The good and the not so good, what have you heard about WordPress and WordPress VIP? From “open source isn’t safe” to “WordPress VIP is CMS overkill,” there are plenty of myths and misconceptions in the wild that need addressing. 

Let’s start setting the record straight with these 10.

1. Anything based on open source code is insecure
2. WordPress is not for enterprises or larger businesses, only personal blogs
3. WordPress VIP is not involved in the development of WordPress
4. WordPress VIP will design your site
5. Going with WordPress.com is all you’ll ever need
6. WordPress needs too many plugins to be functional
7. Customers need extensive code review on WordPress VIP
8. WordPress isn’t performant at scale
9. WordPress VIP is overkill, needlessly expensive 
10. WordPress is old tech, not the place for innovation

WordPress VIP myth 1: Anything based on open source code is insecure

WordPress VIP proudly has its roots in open source. Rather than a liability, it’s actually one of our platform’s strengths. 

Yes, by definition, open source operates in the open, freely available to a worldwide network of developers. But here’s the thing: those developers are continually making updates, improvements, and patches to core WordPress code—in the open. 

If security vulnerabilities or bugs are found, fixes happen right away—again, in the open—instead of possibly festering for weeks or months or longer, often the case with closed source or proprietary software. 

Besides continual code testing by thousands of WordPress core contributors, “bug bounty” programs encourage the wider WordPress community to hunt for security vulnerabilities, e.g., brute force attacks, DDoS, phishing. 

In the end, we believe “more eyes on the core code” inspires trust and confidence in open source software (as well as platforms like WordPress VIP built on it) and less FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). 

Learn more about open source and WordPress security here. 

Did you know? 

WordPress VIP is the only WordPress enterprise platform with FedRAMP authority to operate (ATO), an important security certification for companies doing business with US government agencies. 

FedRAMP certification also means peace of mind for our clients in other high-risk industries like finance and healthcare who want to leverage the many benefits of the WordPress CMS.

Learn more about WordPress VIP enterprise-grade security.

WordPress VIP myth 2: WordPress is not for enterprises or larger businesses, only personal blogs

WordPress VIP is built on top of WordPress—and that’s a good thing if you’re a content creator or content developer. 

WordPress is far and away the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), powering digital experiences for more than 40% of the web, from personal blogs to small business websites to some of the biggest digital brands on Earth.

Unfortunately, many enterprise CMS tools are clunky, and hard to use, with steep learning curves. Not so with WordPress VIP, which features the consumer-grade usability of WordPress at its core and enterprise-grade security and infrastructure. As a result, WordPress VIP customers get the best of both worlds, benefiting from the intuitive content creation tools WordPress is renowned for. 

Did you know?

WordPress VIP was purpose-built for the highest volume, most security conscious, and most demanding digital properties—delivering content quickly, securely, and reliably for brands as diverse as Salesforce, Merck, Capgemini, CNN, Spotify, TIME, and The New York Post. Among other things, these brands enjoy the “democratization of publishing,” whereby anyone familiar with WordPress can create and publish content right away, without technical roadblocks or waiting for developers to assist.

P.S. Don’t let all those big names lead you to believe WordPress VIP isn’t suitable for up-and-coming brands as well.

Learn about the WordPress VIP platform.

WordPress VIP myth 3: WordPress VIP is not involved in the development of WordPress

In fact, we are core contributors to WordPress, impacting its development since Day 1. WordPress VIP is part of Automattic, whose CEO (Matt Mullenweg) is the co-founder of WordPress. 

That closest-to-the fire heritage gives us a unique role (and serious advantage) in driving WordPress at scale for many of the world’s highest traffic websites. From highly regulated industries and key government agencies to commerce experiences and top media sites, we provide the most robust, secure, and scalable architecture for WordPress deployments.

Did you know?

Our roots also go deep in the wider WordPress ecosystem, from which we’ve curated the best partners, developers, plugins, and integrations—thoroughly vetting their ability to operate at the highest levels. This allows us to “cut through the noise” and ensure that our customers get the best capabilities for their digital platform.

Learn about the differences between WordPress, WordPress.com and WordPress VIP.

WordPress VIP myth 4: WordPress VIP will design your site

While our platform is a stable and performant home for your digital properties, design and development are specialized tasks best handled by one of our qualified agency partners, vetted for their knowledge, expertise, and agility. They can help you develop beautiful and engaging WordPress websites for enterprise customers. 

Meet our Featured Partners.

WordPress VIP myth 5: Going with WordPress.com is all you’ll ever need 

For individuals or small businesses, WordPress.com—also part of the Automattic family—is a great choice, especially as it relieves you of the burden of trying to self-host WordPress. 

But if you’re a large enterprise, with thousands of potential content creators, high site traffic, high-profile risk, complex security requirements, and custom apps to deploy, WordPress VIP makes more sense—and can save you money in the long run over other enterprise solutions. 

Read Forrester Research’s Total Economic Impact Report for WordPress VIP.

