For years, WordPress has been the undisputed king of the internet. It powers over 40% of all websites, and for a long time, it was the default choice for businesses of all sizes. If you wanted a website, you used WordPress. It was as simple as that.

But the web has changed. A new generation of technologies has emerged, promising faster, more secure, and more scalable websites. We are talking about the modern web, an ecosystem of tools and platforms often referred to as the Jamstack (JavaScript, APIs, and Markup).

As a business owner, you are probably wondering what this all means for you. Should you stick with the tried and tested WordPress, or is it time to embrace the future? It is a critical decision, and one that will have a major impact on your online success.

I am Alex Frew, founder of 3P Digital, and I have built websites on just about every platform you can imagine. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of WordPress. And I have also witnessed firsthand the incredible power of modern web technologies. In this guide, I am going to give you an honest, no-fluff comparison of these two approaches. We will look at everything from performance and security to SEO and long term cost, so you can make an informed decision about what is right for your business.

What is WordPress? The Reigning King

WordPress started life in 2003 as a simple blogging platform. Over the years, it has evolved into a full-blown Content Management System (CMS), capable of running everything from simple brochure websites to complex e-commerce stores and membership sites.

Its popularity stems from a few key factors:

• Ease of Use: The WordPress dashboard is relatively intuitive, allowing non-technical users to add and edit content without needing to write code.
• Flexibility: A massive ecosystem of themes and plugins allows you to extend the functionality of your website in almost any way you can imagine.
• Community: With millions of users and developers, there is a huge community of people who can offer support and advice.

But this flexibility comes at a cost. The very things that made WordPress so popular are also its biggest weaknesses.

The Rise of the Modern Web (Jamstack)

The modern web, or Jamstack, is not a specific technology, but rather a new way of building websites. Instead of a monolithic system like WordPress, which bundles the front end and back end together, the Jamstack decouples them.

Here is a simple breakdown:

• JavaScript: Handles all the dynamic functionality of the website, running in the user's browser.
• APIs: Reusable services that handle back end tasks, like processing payments or managing user accounts.
• Markup: The website is pre-built into static HTML files, which can be served incredibly quickly from a global Content Delivery Network (CDN).

This approach results in websites that are faster, more secure, and infinitely more scalable than their traditional counterparts. It is a fundamental shift in how we build for the web, and it is one that businesses can no longer afford to ignore.

Head-to-Head Comparison: WordPress vs. Modern Web Tech

Let's put these two approaches side-by-side and see how they stack up in the areas that matter most to your business.

Performance and Speed

Website speed is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. A slow website will frustrate your visitors, hurt your search engine rankings, and ultimately cost you money. Google has made it clear that page speed is a critical ranking factor, and users are becoming increasingly impatient.

WordPress:

WordPress sites are notoriously slow. Every time a visitor lands on a page, the server has to query the database, process a bunch of PHP code, and assemble the page on the fly. This process is resource-intensive and can be incredibly slow, especially on cheap shared hosting.

You can try to speed up a WordPress site with caching plugins, a CDN, and image optimisation, but you are essentially just putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. The underlying architecture is the problem.

Modern Web Tech:

Jamstack sites are blazingly fast by default. Because the pages are pre-built as static HTML files, they can be served instantly from a global CDN. There is no database to query, no code to execute. The page is just there, ready to go.

This results in near-instant load times, a perfect Google PageSpeed score, and a user experience that is second to none.

Security

WordPress is the most hacked CMS on the planet. Its popularity makes it a prime target for hackers, and its reliance on third-party plugins and themes creates a huge number of potential vulnerabilities.

WordPress:

The WordPress security model is a house of cards. A single outdated plugin or a poorly coded theme can bring your entire website down. You are constantly having to update plugins, patch security holes, and scan for malware. It is a never-ending battle.

Modern Web Tech:

Jamstack sites are inherently more secure. Because there is no database to hack and no server-side code to exploit, the attack surface is dramatically reduced. The front end is completely decoupled from the back end, so even if one of your APIs is compromised, your website itself remains safe.

