WordPress for newsrooms  ## Metadata - Author: [[Ben Werdmuller]] - Full Title: WordPress for newsrooms - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #wordpress - #newsrooms - #cms Author: Ben Werdmuller Source: Blog article Reference: https://werd.io/wordpress-for-newsrooms/ date created: 2025-09-09 00:00 --- # Title: WordPress for Newsrooms — Choosing Between Ghost, Self-Hosted WP, Managed WP, Newspack, and VIP ## Table of Contents: - [🧭 Overview and Question](#-overview-and-question) - [🆚 Ghost vs WordPress: When to Choose Which](#-ghost-vs-wordpress-when-to-choose-which) - [📰 WordPress for Publishers: Strengths and Caveats](#-wordpress-for-publishers-strengths-and-caveats) - [🧩 The WordPress Spectrum: Hosting and Solutions](#-the-wordpress-spectrum-hosting-and-solutions) - [🛠️ Self-hosted WordPress](#️-self-hosted-wordpress) - [🧰 Managed WordPress Hosting](#-managed-wordpress-hosting) - [🗞️ Newspack](#️-newspack) - [🏢 WordPress VIP](#-wordpress-vip) - [🔎 How to Choose the Right WordPress Path](#-how-to-choose-the-right-wordpress-path) - [🧾 Cost Considerations at a Glance](#-cost-considerations-at-a-glance) - [🔗 Call to Engage](#-call-to-engage) - [📚 References](#-references) ### References: Include a list of sources consulted and cited in the article. - Ghost Pro - WordPress core and ecosystem (plugins, themes) - Pressable (example of Managed WP) - Newspack - WordPress VIP - Examples mentioned: The Kyiv Independent, 404 Media, Hellgate NYC, Vox Media, NBCUniversal, TIME Note: The article is a standalone expert opinion piece; it references platforms and newsroom examples rather than formal citations. ## 📝 Summary: Ben Werdmuller answers whether news organizations should use WordPress and where they should move for CMS needs. He argues that for newsroom-centric publishing, Ghost and WordPress are the two best options. Ghost excels for small, membership/newsletter-centered operations seeking simplicity and low operational overhead. WordPress is better when you need deep integrations, many content types, distribution to off-site platforms, or enterprise scale—thanks largely to its open-source flexibility and robust ecosystem. For WordPress, there’s not “one” WordPress but a spectrum: self-hosted (maximum control, highest maintenance and security burden), managed hosting (balanced control/maintenance), Newspack (turnkey newsroom stack tailored for small/medium outlets, priced as a revenue percentage), and WordPress VIP (enterprise, white-glove, high scale, with CI/CD and compliance requirements). The practical guidance: match solution complexity to team resources—use managed services unless you have the technical capacity to operate and secure infrastructure reliably. ## 📖 Main Content: The article positions Ghost and WordPress as the two realistic newsroom-first CMS options, contrasting them with other platforms that often lock you in, lack editorial opinionation, are too developer-centric (static/gitted workflows), or skew to marketing/sales rather than editorial outcomes. - Ghost: Out-of-the-box, elegant, membership-native, newsletter-centric, low operational overhead with Ghost(Pro), but less suited for complex app-like integrations or many bespoke content types. Powers small/indie outlets like The Kyiv Independent, 404 Media, and Hellgate NYC. - WordPress: Not just a blogging tool anymore—now a powerful framework for publishing across web and off-site channels (e.g., Apple News). Its open-source nature and ecosystem provide flexibility, portability across hosts, and community resilience despite any leadership controversies at Automattic. It’s “not one thing,” but a family of deployment models: - Self-hosted: Total control; significant burden for security, updates, infra; risk if team capacity/discipline is lacking. - Managed WP hosting (e.g., Pressable): Infra, core updates, CDN, migrations handled; newsroom focuses on theme/plugins. - Newspack: Curated, turnkey newsroom toolkit (CRM, newsletters, ads) for small/medium orgs with limited staffing. - WordPress VIP: Enterprise-grade scale, reliability, and support; strict CI/CD; premium pricing. Decision guidance: factor in number of full-time technical staff, budget, and organizational size. Most teams should avoid re-inventing commodity infrastructure and instead choose a managed path that preserves focus on distinctive journalism and product work. ### 🗒️ Notes - Framing and scope - Answers a practitioner’s question about newsroom CMS strategy. - Focuses on editorial workflows and publishing velocity, not just site-building. - Why Ghost or WordPress - Alternatives are often: - Proprietary (vendor lock-in; limited exit options). - Overly unopinionated (too many blocks, not enough newsroom workflow). - Overly technical (git-based static content—non-starter for most reporters/editors). - Marketing/sales oriented rather than editorial-first. - Ghost strengths/limits - Best for membership/newsletter-centric models. - Managed Ghost(Pro) reduces operational load dramatically. - Less suited for complex integrations and bespoke interactivity. - Noted newsroom users: Kyiv Independent, 404 Media, Hellgate NYC. - WordPress strengths/limits - Mature, plugin-rich, multi-channel publishing (including Apple News). - Open-source resilience: choice of hosts, fork/modify as needed, vendor independence. - Ecosystem and community remain strong even amid leadership uncertainty elsewhere. - WordPress options - Self-hosted: - Pros: full control, custom infra. - Cons: security vigilance, updates, infra reliability; risk grows with complexity; vulnerable plugins/outdated sites are common failure modes. - Managed WP hosting (e.g., Pressable): - Pros: core updates, infra, CDN, migrations handled; you manage theme/plugins. - Typical pricing: up to ~ $500/month for newsroom needs. - Newspack (tuned for small/medium newsrooms): - Pros: packaged newsroom stack (CRM, newsletters, ads). - Pricing: starts ~$750/month; roughly pegged at ~0.25% of gross revenue (e.g., ~$2,500/month for $1M/yr revenue). - Tradeoff: higher as revenue grows; may feel costly during scaling. - WordPress VIP (enterprise): - Pros: white-glove support, massive scale (e.g., TIME spikes), top-tier infra. - Cons: strict CI/CD gatekeeping; premium pricing; not for budgets. - Decision guidance - Consider FT technical staff, budget, size. - Most should avoid self-hosting unless they have robust engineering ops. - Managed services let teams invest in differentiation (journalism, product) vs commodities (infra, core maintenance). - Simple heuristic: - Out-of-the-box newsroom platform with WP ecosystem: Newspack. - Outgrown Newspack curation + more dev capacity: Managed WP (e.g., Pressable). - Enterprise scale/security + budget: WordPress VIP. ## 📖 References: - Ghost(Pro): https://ghost.org/pricing/ - Newspack: https://newspack.com/ - Pressable: https://pressable.com/ - WordPress VIP: https://wpvip.com/ - Apple News publishing overview: https://developer.apple.com/news-publisher/ - Example outlets: The Kyiv Independent, 404 Media, Hellgate NYC, Vox Media, NBCUniversal, TIME Note: These links supplement the article’s mentions to aid verification and further exploration. ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea: “A newsroom should choose Ghost if memberships are central and simplicity is an asset; choose WordPress if you need complex integrations, multiple content types, or multi-platform distribution.” - Paraphrase: If your publication revolves around memberships and you value operational simplicity, Ghost is ideal. If your needs include intricate integrations, diverse content models, or syndication to several external platforms, WordPress is the more capable option. 2) Original idea: “Self-hosted WordPress offers complete control but demands significant maintenance and security vigilance; managed hosting and solutions like Newspack or VIP trade some control for reliability, support, and focus.” - Paraphrase: Running WordPress yourself maximizes flexibility but requires continuous attention to updates, security, and infrastructure. Opting for managed providers—ranging from curated Newspack to enterprise-grade VIP—reduces that burden, letting your team focus on what differentiates your newsroom. ## 📰 Newsletter: This week in WordPress, we’re talking newsroom stacks and smart scaling. If your publishing model leans heavy on memberships and newsletters, Ghost(Pro) can be a clean, low-overhead win. But for complex integrations, multiple content types, and distribution to places like Apple News, WordPress still wears the newsroom crown—especially with today’s spectrum of hosting options. - Learn: Want to level up? Start with modern block patterns, theme.json basics, and REST API fundamentals. Pair that with GitHub Actions for CI on plugin/theme repos. - Updates: Core performance improvements continue to land in the block editor; keep an eye on experimental features in the Gutenberg plugin. - Community: Big kudos to local meetups shipping contributor workshops—if you’re new, join a Docs or Test session this month. - New plugins to try: Editorial Calendar refreshers, Apple News connectors, and first-party AI-assisted image alt-text tools are trending. - Infra choices for newsrooms: - Newspack for turnkey CRM/newsletter/ads. - Managed hosts like Pressable when you’ve outgrown a curated stack. - WordPress VIP for enterprise scale and compliance. Links: Newspack, WordPress VIP, Pressable, Apple News Publisher, Gutenberg As always, invest in what makes your newsroom unique—and let managed services handle the plumbing. ## ✅ Action Items: Strategic prompt to align each article you review with your Developer Advocate and OSPO ambitions: - Purpose: For every article, explain how the piece advances open-source advocacy, contributor onboarding, and sustainable funding in the WordPress ecosystem, with a lens toward OSPO leadership. - Use this evaluation scaffold: - Open-source impact: Which OSS values (transparency, portability, forkability) are highlighted? How do they inform vendor-neutral decisions for newsrooms? - Contributor pathways: What contributor skills (PHP/JS, Docs, QA, Governance) does this article implicitly require or encourage? How could this inform contributor onboarding curricula? - Ecosystem sustainability: Does the piece address funding models (e.g., Newspack’s