# WordPress 194 Hacker News commenters recommended WordPress and 326 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 15 years (25 owners). **Verdict:** Recommended for its huge plugin and integration ecosystem, cheap one-click hosting and easy editing for non-technical people, though critics widely cite plugin security holes and maintenance burden. ## Why people recommend it - Huge plugin and integration ecosystem (6 comments): "WordPress stays winning because of the user-friendliness of its publishing workflows (vs SSGs), and self-reinforcing ecosystem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49665089)) "The code quality is genuinely terrible, but it doesn't matter because every SaaS tool on earth has a WordPress connector." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47606129)) "They got there first, then as a result, they have: a big ecosystem of themes and plugins (especially for SEO)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46262839)) - Easy editing for non-technical users (6 comments): "Wordpress with a WYSIWYG page builder solves that — it's not the only solution, but it works pretty close to right out of the box." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47605693)) "They like being able to edit their own blogs, add new job listings, and rearrange the leadership page when people are promoted." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46988583)) "WordPress stays winning because of the user-friendliness of its publishing workflows (vs SSGs), and self-reinforcing ecosystem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49665089)) - Cheap, easy hosting everywhere (5 comments): "A basic instance, set to auto-update, installed on a shared webhost where OS/web server updates are someone else's problem is pretty foolproof." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47610092)) "There are no shortage of hosting companies out there to which you can deploy WP. In fact, many make it so easy it is ridonc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49648071)) "There are super cheap shared-hosting plans the allow you to just do a couple clicks to install WordPress with full control." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47422431)) - Grows from blog to e-commerce (3 comments): "WordPress won precisely because you could start with a $5 blog and end up with a full e-commerce site without a rewrite" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47611328)) "I have not yet seen an alternative for Wordpress + woocommerce for a simple e-commerce site that is not more expensive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48977417)) "Wordpress is solidly in that middle ground where you can do a large amount of customization if someone'll pay for it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47604885)) ## What people warn about - Plugin security vulnerabilities (7 comments): "Wordpress' security track record isn't great, but I'm worried whether it would be safer if everybody builds their own CMS using AI." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49661734)) "there's a whole ecosystem behind WordPress that, while it's a security nightmare, is also pretty damn useful" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49698206)) "wordpress is being absolutely obliterated by ai. work for commercial plugin authors and agencies has dried up while the platform and ecosystem see major security issues" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635928)) - Plugin bloat and maintenance burden (4 comments): "Majority of those sites are powered by WP and various site builders, which is far more complicated than what they need." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47639988)) "Biggest downside I know of: Wordpress is too much learning curve & overhead for a simple personal blog." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46014679)) "our wordpress started off as simple blogging thing but now is not only using 99% cpu but also no one knows how to edit/deal with all the plugins etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48978202)) - Poor, aging code quality (3 comments): "the quality is about what you'd expect from a piece of software that's decades old with no plan for what happens if it got this far" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48976996)) "The code quality is genuinely terrible, but it doesn't matter because every SaaS tool on earth has a WordPress connector." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47606129)) "Wordpress is awful. The only thing it's got going is its moat, but that's not an engineering problem, but a people problem instead." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47605915)) - Messy, unstable admin and editor (2 comments): "I tried setting Wordpress up for someone a couple weeks ago and the entire admin experience felt like someone designed it WHILE AT burning man." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49643201)) "They seem to be interested mostly in adding more and more visual editing features that keep making the whole thing more unstable and messy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47997826)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Drupal](https://hackerapproved.com/p/drupal.md): 30 recommend - [Sveltia CMS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sveltia-cms.md): 7 recommend - [Sparktype](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sparktype.md): 5 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "WordPress", https://hackerapproved.com/p/wordpress/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).