[XCSme]

WordPress is more about the ecoystem than the CMS itself. If you just install WordPress without any plugins or themes, it's pretty useless.

WordPress is so popular because you will find a plugin or theme to fit almost any need.

The majority of the users are not developers that care about composer, WP source code or out-of-the-box potential. They are users who know that once they install this platform they can create whatever site they want in a few hours doing a few Google searches and maybe spending a few hundred bucks.

[lemonberry]

Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and Webflow all do this better than WordPress now.

[XCSme]

Are those alternatives free or self-hosted?

[lemonberry]

Also, Statamic is free for personal use now. If you've got some time download a copy and play around with it a bit. It really is the most fun I have had building a site in years.

Anecdotally I have heard that many clients prefer Statamic's and CraftCMS' editing experience over WP.

[XCSme]

Never heard of Statamic, but that's a really cool landing page!

[jackmcdade]

Thanks!

[lemonberry]

Nope. But anyone that needs one probably isn't a position to self-host and is going to require the services of a developer negating the costs of the services anyway.

They also get free suppport. You don't get that with WordPress.

[XCSme]

> But anyone that needs one probably isn't a position to self-host

From what I've seen, almost all hosting providers now offer one-click installs for WordPress.

[lemonberry]

Sure, but at that point the user is now paying for web hosting rendering the cost issue moot. And when they do run into issues who are they going to turn to? With the exception of WPEngine my, and my client's, experience with support from web hosts is garbage.

Aside from that, what's the UX like for a client spinning up a new WP site on GoDaddy or Bluehost vs. a new Wix, Weebly or Squarespace site?

In the end most of this is pretty subjective. If you like WordPress keep using it and recommending it. I used to love it and don't anymore. I think my clients get a better value using Statamic or one of the other options I've pointed to.

[highstep]

sure, but wordpress can cost much less to run

[lemonberry]

Honestly, I'd love to see some numbers these days. If you're a developer, sure. But I've seen very few non-tech types that manage their own WP sites. And the ones that do tend to put a a lot of time into tutorials of various kinds. Start throwing a price tag on that time and I suspect WP becomes more expensive.