Leaving WordPress: what are your options?
Plenty of business owners reach a point where their WordPress site feels like more work than it is worth. The updates keep coming, the plugin bills add up, something breaks, or the person who built it has stopped answering. WordPress is a good tool that needs regular upkeep, and not every business wants that job. If you are thinking about leaving, here are the real choices and what each one means for you.
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The short answer
If you're tired of your WordPress site, you have four options. A code site has no plugins to update, and we make the changes for you. VoxelSite is also code, but you edit words and photos by clicking them. Sitejet suits bigger sites where you add pages yourself. Or you stay on WordPress and have it properly looked after, which is right for online shops and membership sites. WaTo Consulting in Adelaide builds on all four. The deciding question is how much you want to change the site yourself.
Your four options, and what a switch involves
1. A code site
We write your site in plain web code using AI tools. The pages are finished files, so there are no plugins (add-on software) to update and no database (the store WordPress keeps your content in) to patch. We make changes for you, billed hourly. A typical standard site is rebuilt in about a week. Suggested starting range: $3,000 to $3,500 plus GST.
2. VoxelSite
A VoxelSite website is still code underneath, so it has the same low upkeep. The difference is that you can change words and photos by clicking on them. You can also plug in your own AI and ask for changes in plain English. Suggested starting range: $3,900 to $4,800 plus GST.
3. Sitejet
A Sitejet website suits bigger sites with many pages. It is a visual builder, so you can add pages and move sections around yourself. It takes a little training to get comfortable with. Suggested starting range: $5,000 to $8,000 plus GST.
4. Stay, and have it looked after
Sometimes WordPress is the right tool and the real problem is that nobody is minding it. That is usually the case for online shops, membership sites, big blogs with several authors, and sites that rely on a plugin nothing else replaces. Managed WordPress hosting hands the updates and backups to us.
What moves across
Your words and photos come with you. So do your page addresses. Where an address has to change, we point the old one at the new one so Google rankings and links from other sites carry over. Contact forms are rebuilt on the new site. Your domain name and your email stay exactly where they are.
What does not come across by itself
Plugin features do not copy over. A booking calendar or a members area is WordPress software, so each one needs a like-for-like replacement or a rethink. We list these before any work starts so you know what you are getting.
Who this guide is for
- Business owners who already have a WordPress site and are tired of the updates and plugin renewals.
- Anyone whose site has broken or been hacked and who does not want to go through that again.
- Businesses whose web developer has moved on or stopped answering.
- Owners who are happy enough with WordPress but want to know if there is a simpler way to run a website.
How to choose
- Decide how much you want to change the site yourself. This is the main question. If you would rather send us an email and have it done, a code site fits. If you want to fix a line of text or swap a photo yourself, look at VoxelSite. If you want to add whole pages and rearrange them, look at Sitejet.
- Write down what your site does today. List the working parts as well as the pages. Think of contact forms, bookings, a shop, a members login, a blog. This list shows what has to be replaced and what you can drop.
- Check whether anything really needs WordPress. If you sell online, run memberships or have several people publishing articles, staying is often the sensible answer. Our guide on why WordPress sites break explains what proper care looks like.
- Find your logins. You will need access to the WordPress site and to wherever your domain name is registered. If your old developer holds them and has gone quiet, tell us. There is usually a way to get them back.
- Talk it through with us. Book a call and we will go through your list with you and say which option we would pick in your position. You can compare all of them side by side on our website platforms page.
How WaTo can help
- We build on all four options, so our advice is not tied to one of them.
- We handle the whole move, including pointing old page addresses at the new ones. See website migration and relaunch.
- We host sites on our own Australian servers, so the people who built your site also look after where it lives.
- Our own site, wato.au, is a code site. We run our business on the same thing we recommend.
- We are Adelaide owned and operated, and have been since 2001.
Related questions
Will I lose my Google rankings if I leave WordPress?
A careful move protects them. We keep your page addresses the same where we can and redirect the ones that change. Rankings can move around a little after any rebuild, so nobody can promise there will be no change at all. Our guide on leaving WordPress and keeping your Google rankings has the full checklist.
What happens to my domain and email?
They stay put. Your domain name is registered separately from your website, and your email runs separately too. Changing how the website is built does not touch your mailboxes.
How long does it take to move off WordPress?
About a week for a typical standard site rebuilt as a code site. Larger sites, and sites with plugin features that need replacing, take longer. We give you a timeframe once we have seen what the site does.
What do the options cost?
As suggested starting ranges for a small site of 3 to 5 pages, plus GST: a code site is $3,000 to $3,500, VoxelSite is $3,900 to $4,800, and Sitejet is $5,000 to $8,000. These are guides and not quotes. Your price depends on the size of the site and what it needs to do. To see what your current site costs you, our guide on WordPress running costs shows how to add it up.
My site relies on a plugin. Can I still leave?
It depends on the plugin. Simple ones, like a contact form or a photo gallery, are easy to replace. A shop, a booking system or a members area is a bigger job, and sometimes staying on WordPress with proper care is the better call. We will tell you which case you are in.
How do I change the site once WordPress is gone?
On a code site you send us the change and we make it. On VoxelSite or Sitejet you make it yourself. Our guide on changing a website with no WordPress login goes through each way.
How WaTo can help with this
- WordPress rebuild
- VoxelSite websites
- Sitejet websites
- Website maintenance
- Website migration and relaunch
Still not sure?
If you can't tell whether to leave WordPress or stay, get in touch or call us on (08) 7123 0805. Tell us what the site does and what is bothering you about it. We will say which option we think suits your business and why.
Mon to Fri, 8:30am to 5pm