Maintenance and Updates

Anyone who has ever managed a WordPress site knows the pain of updates. The constant stream of plugin, theme, and core updates can be a full-time job. And if you neglect them, you are putting your site at risk.

WordPress:

"The WordPress update treadmill" is a real thing. You are constantly having to test and apply updates, and there is always the risk that an update will break your site. This is the hidden cost of WordPress that many people do not consider.

Modern Web Tech:

With a Jamstack site, there is nothing to update. The site is a collection of static files, so there are no plugins, no themes, and no core system to maintain. You can deploy your site and forget about it, safe in the knowledge that it will continue to run without any intervention.

Scalability

What happens if your website suddenly gets a huge surge in traffic? Will it be able to handle the load, or will it crash and burn?

WordPress:

Scaling a WordPress site is difficult and expensive. You will need to upgrade your hosting plan, implement complex caching strategies, and constantly monitor your server performance. Even then, a sudden traffic spike can still bring your site down.

Modern Web Tech:

Jamstack sites are infinitely scalable. Because they are just static files served from a global CDN, they can handle virtually any amount of traffic without breaking a sweat. The CDN automatically distributes the load across its network of servers, ensuring that your site is always available, no matter how many visitors you get.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is critical for any business that wants to be found online. So how do these two approaches stack up when it comes to SEO?

WordPress:

WordPress can be good for SEO, but it requires a lot of work. You will need to install an SEO plugin like Yoast, configure it correctly, and constantly monitor your site for performance issues. And as we have already discussed, the slow speed of WordPress sites can be a major handicap.

Modern Web Tech:

The performance and security benefits of the Jamstack give you a massive head start when it comes to SEO. Google loves fast, secure websites, and a Jamstack site delivers on both fronts. You have complete control over your markup, so you can ensure that your site is perfectly optimised for search engines.

Cost of Ownership

Finally, let's talk about the long term cost of owning and operating a website on each of these platforms.

WordPress:

The initial cost of a WordPress site can be relatively low, but the ongoing costs can quickly add up. You will need to pay for hosting, premium plugins, a premium theme, and potentially a developer to handle maintenance and updates. These costs can easily run into thousands of dollars per year.

Modern Web Tech:

A Jamstack site can have a higher upfront cost, as it requires a more specialised skill set to build. However, the ongoing costs are significantly lower. Hosting on a CDN is incredibly cheap (or even free for small sites), and there are no plugins or themes to pay for. The lack of maintenance also saves you a huge amount of time and money.

This is where the 3P Digital model really shines. We have absorbed the upfront development cost, so you can get a high-performance Jamstack website for a simple, all-inclusive monthly fee of just $100. It is the most cost-effective way to get a world-class website for your business.

Real-World Performance Comparisons

Let me give you some concrete examples of the performance differences between WordPress and modern web technologies. These are not theoretical numbers; these are real results from actual websites.

Case Study: E-commerce Store

We recently migrated an e-commerce store from WordPress (WooCommerce) to a modern Jamstack architecture. The results were staggering.

The improvement in conversion rate alone paid for the migration within the first month. This is the power of modern web technology.

Case Study: Professional Services Website

A law firm came to us with a slow, outdated WordPress site that was not generating any leads. We rebuilt it using modern web technologies, and the results speak for themselves.

The firm went from barely getting any enquiries to having more work than they could handle. That is the difference a high-performance website can make.

The Developer Experience: Why It Matters to You

You might be thinking, "I am a business owner, not a developer. Why should I care about the developer experience?" The answer is simple: a better developer experience means a better website for you.

WordPress: A Developer's Nightmare

WordPress was built in 2003, and it shows. The codebase is a tangled mess of legacy code, and working with it is frustrating and time-consuming. Developers spend more time fighting with WordPress than they do building great features for your website.

This translates to higher costs for you. When a developer has to spend hours debugging a plugin conflict or trying to optimise a slow database query, that is time you are paying for.

Modern Web Tech: A Joy to Work With

Modern web technologies are designed with the developer experience in mind. They are modular, well-documented, and a pleasure to work with. This means developers can build features faster, with fewer bugs, and at a lower cost.

