According to John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, building a website from scratch is superior to using WordPress in terms of SEO.
A Reddit user recently asked whether using WordPress is more beneficial for SEO than creating a website from scratch. This is a common question that SEO practitioners may encounter in their careers, and similar inquiries include “Is WordPress better for SEO than Wix” or “Is WordPress better for SEO than [other content management systems]?” In response, John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, stated that there is no inherent SEO advantage to using WordPress over coding a website manually.
Regardless of how the question is phrased, the answer remains consistent. Using WordPress does not inherently provide a superior SEO advantage compared to other options. It is one of many methods to build a website that ranks well in Google search results.
Mueller's Perspective on WordPress and SEO
In response to the question of whether using WordPress is more effective for SEO compared to creating a website manually, Mueller has stated that:
“Using WordPress may not necessarily provide an advantage for SEO, but it can allow you to focus more on creating content rather than developing a custom content management system. However, some people prefer to build their own CMS, so the decision may vary from person to person.”
According to Mueller, WordPress’s primary benefit is user-friendliness compared to writing code manually.
However, this convenience only benefits the website owner and has no impact on Google’s site assessment. This topic is often raised and worth reiterating due to the misinformation regarding the relationship between WordPress and SEO. For example, one of the top-rated comments in the Reddit thread below Mueller’s response contains misinformation on this topic.
One individual claimed that “Google knows WordPress well,” implying that Googlebot can crawl WordPress sites more effectively than other content management systems. This statement is incorrect, yet the belief that WordPress is superior for SEO persists.
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