shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Make WordPress?

Whether you're a developer, a designer, or want to push the community forward, we're always looking for people to join us in making WordPress even better. - make.wordpress.org

Depends. There is nothing to buy — Make WordPress is the volunteer contributor hub for the free WordPress open-source project, useful only if you want to contribute code, design, docs, or marketing. If you're shopping for a website builder, you want WordPress.org/WordPress.com or a simpler hosted alternative instead.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 12 public sources; evidence covers the WordPress project broadly — the Make portal itself is a contributor hub, not a product.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Make WordPress / WordPress core

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Developers contributing to WordPress core
  • Theme and plugin reviewers
  • Designers, translators, marketers volunteering
  • Open-source contributors building reputation

Not for

  • Anyone shopping for a website builder
  • Non-technical teams needing a simple site
  • Buyers wanting vendor support or SLAs
  • Anyone expecting a purchasable product

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Constant plugin vulnerability reports demand regular patching discipline

medium

Software is free; hosting, plugins, and upkeep are the real bill

medium

hosted plans lock features versus self-hosted

Pros and cons

Pros

  • WordPress core is free, open-source software
  • Organized contribution teams: core, themes, plugins, marketing, security
  • Published theme review handbook with clear guidelines
  • Dedicated security team and public security page
  • Bug bounty program for reporting vulnerabilities

Cons

  • Not a product — you contribute time, not money
  • WordPress isn't WYSIWYG; beginners report a learning curve
  • Plugin and core vulnerabilities surface constantly
  • satisfaction is mediocre: 3.7/5 across 4,155 reviews
  • Real costs land on hosting, plugins, and maintenance

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 12 sources - Active security team, security page, and bug bounty — but core and plugin CVEs surface constantly.

official x3review x2security x5news x2
  • Preauth theme preview injection to RCE (Click2Shell), Reported pre-auth WordPress core theme preview injection chain escalating to remote code execution.
  • CVE-2026-64638, Reported code-execution and security-bypass vulnerability in WordPress.
  • CVE-2026-0594, Reflected cross-site scripting in a WordPress component, reported January 2026.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Core software is free and open-source
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Not WYSIWYG; reviewers note a learning curve
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Massive plugin and theme ecosystem
  • Support quality: 3/5. Guess: community support only, no vendor SLA
  • Security posture: 3/5. Dedicated team and bounty, constant CVEs
  • 3.7/5 Trustpilot (WordPress.com) 4,155 reviews
  • $0 Starting price Core software is free
  • Yes Free tier Self-hosted WordPress.org costs nothing
  • 80M+ Sites on WordPress Per small-business usage guide

Pricing

Make WordPress / WordPress core

$0

  • Open-source, no license fee
  • You pay for hosting and upkeep

Security

Active security team, security page, and bug bounty — but core and plugin CVEs surface constantly.

  • Preauth theme preview injection to RCE (Click2Shell)Reported pre-auth WordPress core theme preview injection chain escalating to remote code execution.10
  • CVE-2026-64638Reported code-execution and security-bypass vulnerability in WordPress.
  • CVE-2026-0594Reflected cross-site scripting in a WordPress component, reported January 2026.11

What users say

Sentiment is mixed: strong ecosystem loyalty alongside frustration with complexity, maintenance load, and burnout.

“WordPress is burning me out i think. I can't stand it.”
Reddit, r/webdev
“I changed my mind, the block editor is great”
Reddit, r/Wordpress
“Wordpress is Driving Me Insane”
Reddit, r/Wordpress
Full analysis

Based on 12 public sources; evidence covers the WordPress project broadly — the Make portal itself is a contributor hub, not a product.

Not a product: Make WordPress is the free contributor hub for WordPress itself. Buyers need WordPress.org instead.

Methodology

Based on 12 public sources; evidence covers the WordPress project broadly — the Make portal itself is a contributor hub, not a product.

Sources

  1. Make WordPressmake.wordpress.org
    official
  2. Product security pagemake.wordpress.org
    security
  3. Theme Review Processmake.wordpress.org
    official
  4. Read Customer Service Reviews of www.wordpress.com — Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  5. Why is WordPress Free? What are the Costs? What is the Catch?wpbeginner.com
    news
  6. State of WordPress Security 2025patchstack.com
    security
  7. Where To Report WordPress Vulnerabilities: Bug Bountywordfence.com
    security
  8. WordPress — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    official
  9. I Review WordPress: Is It the Right Builder for Your Website?websitebuilderexpert.com
    review
  10. Preauth WordPress Core Theme Preview Injection to RCEpwn.ai
    security
  11. CVE-2026-0594 — Reflected XSSdev.to
    security
  12. What a WordPress website actually costs your business long termwebflow.com
    news

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