8 Reasons UK Brands Are Choosing Craft CMS Over WordPress in 2026

WordPress is the most widely used content management system on the web, running more than 40% of all websites according to W3Techs. It is free, familiar and backed by a huge ecosystem, which is exactly why so many businesses start there. But as a website grows, with more content types, more editors, more languages and more integrations, keeping a long list of plugins updated and compatible can become a job in itself.

That is where Craft CMS comes in. Craft is a content management system built for bespoke websites, with structured content, a clean editing experience and many features built into its core. This article sets out eight reasons UK brands are moving to Craft, where WordPress still makes more sense, and what to consider before you switch.

Is Craft CMS better than WordPress?

For bespoke, content-heavy websites, Craft CMS is often the stronger choice. It lets you model content around your business, gives editors a cleaner workspace with real-time previews, and includes features such as multi-site, localisation and a GraphQL API without relying on plugins. WordPress remains a better fit for simple blogs and brochure sites, tight budgets and teams that want to build and manage a site themselves using themes and plugins. The right answer depends on how complex your content is and how much you value long-term flexibility over a quick, low-cost launch.

Why UK brands are choosing Craft CMS

For brands whose websites have outgrown a simple setup, these are the eight reasons Craft most often comes out ahead, along with where WordPress stands on each.

1. Content is modelled around your business, not posts and pages

Craft has no default content structure to work around. Instead, you define your own sections, entry types and custom fields, so editors work with content named after your business, such as Products, Case Studies or Locations, rather than generic posts. Craft also lets you relate any piece of content to any other, which makes it easier to link products to case studies, team members to services or events to venues without extra tools.

WordPress takes a different starting point. It began life as a blogging platform, and its core is still organised around posts and pages. It does support custom post types, but many WordPress sites rely on plugins such as Advanced Custom Fields to add the custom fields and structured content that more complex sites need.

Because Craft has no default content structure, that structure needs to be planned before any content is moved in. COMMON, a York-based Craft CMS agency, describes planning the content model first and then migrating pages, media and data across, so nothing important is lost when a site moves to Craft.

2. A cleaner, calmer editing experience

Craft’s control panel is built around your content. Editors work with content types named after what they publish, such as Articles or Projects, each with only the fields set up for it. Live Preview lets them see how a page will look in real time while they are still editing, and drafts and revisions are built in, so teams can work on changes before they go live and step back to earlier versions when needed.

WordPress’s block editor gives editors plenty of freedom, but on larger sites that freedom can make it harder to keep pages consistent, and on a mature WordPress site the dashboard can fill up with menus, notices and settings added by plugins. For marketing teams publishing every week, Craft’s combination of structure and preview can reduce both errors and back-and-forth.

3. More is built in, so you need fewer plugins

Craft takes a more complete approach to its core. Image editing and transforms, content relationships, flexible field layouts, multi-site, localisation and a GraphQL API are all native features, and multi-site and localisation are included even in the free Solo edition. Craft does have a plugin store, and well-known plugins such as SEOmatic extend it further, but Craft says its more capable core minimises reliance on plugins.

WordPress’s plugin directory is one of its biggest strengths, with tens of thousands of free plugins covering almost every feature imaginable. The trade-off is that many WordPress sites depend on a long list of plugins from different developers, each with its own updates, settings and compatibility issues. Fewer plugins means fewer things to update, test and pay for over time.

4. A smaller security surface to manage

Craft describes itself as secure by default, with its codebase reviewed and tested internally and by third-party security researchers. Because Craft is designed to reduce reliance on third-party plugins and has no theming layer, there is less code from different sources to keep track of.

That matters because of where WordPress’s risk sits. WordPress core is well maintained: according to Patchstack’s State of WordPress Security in 2026 report, only six vulnerabilities were reported in core in 2025, and they were low priority. The wider ecosystem is a different story. The same report found 11,334 new vulnerabilities across WordPress in 2025, with 91% in plugins and 9% in themes, and 46% had not received a patch by the time they were disclosed.

No platform is immune to security issues, but the more third-party code a site relies on, the more there is to monitor, and a smaller, more controlled codebase is easier to keep on top of.

5. Multi-site and multilingual from a single install

In Craft, multi-site and localisation are part of the core. You can run several sites from one Craft installation and translate or localise content at whatever level you need, from a single field to an entire project. For UK brands running several regional sites, multiple brands or content in more than one language, that makes it easier to share content between sites while still giving each market its own pages, language and structure.

WordPress does include a Multisite feature, but translating and localising content usually relies on third-party plugins.

6. Freedom on the front end, and headless when you need it

Craft has no theming layer. Developers build templates from scratch using Twig, so the front end is designed for your brand rather than adapted from someone else’s starting point. Craft also includes a built-in GraphQL API, which makes it well suited to headless builds where content is delivered to a separate front end, an app or other channels.

Most WordPress sites are built on themes, which bring their own markup, styles and scripts that developers then customise or override. That can speed up a launch, but it can also leave a site carrying code it does not need. WordPress offers a REST API for headless builds too, but Craft’s structured content model is designed with this kind of reuse in mind.