For you, this means a better website, delivered faster, and at a more competitive price. It is a win-win.

Content Management: The Best of Both Worlds

One of the main advantages of WordPress is its content management system. The ability to log in and update your content without needing to write code is incredibly valuable. So how do modern web technologies handle content management?

Headless CMS: The Modern Solution

With a Jamstack site, we can use a headless CMS. This is a content management system that is completely separate from the front end of your website. You get all the ease of use of a traditional CMS, but without any of the performance or security drawbacks.

Popular headless CMS options include:

• Contentful: A powerful, enterprise-grade CMS with a great user interface.
• Sanity: A flexible, developer-friendly CMS that is perfect for complex content structures.
• Strapi: An open-source CMS that gives you complete control over your content.

With a headless CMS, you can update your content just as easily as you would with WordPress, but your website remains blazingly fast and secure.

Git-Based Content Management

For some websites, we use a git-based content management approach. This means your content is stored as simple text files in a git repository. You can edit these files using a user-friendly interface, and every change is automatically deployed to your live site.

This approach is incredibly powerful for developers, as it allows for version control, rollbacks, and collaboration. And for you, it means a website that is always up-to-date and easy to manage.

The Plugin Problem: Why WordPress is a Security Nightmare

One of the biggest selling points of WordPress is its massive ecosystem of plugins. There is a plugin for almost anything you can imagine. But this is also WordPress's biggest weakness.

The Security Risks of Third-Party Plugins

Every plugin you install on your WordPress site is a potential security vulnerability. Many plugins are poorly coded, rarely updated, and full of security holes. Hackers know this, and they actively scan for vulnerable plugins.

According to security research, over 90% of WordPress hacks are due to vulnerable plugins or themes. That is a staggering statistic, and it is one that should concern any business owner.

The Performance Cost of Plugins

Even if a plugin is secure, it can still slow down your website. Every plugin adds extra code that needs to be loaded and executed. Install too many plugins, and your website will grind to a halt.

I have seen WordPress sites with 30, 40, or even 50 plugins installed. These sites are slow, bloated, and impossible to maintain. It is a recipe for disaster.

The Modern Alternative: APIs and Microservices

With modern web technologies, we do not need plugins. Instead, we use APIs and microservices. These are specialised services that handle specific tasks, like processing payments or sending emails.

Because these services are external to your website, they do not slow it down or create security vulnerabilities. You get all the functionality you need, without any of the drawbacks.

Migration: Making the Switch from WordPress

If you currently have a WordPress site and you are convinced that it is time to make the switch, you are probably wondering what the migration process looks like.

The Future of the Web: Why Modern Tech is Here to Stay

The web is constantly evolving, and the technologies we use to build websites are evolving with it. Modern web technologies like the Jamstack are not a passing fad; they represent the future of the web.

Here is why:

• The Rise of Mobile: More than 60% of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Users expect websites to be fast, responsive, and easy to use on a small screen. Modern web technologies are designed with mobile-first principles.
• The Importance of Performance: Google has made it clear that page speed is a critical ranking factor. Slow websites are penalised in the search results. Modern web technologies deliver the performance that users and search engines demand.
• The Need for Security: Cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated. Businesses need websites that are secure by default. The decoupled architecture of the Jamstack provides unmatched security.
• The Demand for Scalability: Businesses need websites that can grow with them. Modern web technologies are built for scale.

Common Myths About Modern Web Technologies

The Verdict: Is WordPress Dead?

So, is it time to write an obituary for WordPress? Not quite. WordPress still has its place. If you are a blogger who just wants a simple, easy-to-use platform, or if you have a very tight budget and you are willing to accept the trade-offs, then WordPress can still be a viable option.

But for any serious business that cares about performance, security, and scalability, the modern web is the clear winner. The advantages are simply too great to ignore.

At 3P Digital, we made the decision to go all-in on modern web technologies. We believe it is the future of the web, and we are committed to giving our clients the fastest, most secure, and most effective websites on the market.