The Web Relies on WordPress. But Who Can WordPress Users Rely on?
WordPress now makes up over 1/3 of the web, but most sites still lack sufficient support.
The State of WordPress Support
Are you one of the 40%? If you have a WordPress website, you are.
According to W3Techs, WordPress now makes up 39.6% of ALL existing websites— whether they’re for personal blogs, small businesses, or household names like Encyclopedia Britannica. And while that’s an impressive number, it will only continue to grow.
WordPress was created in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little as an alternative blogging tool, but quickly became a website platform favored by developers and users alike for its stability, ease of use, and flexibility. In the nearly two decades since its inception, WordPress’ reputation has only improved alongside advancements in web technology like ecommerce and SEO, making it the preferred content management system for individuals and businesses everywhere.
“We almost always choose WordPress when building new websites,” says web developer Josh Porter of the Hudson Valley, NY brand and website development firm Volum8 Creative. “WordPress has proven its stability and longevity, it’s the best BYO website option for SEO, and it makes it easy to provide clients with the specific tools they need because of its flexibility and options for plugins.”
WordPress’ reputation has made it the go-to for individuals, businesses, and organizations moving their operations online as a result of the covid-19 shutdowns and social distancing rules. The events of 2020 have forced many traditional brick and mortar organizations online, with a majority of them choosing WordPress. WordPress usage statistics show that the majority of websites added between April 1 and December 31 2020 are WordPress websites. The industries most affected by covid-19— education, nonprofits, retail, food and beverage, construction and home services, gyms, and health services— have all jumped on the WordPress bandwagon in the past nine months, adding to the platform’s already impressive market share. And the shift to the digital economy is not going away anytime soon.
But what WordPress veterans know and newcomers will discover is that despite its usability, WordPress requires constant attention from its users in the form of backups, updates, plug in and theme changes, and more, to remain stable. And those updates often require an expert eye and developer-level knowledge. But the prevalence of WordPress is starkly contrasted by the lack of quality support and maintenance for the platform and its users.
“Anyone can build a WordPress website, but not anyone can be trusted to maintain and support it.”
-Charles Graham, CEO Pulley Support
A quick survey of WordPress support shops, review sites, WordPress discussion forums, and comment sections reveals a general dissatisfaction with current WordPress support and maintenance options. From individual contractors and small agencies who overcharge or don’t deliver on promises to large, faceless organizations that can never be reached, there is a common distrust of support providers amongst WordPress users. It’s pretty common to come across comments like the following:
Raising the Bar for WordPress Support
Fed up with the lack of standards for WordPress support and sentiments like these, a group of web designers started Pulley Support to establish a gold standard that didn’t exist in the WordPress community.
“Anyone can build a WordPress website, but not anyone can be trusted to maintain and support it,” says Pulley CEO and founder Charles Graham. “After we started supporting a few sites, we began to see how many websites were being built without a clear plan to maintain or support them. Many companies offer the world, yet fail to deliver. We started Pulley to set a firm standard and take care of people whose websites were hung out to dry.”
We know from personal experience that finding reliable website support is tough. And finding time to compare vendors and services is even tougher when you’re moving your business online in the middle of a pandemic. So if you’re one of the 40%— and we’re betting you are— Pulley is here to support you. Get to know us a little better (from a safe distance) by following this blog where we’ll share handy WordPress tips, hacks, and news every month.
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