Weighing Up WordPress, Magento or Something Else?
An honest look at what each platform is good and bad at, so you can pick the right one for your business. I work with all three, so I've no reason to push you towards any of them.
What My Clients Say
Moving from Shopify to Headless Digital was one of the best decisions we have made for our business. Although Shopify had worked for us previously, we had reached a point where its limitations were holding us back. We wanted far more control over the appearance, functionality and day-to-day management of our website, without constantly having to work around restrictions or rely on multiple third-party apps. Headless Digital offered the perfect solution. The platform is flexible, AI-powered and has been tailored around the actual needs of our business rather than forcing us to fit into a standard template. From the very beginning, Adam took the time to understand our products, our customers and what we wanted the website to achieve. He has customised both the front end and back end to make the site easier for our customers to use and much simpler for us to manage. No request has ever felt too big or too much trouble. Whenever we have wanted a change, improvement or new feature, Adam has always been available to speak to and has acted quickly. The level of support has been a huge improvement compared with dealing with a large, faceless platform. What really stood out was that the support did not stop once the website went live. Adam also provided us with a structured 90-day plan designed to help give the new website a proper boost, improve visibility and build momentum after launch. That made the whole process feel like a genuine partnership rather than simply paying someone to build a website and then being left to figure everything else out ourselves. Our new website now feels much more aligned with our brand, gives us greater control and provides us with a platform that can develop alongside the business. For any small business owner who feels restricted by Shopify or another off-the-shelf platform, I would highly recommend speaking to Headless Digital. Making the switch can feel like a big decision, but from our experience, it has absolutely been worth it. If you are considering moving over, do it. You will not look back.
Lee Duffield
28 July 2026
Adam reached out to me with some really thoughtful suggestions on how to improve my existing website, and I’m so glad he did. He quickly put together a mockup that made it easy to visualise the changes, and he clearly identified the exact areas that needed attention. One of the biggest improvements was the booking system, something I was actively wanting to improve and Adam completely transformed it into something much more streamlined and user-friendly. Throughout the whole process he was friendly, collaborative, and incredibly helpful. He always made time for me, answered any questions quickly, and was great to bounce ideas off. I’m super happy with the final result, especially the new booking system. Highly recommend Adam if you’re looking to upgrade your website!
Danielle Lowery
23 March 2026
I can’t thank Adam enough for getting our website designed and running in such a shower space of time. We had a general idea of what we needed but Adam just ran with it and really made the brief come to life. He’s very knowledgeable about his product and can easily adapt to what you need. Thank you!
Michelle Cooper
28 July 2026
Adam is a pleasure to work with, he made building my website an easy task - and nothing was too much trouble for him. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow my online platform with Adam’s help.
vivienne rose
28 July 2026
Moved across my website to Adam @ headless and was a seamless move, Adam took care of everything and made it as easy as possible to work with. Really happy with my new website 5*
Amy Tadman
14 March 2026
Couldn’t have created our new business without Adam, his skills and knowledge of websites and ecommerce have been priceless. Thank you Adam
3 Ninjas Pizza
14 March 2026
If you're thinking about a new website or a move off your current one, the first question isn't which platform is best. It's which one is right for your business, your budget and the way you want to work.
I've spent 15+ years building on WordPress and Magento, and I built my own platform, HD CMS, on top of everything I learned. So I'll give you a straight comparison of all three, including where each one falls short. There's no single right answer, and I'm happy to help you whichever way you go.
WordPress
WordPress runs a huge share of the web, and for good reason. It's flexible, there are thousands of people who know it, and you can find a plugin for almost anything.
Good for: content-heavy sites and blogs, businesses that want a wide pool of developers to choose from, and projects where you need a specific feature that an existing plugin already handles well.
Watch out for: the plugins that make WordPress flexible are also the part that needs the most looking after. They need keeping up to date, they can clash with each other, and an unpatched one is the usual way a site gets hacked. Performance can suffer as you add more of them. None of that means WordPress is wrong for you, it just means it needs proper care.
If WordPress suits you, I'm happy to build on it, fix a site that's gone wrong, or look after one you already have. More on WordPress work.
Magento
Magento is a serious ecommerce platform. If you sell at real volume, with complex products, multiple stores or trade and retail pricing side by side, it can do things lighter tools can't.
Good for: larger or growing stores with complicated catalogues and order volumes, businesses that need fine control over pricing, stock and customer groups, and anyone who has already invested in a Magento setup that works.
Watch out for: it asks a lot in return. It needs proper hosting, it usually needs a developer for changes, and major upgrades are real projects rather than quick jobs. For a smaller store it can be more platform than you need, and the running costs reflect that.
I'm a certified Magento developer and a former Head of Development. If you're on Magento, I can keep it fast and stable, or tell you honestly when it's worth moving on. More on Magento work.
HD CMS
HD CMS is the platform I built and run for the sites I look after. It's aimed at small and medium businesses that want a fast, custom site without a lot of moving parts to maintain.
Good for: small and medium businesses that want a quick, custom site, owners who'd rather not think about plugins, updates or security, and anyone who wants to deal with one developer directly rather than an agency. Bookings and a simple shop are built in if you need them.
Watch out for: it's my own platform, so I'm the person who looks after it. That suits people who want a single point of contact, but it's a smaller pool than WordPress if you ever want to hand the work to someone else. It's also built for small and medium businesses, not large, complex catalogues, where Magento is the better fit. More on HD CMS.
So Which One Should You Pick?
A rough rule of thumb. If you sell at volume with a complicated catalogue, Magento earns its keep. If you want a flexible content site and a wide choice of developers, WordPress makes sense, and I can build or look after it for you. If you're a small or medium business that mainly wants a fast, custom site with as little to maintain as possible, HD CMS is usually the simplest answer.
The honest truth is the right choice depends on your business, not on which platform I'd prefer to sell. Tell me what you're trying to do and I'll point you at the one that fits, even if that isn't mine.
Sites Running Right Now
Not mockups. Not demos. Real businesses.
Bows Hair & Makeup
Duffy's Creations
Markings Tattoos
Amour Tattoo Hull
Not Sure Which Way to Go?
Tell me what you're on now and what's frustrating you. Book a free surgery and I'll give you an honest view of whether to stay put, fix what you've got, or move, and which platform fits.