August 2, 2024
11 min
Explore the continued relevance of WordPress in 2024 as a top website builder. See how it fits with modern website development trends and technologies.
I know that when it comes to building websites, the first technology that comes to everyone’s mind is WordPress. When you think about recognizability, WordPress is like Adidas; everyone knows it. Anyone who has ever wanted to build a website has considered WordPress at some point. However, being popular does not mean being the best fit for all, especially nowadays, where every business and its clients have different needs.
I dedicate this blog post to Marketers who are fighting each day for their company's online visibility, their website’s performance, SEO, security, and the core vitals, and to all of you who want to scale and futureproof your business's online presence. In this article, I will show you why modern websites and composable architecture have gained so much attention and why you should be aware of it.
Let's start with a short review of Monolithic vs Composable infrastructure.
Monolithic is the original approach to software architecture and development. In this model, all the application components are tightly coupled into a single unit and even use the same database. It means that all the functionalities, i.e., business logic, payments, search, or user interface, are packed together in a single place. This was the only model available for years, so it’s still the most widespread and popular. This is why so many agencies, freelance designers, and developers working with Monoliths are on the market. It has been their standard for years; they are skilled within selected platforms and unwilling to learn new skills and tools.
The best example of this architecture model in website development is WordPress itself. WordPress is the most popular open-source platform on the market, and based on statistics from W3Techs from 2023, over 43% of all websites are powered by WordPress. WordPress has been around for the past two decades. It has evolved from a blogging platform to the market's most popular, monolithic Content Management System (CMS). It is the best website builder for some WordPress users, but it is not ideal for everyone.
On the other hand, Composable Infrastructure in website development is fresh and getting loads of attention. It is a NextGen approach to building apps and websites that is slowly becoming a new industry standard. According to GlobeNewswire, “The Composable Infrastructure Market size is expected to grow from USD 4.79 billion in 2023 to USD 11.33 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 18.79% during the forecast period (2023-2028).” This happens purely because Composable Solutions creates value for businesses like no other! Regarding web development, we can talk about fantastic Customer Experience, great flexibility, customizations, and SEO support; it is considered super safe. If that’s not enough, try to imagine that it can also be easily integrated with a broader ecosystem of apps in your company without the need to spend thousands of dollars and hours on writing custom integrations.
The main idea behind the Composable Infrastructure is that the software is built from components, where each element is quickly broken down into modules. Composable Architecture supports building complex applications rapidly and efficiently, as the developer can reuse and reassemble existing modules. With a pinch of creativity and solid engineering skills, developers can build, test, and deploy new solutions quickly, allowing the Marketing Team to test and experiment with lightning speed. This is possible thanks to API-based connections between the modules, offering security, flexibility, customization, and the opportunity to build an ecosystem that will be your engine to drive growth within the company.
Let’s use an analogy to make it a bit easier to understand, and since we all know a bit about cooking, I will use a cooking metaphor here. The monolith is a pre-packed meal where all the ingredients are combined and cooked in one dish. You get everything you need in one container, but you cannot customize or modify the dish to suit your taste, balance flavors, or match it to your dietary requirements. If you want to change any part of the meal, you must redo the entire dish from scratch. On the other hand, composable architecture is like a DIY meal kit. You receive all the individual ingredients packed separately and instructions on assembling them into a meal. This allows you to mix and match ingredients, adjust portions, and easily accommodate dietary preferences. If you want to change part of the meal, you can swap out ingredients or adjust the recipe accordingly without starting from scratch. To transfer this analogy into website building - while monolithic can be convenient and liked thanks to its simplicity, the composable architecture provides more flexibility and scalability, crucial in current unstable times, evolving trends and technologies, and changing needs of developing and growing businesses.
Check the diagram below, which compares a monolith with a composite architecture and microservices.
When the threshold is reached, the monolithic web application based on WordPress starts generating higher and higher bills. At the same time, other issues begin to show up, causing even more trouble to the marketing department and the company.
We felt like we don't know this platform inside-out, we experienced some
Radoslaw WalCTO at Veronym
performance issues and last, but not least we were aware of the fact that
WordPress is probably most vulnerable web platform and therefore most targeted
by exploits.
Overall, the decision to leave WordPress is often influenced by a combination of factors, including ease of use, performance, security, cost, business requirements, implemented strategies, and the continuously evolving clients' needs. So what is a Composable Architecture, and what are its main pros?
For us, the benefits (of Jamstack) are straightforward. Cost is an obvious win
Dmitry TernerWebsite Manager at Avenues
as well as the ease of implementing enhancements and inherent security improvements.
We live in a digital era where AI, automation, and optimization are our daily lives. At the same time, we are at a sharp turn, midway through an economic crisis, where everything we experience is also undergoing digital transformation. Successful and ambitious companies drive business change, expressing high digital maturity and a desire for innovation. Industry leaders are more aware than ever that understanding and using data and technology are their leverage to stay in the game and to be able to change it. To do so, they must immerse data, which is simple since we are all generating data and facing multiple data points in large volumes daily. Those innovative companies are testing and learning how to use those data and how to make the most of it. All that is to offer better customer experience daily, build stronger relationships with their clients, promote loyalty, increase user engagement, automate and optimize processes, and strive for operational excellence.
That is precisely why they turn their backs away from the slow, single-source, monolithic monsters like WordPress or Magento. Building a modern website is just a piece of the whole composable puzzle. Still, all the pieces must fit into the same framework to work together seamlessly and support your company’s day-to-day operations. Therefore, to make a difference, Companies start building fully composable ecosystems of modules and microservices that speak to each other via API. These ecosystems are usually hosted in the Cloud, can connect multilanguage websites with eCommerce apps, and are further integrated with ERPs, PIMs, DAMs, CRMs, or Loyalty Platforms. This is a critical element of building Sales and Marketing of the future in modern and successful companies that care about their Clients.
WordPress is still relevant in 2024 and will stay relevant for years ahead, but only for some website owners and companies. It is a good, low-cost solution for beginners and small businesses at first. At the very start, WordPress offers you free hosting services, free themes, and free plugins. It is a good choice for young business owners to create a website. It can cover all the needs of a young company, it provides you with an all-in-one solution, it has a big community of freelancers, it’s inexpensive (at first), it has hundreds of themes available, making WordPress design easy (at first), and it does not ask too many questions - you don’t need to have specifics about your business logic, your CMS data model, etc. In the early days of your business, you should consider WordPress or a low-code alternative like Webflow and focus on your business and market fit. Once you have solid traffic and proven that your business is profitable, further optimizations will help you scale the sales and operations. This will be the moment to start analyzing alternatives and modern website development.
At this point, I hope you can answer this question yourself. But if you are still unsure, review the questions below. If you answer “Yes” to more than three of them, then it’s a sign that we should talk about WordPress alternatives for your business :)
In case you don’t want to talk to anyone, you can dive deeper into our work and see that the Composable Architecture is the only approach that will lead your company’s online presence to stable growth, offering endless possibilities to improve and grow your services while guaranteeing top Customer Experience to your users!
At Bejamas, since day one, we have been loyal fans and preachers of JAMstack, Composable Architecture, and Headless CMS. Because our business has emerged around the JAM Stack, which has now evolved into Modern Website Development, a part of the Composable Architecture movement, we are the true experts in the field. We have proven our skills over the years, and working for brands like Alpro, Costa Coffee, Dr Smile, and SumUp makes it easy to call ourselves the Top Geeks of Modern Website Development on the market!
That’s all, folks!
T.
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