knowing how big it will become, it's better to pick a tool like WordPress for the site. It scales nicely with any size of the website.
However, for very small niche sites, I would recommend picking a lightweight CMS or building the whole thing using HTML, JavaScript and CSS files.
