Why AI Can’t Replace WordPress Yet

Key Takeaways

So, you're thinking about making a new website, and you're considering using WordPress. But, you've also seen advertisements for Squarespace, Wix, and all your friends are talking about these new AI website builders. So, what should you do? Well, in 2026, there have never been more options for creating websites. That's for sure. But, just because you can create a website, it doesn't mean it's going to be the right kind of website for your specific needs. So, in this video, I'm going to give you a detailed comparison of why you may want to build your website with WordPress, or why maybe it's time to try one of those other options out there. We're going to look at some of the biggest factors, including cost, ease of use, functionality, scalability, and SEO. If you haven't heard of WordPress before, it's the largest website building platform in the world, with over 40% of websites on the internet being created with WordPress. To put that into perspective, Wix and Squarespace have about 4% and 2% market share, respectively. WordPress is also open source, and it's community-driven. Users can move their website to any host they choose, and they're not locked into a single provider. This is a huge advantage when it comes to flexibility. But, you might be thinking, "This sounds great, but it sounds expensive." So, let's talk about that. At the time of this video, Squarespace's cheapest plan is $192 a year, and Wix's cheapest plan starts at over $200 a year. And keep in mind, you don't even get all the features for those prices. And those AI builders out there? Well, they can range from $20 to $100 per month. So, that would be $240 to over $1,200 per year. Compare that to WordPress, where the actual platform is free, and you can get a hosting plan for less than $40 a year. By the way, there's a discount code for hosting your hosting down in the description below. And then, you can go ahead and use is free WordPress theme and template to build out your website. By the way, if you're looking for a good WordPress theme, you can check out the Solis theme, which will also give you free access to hundreds of professionally designed templates. This makes it really easy to get going quickly and create a great-looking website in only one sitting. Now, I know some people out there, they're going to say, "Eric, you still have to pay for plugins and the Elementor page builder and other third-party tools." And well, that's the thing. You can use those tools, but you don't have to in order to create a great-looking website. And even with paying for Elementor or some other premium plugins, you're still far below the [snorts] yearly cost of the other website builders out there. Years ago, when I first started learning WordPress, the whole process seemed very complicated and confusing. But now, hosting providers like Hostinger, they make it very easy to install WordPress and they walk you through it all in just a few easy steps. Now, when it comes to what you can actually do with your website, I think this is where WordPress really shines. WordPress can be used to make anything from a simple blog or a landing page to more complicated websites like e-commerce stores, directories, membership sites, and other types of sites that require specialized tools or functions. In my opinion, the immense flexibility of WordPress is what makes it such a powerful platform. And WordPress has a huge plugin ecosystem with access to over 60,000 plugins. Of course, some of these are free and some of them are paid, but most plugins allow at least some version for free. Because of this, WordPress is very scalable. In fact, you would probably be surprised at some of the websites out there using WordPress. Websites like TechCrunch, BBC America, and The New Yorker, to name a few. In fact, I have been working on my very own directory for nightlife venues using CrocoBlock's plugins, and I use plugins like Jet Engine to create listing pages, Jet Elements for creative and professional styling, and JetSmart filters to allow users to easily search through content. If you want me to make more videos about how I use Crocoblock to make a directory website, let me know down below. When it comes to SEO, search engine optimization, WordPress is often considered the best platform because it has a clean code structure, SEO plugins you can use to improve your score, page optimization tools, and full control over the metadata. So, if your goal is traffic from Google or other search engines, WordPress is usually a great choice. Now, let's talk more about those AI website builders. With those AI builders out there, it's hard to have full control over the structure, logic, databases, and user interactions. If you want to build something unique like a directory, a membership platform, or a system with custom filters or dynamic content, WordPress offers a lot more control in being able to define exactly how it works. In other words, WordPress isn't just a website builder, it's a content ecosystem. For example, take plugins like Crocoblock or WooCommerce. With Crocoblock, you can create advanced dynamic listings, custom post types, filters, and relationships between the data. You're not just designing pages, you're building functionality. Same with WooCommerce, you can customize checkout flows, pricing structures, subscriptions, and backend logic in ways that match your exact business model. Now, if you try doing that with AI, you might get something that looks correct on the surface, but the deeper you go, the more you'll see that this is where AI struggles. It's hard to build out systems. Yes, AI can generate websites extremely quickly, but it lacks the control, depth, and precision that WordPress has. And with AI, things are much easier to break. You might generate code that works at first, but the moment something goes wrong, it becomes a big problem. You didn't write the code, you don't fully understand how it works, and now you're stuck trying to fix something that wasn't built with long-term stability in mind. So, if you want to create something with maximum control and flexibility, SEO and page optimization tools, e-commerce or other advanced business features, and the ability to grow and scale with you and your business, then I believe WordPress is still the best option for creating in the coming year. It does have a little bit of a learning curve, but with a good theme and a starter template, it can be just as easy as the other builders out there. So, if you want to learn more about getting started with WordPress, you can check out my tutorial down below, and I'll also leave my code for hosting your hosting, so you can get the biggest discount available. And let me know what you guys think. Is [music] WordPress really still the best option for making websites, or are there better options out there now? Thank you guys again for watching, and I will see you in the next video.