WordPress VIP myth 6: WordPress needs too many plugins to be functional

One of the efficiencies of a fully managed platform like WordPress VIP is that we bake capabilities (big and small) that might normally require plug-ins—backup, caching, CDN—right into our solution. That said, we see that vast WordPress open source ecosystem of plugins and code integrations as a strength, not a weakness, giving WordPress users customization choice, not limitations.

Related, our Codebase Manager: 1) monitors security issues related to plugins sourced from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory, and 2) helps customers keep versions of the plugins in their wpvip GitHub repositories secure and up to date. Too, our network of technology partners also has a hand in vetting plugins and code they recommend to clients. 

Read more about our platform, security and code scans. 

WordPress VIP myth 7: Customers need extensive code review on WordPress VIP

False. 

That said, WordPress VIP customers on Application or Premier support can request review of custom code they implement (which is a good thing). 

Meanwhile, our VIP Code Analysis Bot automatically analyzes any code pushed to GitHub pull requests. The Bot’s purpose is to “help maintain quality of the code submitted, as well as to ensure security and stability of WordPress sites hosted on the VIP Platform.” 

Learn about the default behavior of the VIP Code Analysis Bot. 

WordPress VIP myth 8: WordPress isn’t performant at scale

Untrue. 

Just ask the DNCC or FiveThirtyEight, two WordPress VIP high-profile customers who have battle tested WordPress and WordPress VIP at scale under the most trying, demanding, high-traffic environment possible: US Election Week 2020. Both organizations shattered traffic records without downtime or security breaches. 

Did you know?

Whether it’s known or unknown traffic hitting your site and application, preparation and mitigation measures are mission-critical for any organization hoping to harden its properties, user experience, and reputation. 

From horizontal and vertical scaling to calling in CDNs, today’s businesses have a range of options to scale WordPress for high traffic while freeing up their engineering teams from always being on-call to handle spikes.  

Read our post Avoiding CMS Disaster: Scaling WordPress for High Traffic. 

WordPress VIP myth 9: WordPress VIP is overkill, needlessly expensive 

Sometimes, you get what you don’t pay for. 

A single security breach or sitewide outage can quickly turn “a CMS bargain” into an expensive calamity for your organization—from lost business to tarnished reputation. Sometimes in minutes. 

Can you afford that?

Naturally, every CMS vendor—low-end player to legacy DXP—puts a biased spin on pricing, platform capabilities, self-hosting vs. managed hosting, storage, et al. But, instead of wondering, what if you could actually prove the ROI of your investment in going with an agile CMS platform like WordPress VIP? That’s why we commissioned a study from Forrester Research.

Their TL;DR takeaway? Organizations who use WordPress VIP can enjoy a 415% return on their investment over a typical three-year period. Here’s why and the net present value (NPV) from Forrester’s analysis:

• Better reliability and security—$527,000 
• Ease of use and maintenance driving efficiency and cost savings—$887,000
• Faster, less expensive development—$1.3 million
• Improved business results from analytics—$718,000

Did you know?

Turns out WordPress VIP, even with a higher barrier to entry than lower-end CMSes, is actually for discerning, price-conscious organizations, from Series C to the largest enterprises, who recognize choosing the cheapest solution can be penny-wise but pound-foolish. 

Besides Forrester’s short list above, WordPress VIP customers enjoy:

• Unlimited storage, bandwidth, and CDN
• Proactive security along with performance monitoring and automatic scaling
• Dedicated account team and 24/7 support

Read Forrester Research’s Total Economic Impact Report for WordPress VIP.

WordPress VIP myth 10: WordPress is old tech, not the place for innovation

One of our favorite canards in the wild is the easiest to dispel, simply by surveying the CMS landscape. Because WordPress is used by 43% of the web, it’s no surprise that it’s often the first CMS that vendors support with new tech before anyone else (more on that below). On top of that, WordPress itself continues to take on the best of new, innovative technologies.

Here are three key reasons why WordPress and, by extension, WordPress VIP are, in fact, ahead of the proverbial technological curve:

• Access to innovation. When Facebook launched Instant Articles, for example, WordPress was the only CMS they supported on day one. In short, WordPress VIP customers get priority access to new stuff from the world’s biggest ecosystem of technology partners.

• New architectures without losing flexibility. Recent years have seen new ways of building sites and digital experiences, notably headless CMS. Whereas many headless CMSes require you to jettison everything and start over, WordPress supports headless without forcing you to give up the option to run single-stack or hybrid deployments in the future (or the world’s best creator tools).  Think innovation, not a straightjacket.
• New ways to move faster. WordPress continues to make life easier for content teams, helping them move even faster. A good example is Gutenberg full-site editing, which lets content creators quickly change sitewide elements without calling in developer help.

Did you know?

Befitting a technology leader, we also practice what we preach. 

That means adopting WordPress innovations like full-site editing and block-based content into our own site, incorporating the cutting-edge, agile CMS ethos into everything our platform stands for, and endorsing (rather than shying away from) broader enterprise solutions like headless CMS.

Read how Al Jazeera built their digital experience using headless WordPress.