The founder of the Yoast SEO plugin, Joost de Valk, has published a critical review of the WordPress user interface (UI), saying that it makes it “harder to use” and may be the reason WordPress is losing market share to companies like Wix and Shopify. .
The official WordPress design philosophy states that they want to make WordPress easier to use with each new version released.
They write that their goal is that the “non-technically minded” user is the one they’re designing for, so they can have a fully functional website up and running in five minutes.
However, the reality of how easy WordPress is to use is a far cry from their philosophy statement.
Even WordPress developer himself, Matt Mullenweg, said that designing in Wix is faster than doing the same thing in WordPress.
WordPress User Interface Design
Joost points the finger at the current WordPress admin user interface as a factor in why WordPress is confusing to use.
He pointed out the fact that WordPress has three different user interfaces, forcing users to learn how to use each interface and complicating the experience of using WordPress.
To make matters worse, themes and plugins introduce their own UI elements, again forcing users to learn a completely different way of navigating and using the software.
An ideal user interface (UI) offers a consistent workspace so the user doesn’t have to stop and think about where all the buttons and links are.
Interaction with the interface should be similar on all screens, regardless of what they are trying to achieve.
“The current situation is simply bad: WordPress core now has basically 3 designs.
The post edit page I’m entering this on looks nothing like the post review page, which looks nothing like the Site Health page.
Then you go to the plugins, and there, too, each one has its own user interface. This makes WordPress as a whole more difficult to use.”
WordPress is Old Fashioned and Losing Market Share
In addition to the UI being inconsistent, Joost also pointed out that competitors like Wix have a consistent UI across all of their content management systems.
While the rest of the world continues with best practices, WordPress is stuck with the same inconsistent interface it has had for years.
Yoast insisted that a poor user interface is contributing to the flight of users from WordPress to competitors.
“So we’re losing CMS market share to companies like Wix and Shopify (who each have their own design system).”
Is WordPress Hard to Use?
The main feature that makes a closed source CMS like Wix attractive is that it is easy to use. One of the reasons why it is easy to use is the consistent design system.
PC Magazine awarded Wix its 2022 Editors’ Choice Award for Best of the Year, noting:
“If you want to build a website online with minimal effort and maximum creative freedom, look no further than Wix.”
WordPress has received no such award. However, in a review of WordPress in PC Magazine, the authors noted that it is not “particularly difficult.”
But the authors of the PC Magazine review also acknowledged the learning curve of using WordPress:
“…people unfamiliar with the process may need help.”
WordPress theme site ThemeIsle says:
“While WordPress requires no coding knowledge, customizing your theme is often not that easy.
By default, you don’t have quite the same visual editing experience as you would with Squarespace or Wix, although the new block editor is moving in that direction… Some poorly coded themes may also be difficult to customize unless you’re an advanced user.”
One of the goals of WordPress is to make it easy for users to build.
So it’s strange that WordPress is recognized as difficult to use, especially compared to closed-source alternatives like Wix, Shopify and Duda.
Joost de Valk cites the outdated admin user interface as one of the reasons why WordPress is so difficult to use.
Practically advocates for leadership in WordPress to prioritize consistent user interface design.
“WordPress needs a design system, and it needs it fast…”
Response from Twitter WordPress Community
The response to Joost’s article has been overwhelmingly positive, with many from the WordPress community thanking Joost for bringing the topic to their attention.
“Great write-up, summary, recommendations, tips, resources. It’s not often you get so much valuable information in one blog post.
WP Product Devs, take note! Settings UIs are important, whether you like the path Yoast has taken or not, I think it’s worth paying attention to.”
@Shock9699 tweeted thanks for the article and pointed out the mismatched menus in the WordPress admin interface.
“Totally agree. WordPress now looks like a 10/15 year old CMS. Especially with the new FSE coming in where the internal menus are different from the normal dashboard.”
@mnowak_eth tweeted that he agreed with the sentiments about the state of the WordPress admin UI:
“…Wordpress panel is starting to look like ancient enterprise software (you know the names). With the entire SaaS movement constantly educating the internet community about good and bad UX and ergonomics, the wp board has been overlooked.”
A standardized design shared by plugins and themes would create a seamless and consistent admin interface. @wpsecurityuser tweeted a call for a standardized design system.
“Please stop plugins running their own UI systems, update the wordpress admin UI and standardize everything, let’s be modern.”
@bitartem pointed out the value of having a design system in place so the WordPress ecosystem can know in advance what to expect.
“Another problem is that WordPress is in transition, I mean block editor and whole site editing, and new features are added almost every day, so if there is a design system, we need to know what WordPress will become in the near future. “
WordPress Admin User Interface Needs Improvement
It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that WordPress is in trouble when the person who created it says that things can be done faster with a closed source competitor than with WordPress.
Joost’s article focuses on the outdated state of the WordPress admin interface and highlights the need for a consistent design statement that plugin developers can adopt to create a more user-friendly end product.
Read Joost de Valk’s Blog Post
The WordPress admin UI needs to be better
Featured Image Shutterstock/fizkes
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