WordPress is one of the most popular and powerful content management systems. Here’s how to decide if it’s the right platform for your nonprofit website.
One of the most common questions I get from clients is “What platform should I use to build my website?”
WordPress powers over 40% of the internet. But you might have heard horror stories about security vulnerabilities, plugins breaking sites, and the learning curve. For nonprofits operating on smaller budgets and lacking dedicated IT teams, is WordPress still the right choice in 2025?
In most cases, the answer is yes. Here’s how to decide if it’s right for you.
Fundamental questions to plan your website
Before choosing your website’s content management system (CMS), ask yourself three essential questions:
What is the likely scale of your website? A five-page informational site has very different needs than a fifty-page resource library. WordPress scales well for both, but knowing your scope helps you plan appropriately. If you plan to stick with a super basic site, other platforms like SquareSpace might be easier than WordPress.
How often will you update content, and who will do the work? WordPress makes it very easy to publish consistent content using the “Posts” feature. However, other kinds of web content, such as events, campaigns, or technical reports might require additional plugins or custom setup. WordPress can handle any needs, but each addition brings a new learning curve.
Who will maintain the site? Do you have a developer on staff or retainer? Or will someone on your team have to wear a new “web developer” hat? Technical issues will arise with any website. If you lack technical capacity, managed WordPress hosting might be a good option, costing a bit more but taking care of many of the frustrating backend management issues.
Why WordPress works for most nonprofits
WordPress started as a blogging platform in 2003. Today, it’s evolved into a full-featured CMS that can handle almost any website need. Here’s why it remains the default choice:
Low barrier to entry. Like any new skill, there’s a learning curve. However, most people can learn to add pages, upload images, and update content within a few hours. The visual editor works like a simplified word processor.
Universal hosting support. Nearly every web hosting provider offers one-click WordPress installation. This competition keeps hosting costs low and gives you plenty of options if you need to switch providers.
Endless extensibility. Need a contact form? An events calendar? Email newsletter integration? There’s almost certainly a plugin for that. The WordPress plugin directory contains over 60,000 free options. And many paid plugins provide a high return on investment.
Design flexibility. Thousands of WordPress themes give you starting points for your design. Premium themes (typically $50-100) offer high degrees of customization and support.
Available expertise. Because WordPress is so common, finding someone who can help is relatively easy. Whether you need ongoing support or occasional troubleshooting, WordPress developers and consultants are abundant and affordable.
WordPress tradeoffs
WordPress isn’t perfect. The same features that make it flexible also create challenges:
Things break, and someone needs to fix them. WordPress requires regular updates — both the core software and your plugins. Skip these updates, and you risk security vulnerabilities. If nobody on your team can handle basic troubleshooting or knows when to call for help, WordPress issues can lead to hours of lost sleep or lost opportunities when your site goes down.
Quality varies widely. One of the huge advantages of WordPress is the vast collection of community-created themes and plugins. However, this variety and open-source nature of WordPress means quality ranges from excellent to terrible. A poorly coded plugin can slow your site or even create security vulnerabilities.
The learning curve begins again (and again). Also related to the above, because different developers produce each theme and plugin, each comes with its own interface and approach. Different page builders, settings locations, and customization tools mean there’s not really “one” WordPress CMS — there are thousands of variations.
Making your decision
My recommendation: unless you have a specific technical requirement that rules out WordPress, it’s probably your best bet. The ecosystem is mature, the community is helpful, and the learning resources are everywhere. You can easily find skilled contractors who know WordPress inside and out (like Helix River!).
Start simple. Choose a clean, well-reviewed theme. Add only the plugins you actually need from reputable developers. Learn the basics before adding or customizing too much.
Most importantly, just get started. Your first WordPress iteration won’t be your last. You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t, and what you actually need over time.Need help getting started? The Site in Six Days methodology walks you through the entire process — including WordPress setup, theme selection, and plugin recommendations. Watch this space for regular content on Site in Six Days, or reach out for more information: