WordPress vs Custom Development: A Practical Framework for Making the Right Call

WordPress vs Custom Development: A Practical Framework for Making the Right Call Every time a client comes to me with a new project, eventually the question comes up: "Should we use WordPress or build something custom?" I've been asked this enough times that I've developed a fairly systematic way of thinking about it. Not a rigid rule, because the answer genuinely depends on context, but a set of criteria that helps me cut through the noise and make a decision I can defend six months into a project. Here's how I actually think about it. First: Reject the False Dichotomy Before we get into the framework, I want to push back on how the question is usually framed. "WordPress vs custom" implies that WordPress isn't custom, but a well-built WordPress site with properly organized templates, custom post types, and a clean plugin stack is absolutely custom software. It just happens to run on a well-understood foundation. The real question is: does the available WordPress ecosystem solve your s