7. A strong commitment to accessibility

Craft states that all new features are audited for WCAG 2.2 and ATAG 2.0 compliance. ATAG covers the accessibility of the editing tools themselves, which matters for teams that include editors with access needs, and accessibility is central for public sector bodies, charities and education providers.

Craft’s approach gained attention in 2020, when the W3C, the organisation that publishes web accessibility standards, selected Craft for its website redesign. Studio 24, the agency behind the project, said accessibility concerns with WordPress’s Gutenberg editor at the time were a contributing factor in its decision not to choose WordPress. WordPress has continued to develop since then, but for organisations where accessible authoring is a priority, Craft’s published commitment is a clear point in its favour.

8. Clear licensing and first-party support

Craft’s pricing is published openly. The Solo edition is free, Team costs $279 (about £205) per project for up to five users, and Pro costs $399 (about £295) per project with unlimited users and custom roles and permissions. Both paid editions include a year of updates, with updates costing $99 (about £75) a year after that, and both include developer support from the Craft team. Craft is also backed by a vetted Partner Network of development agencies, including many in the UK, so brands can find experienced help without relying on a single freelancer.

WordPress core is free, which is a real advantage for smaller sites. The costs tend to sit elsewhere, in premium themes and plugins, hosting and the developer time needed to keep everything updated and compatible. With Craft, the licence cost is clear from the outset.

When WordPress is still the better choice

Craft is not the right fit for every project, and choosing WordPress can be the sensible decision. WordPress is likely to suit you better if:

• You need a quick, low-cost launch: A theme-based WordPress site can go live faster and with a smaller upfront budget than a bespoke Craft build.
• Your site is a simple blog or brochure site: If you only need a handful of pages and posts, WordPress’s default structure may be all you need.
• You want to manage the build yourself: WordPress’s themes and page builders let non-technical users create sites without writing code, whereas Craft sites are built by developers.
• You rely on a specific plugin: If a particular WordPress plugin is central to how your business works, check whether Craft has an equivalent before you commit.
• You want the widest pool of developers: WordPress’s popularity means it is easier to find developers and freelancers who know it.

What to consider before moving from WordPress to Craft

If Craft sounds like a better fit, a few steps will help the move go smoothly.

• Audit your current site: List your content types, plugins and integrations, and decide what needs to move across and what can be retired.
• Plan the content model first: Map your WordPress posts, pages and custom fields to Craft sections, entry types and fields before any content is moved.
• Protect your search rankings: Carry over page titles and meta descriptions, and set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones.
• Replace plugins with care: Check which features Craft handles natively and which need a Craft plugin.
• Train your editors: Give your team time to learn the new control panel before launch, so publishing does not slow down.

Frequently asked questions

Is Craft CMS better than WordPress?

For bespoke, content-heavy or multi-site websites, Craft is often the better choice because of its flexible content modelling, built-in features and cleaner editing experience. For simple sites, tight budgets or teams that want to build their own site using themes, WordPress is usually the more practical option.

Is Craft CMS free?

Craft’s Solo edition is free for a single user account. Team costs $279 (about £205) per project for up to five users, and Pro costs $399 (about £295) per project with unlimited users. Paid editions include a year of updates, then $99 (about £75) a year for updates after that. Design and development costs are separate.

Is Craft CMS more secure than WordPress?

WordPress core has a strong security record, and most WordPress vulnerabilities are found in plugins and themes rather than core. Craft is designed to reduce reliance on third-party plugins and has no theming layer, which means less outside code to monitor. On either platform, regular updates and good hosting matter.

Is WordPress outdated in 2026?

No. WordPress is actively developed and still runs a large share of the web. It remains a good choice for many sites. The question is less whether WordPress is outdated and more whether its posts-and-pages structure and plugin-led approach suit your site as it grows.

Is Craft CMS good for SEO?

Yes. Craft gives developers full control over page markup, and plugins such as SEOmatic handle metadata, sitemaps and structured data. As with WordPress, strong SEO still depends on good content, site speed and technical setup.

Can I move my WordPress site to Craft CMS?

Yes. Craft offers an import command to help developers migrate WordPress content, and many Craft agencies offer WordPress migration as a service. A good migration plans the content model first, then moves pages, media and data, with redirects in place to protect search visibility.

Final thoughts

WordPress has earned its place as the web’s most popular CMS, and it remains a strong option for many websites. But for UK brands whose sites have grown more complex, with structured content, multiple sites or languages, larger editorial teams and a need to keep plugins under control, Craft CMS offers a more tailored foundation. The best way to decide is to look at where your current site is holding you back, and whether those limits come from the platform or from how it was built.

This article is an editorial opinion based on publicly available information, including Craft CMS’s own website, its published pricing, Patchstack’s WordPress security research and W3Techs usage data, rather than hands-on testing of either platform. Prices are listed in US dollars as shown by Craft, with approximate sterling conversions based on the exchange rate at the time of writing, and features, pricing and security figures change over time, so check the latest details with each platform before making a decision. Every website is different, so take advice that reflects your own content, budget and team before choosing a CMS.