revenue-pegged pricing) that can sustain OSS-aligned media organizations? How might this map to foundation grants or corporate sponsorships? - Education design: Identify teachable modules (e.g., “Managed vs Self-hosted WP,” “Security hygiene for plugins”) and propose learning outcomes, exercises, and assessment rubrics. - OSPO alignment: Extract policies and guardrails an OSPO would set (dependency policy for plugins, security patch SLAs, CI/CD standards for newsroom code). - DEIB & transparency: Note how choices affect inclusivity (lowering technical barriers via managed services) and propose transparent decision records to include stakeholders. - Field advocacy: Plan talks, workshops, and documentation that convert the article’s insights into community education and contributor growth. - Deliverables per article: a 1-page OSPO brief, a contributor onboarding checklist, and a slide outline for a 20-minute workshop. How this article aligns: - Advocates OSS portability and choice (WordPress across hosts). - Clarifies contributor skill needs (security, CI/CD, editorial tooling). - Surfaces sustainable pricing models (Newspack % revenue) for mission media. - Provides curriculum anchors: CMS tradeoffs, risk management, infra vs differentiation. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - H1: Newsrooms using managed WordPress solutions ship features faster than self-hosted teams with ≤2 FT engineers. - H2: Newspack adoption correlates with higher non-technical staff satisfaction due to integrated workflows (CRM/newsletters/ads). - H3: Self-hosted WordPress newsrooms without formal security policies experience significantly more downtime/security incidents than those on managed hosting. - H4: WordPress VIP deployments reduce time-to-recovery during traffic spikes compared to non-enterprise managed hosts. ### 📊 Methodology: - Data sources: Hosting provider incident reports; newsroom engineering JIRA/GitHub velocity metrics; staff satisfaction surveys; uptime/SLO logs; CDN analytics; traffic spike events. - Designs: - Quasi-experimental matched comparisons between newsroom cohorts by size and staffing. - Before/after studies when migrating from self-hosted to managed/VIP. - Mixed-methods: quantitative uptime/velocity plus qualitative editor interviews. - Analysis: - Difference-in-differences on deployment frequency and lead time. - Survival analysis for incident frequency. - Thematic coding of editor workflow interviews. ### ❓ Questions: - What minimum engineering headcount is required to operate self-hosted WordPress securely at a mid-sized newsroom? - Where do curated stacks like Newspack begin to constrain innovation, and how do teams mitigate? - How does Newspack’s revenue-pegged pricing affect early-stage growth vs later-stage margins? - What CI/CD standards meaningfully reduce plugin-related vulnerabilities in newsroom contexts? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Comparative TCO model: Ghost(Pro) vs Newspack vs Managed WP vs VIP across newsroom sizes. - Editorial workflow latency mapping: drafting to publish times across CMS choices. - Security posture benchmarking for newsroom plugins and update cadences. - Impact of multi-platform distribution (Apple News, AMP alternatives, social syndication) on newsroom reach when using WordPress connectors. ### 💡 Implications: - Clearer TCO frameworks could guide sustainable funding and reduce vendor lock-in. - Standardized CI/CD and security policies for newsrooms may reduce incidents. - Evidence-based guidance on managed vs self-hosted could reallocate resources to journalism rather than infrastructure. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: - Readability: Plain-language professional blog; likely Grade 9–11 reading level. 1) Visual - Present: Structured sections, bullet lists. - Improve: Add comparison tables, decision flowchart, and architecture diagrams for hosting options. 2) Aural - Present: None indicated. - Improve: Provide an audio summary and a short podcast-style Q&A. 3) Verbal - Present: Clear, concise prose with examples. - Improve: Add analogies (e.g., “Newspack is a newsroom Swiss Army knife”). 4) Physical (Kinesthetic) - Present: None. - Improve: Include a hands-on checklist for evaluating hosts and a sandbox exercise. 5) Logical - Present: Stepwise decision criteria; cost logic. - Improve: Add a decision matrix with weighted scoring. 6) Social - Present: Invitation to submit questions. - Improve: Link to community forums, newsroom case studies, and Slack groups. 7) Solitary - Present: Reflective guidance for self-assessment of resources. - Improve: Provide a self-audit worksheet for capabilities and risks. 8) Naturalistic - Present: Not applicable. - Improve: Use sustainability analogies (e.g., “managed services as shared utilities”). ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - Screen readers: Likely standard HTML, but alt text unknown. - Improve: Ensure semantic headings, landmarks, and alt text for images. - Keyboard navigation: Unknown. - Improve: Verify tab order, focus states, and skip links. - Contrast/readability: Likely acceptable but unverified. - Improve: Test against WCAG AA; ensure scalable fonts and adequate line-height. - Text resizing: Unknown. - Improve: Use relative units (rem/em); ensure layout doesn’t break at 200% zoom. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) Assessment: - Cultural relevance: Examples are mostly Western/Anglophone, with The Kyiv Independent as an international example. - Improve: Include more global newsroom contexts and resource constraints. - Inclusive language: Neutral and accessible. - Improve: Define technical terms (CI/CD) inline for non-technical readers. - Neurodiversity support: Logical structure is good; some dense paragraphs. - Improve: More subheadings, bulleting, and summaries for scannability. - Representation: Lacks imagery/case studies across diverse identities. - Improve: Add case studies from community and ethnic media. - Psychological safety: Tone is supportive and non-judgmental. - Improve: Provide transparent pros/cons and acknowledge constraints explicitly. ### ✅ Logical validity: Tone: Pragmatic, advisory, and even-handed; not promotional. Strengths: - Balanced and nuanced views: Presents both Ghost and WordPress use-cases, recognizing tradeoffs. Strengthens credibility. - Improve: Add a short “when not to choose WordPress” section for completeness. - Causal reasoning: Links staffing/budget to feasibility of self-hosting; ties security incidents to outdated installs and vulnerable plugins. Plausible and experience-backed. - Improve: Cite incident data or surveys for added weight. - Logical flow: From problem framing to option spectrum to decision criteria; supports decision-making. - Improve: Add a decision matrix or checklist. - Appeal to facts/examples: Mentions real newsrooms and TIME’s traffic spike example. - Improve: Provide sources or links to case studies/benchmarks. Potential weaknesses/fallacies: - Hasty generalization risk: “Other CMSs” characterized broadly as proprietary/unopinionated/overly technical/marketing-first. - Why it weakens: Some modern headless/editorial CMSs may not fit this. - Fix: Add examples and acknowledge exceptions. - Appeal to anecdote: Security issues blamed primarily on “self-hosted installs left outdated.” - Why it weakens: Needs data beyond experience. - Fix: Reference security reports, plugin vulnerability databases, or managed hosting incident rates. No DARVO patterns detected; the piece does not deny/attack/reverse accusers. It is an informational guide without adversarial framing. 🔍 DARVO Analysis - Deny: Not present. - Attack: Not present. - Reverse Victim and Offender: Not present. - Notes: Tone is collegial and solution-focused; no manipulative rhetoric. ### 🔍 SEO Evaluation: - Keywords: Present implicitly: “WordPress for newsrooms,” “Ghost vs WordPress,” “managed WordPress hosting,” “Newspack,” “WordPress VIP,” “newsroom CMS.” - Improve: Add target phrase in first 100 words and H2s; include long-tail like “best CMS for newsrooms.” - Meta description: Not shown. - Improve: Add ~155-char description: “How to choose Ghost, self-hosted WP, managed WP, Newspack, or WordPress VIP for newsroom publishing—costs, tradeoffs, and decision criteria.” - Title tag: Clear; consider adding “Ghost vs WordPress” for search intent. - Headers: Good structure; ensure H1/H2/H3 hierarchy and include keywords. - Content length: Concise; could expand to 1,500–2,000 words with case studies and matrices for competitive SERPs. - Internal/external links: Add links to Ghost, Newspack, managed hosts, VIP, and example newsroom case studies. - URL: Already concise and descriptive: /wordpress-for-newsrooms/ - Image optimization: Add relevant images/diagrams with descriptive alt text and compressed files. - Mobile optimization: Ensure responsive layout; test Core Web Vitals. - User engagement: Add calls to action, decision tools, and related reading. - Schema: Add Article schema; consider FAQ schema for “Which WordPress should I choose?” items. - Social sharing: Ensure Open Graph and Twitter Card tags with a compelling preview image and summary. ## 🎯 Conclusion: For newsroom publishing, Ghost and WordPress stand out. Choose Ghost(Pro) for membership-first, newsletter-centered operations with minimal ops. Choose WordPress when you need complex integrations, multiple content types, and multi-channel distribution—then select the right flavor based on team capacity and budget: Newspack for turnkey workflows, managed hosting for flexible growth with moderate ops, and WordPress VIP for enterprise scale and support. The overarching principle: invest scarce resources in distinctive journalism and product differentiation, not commodity infrastructure. — End — - Summary: From self-hosted WordPress to managed solutions - URL: https://werd.io/wordpress-for-newsrooms/  [*I’m answering your questions about the future of news technology*](https://werd.io/ask-a-newsroom-technology-leader/)*, and about how news works behind the scenes.* [*If you have a question for me, enter it here, and I’ll answer it in a future post.*](https://werd.io/ask-a-newsroom-technology-leader/) Steve asks: > What do you think of news organizations that use WordPress, and where do you suggest they move in terms of a CMS? There are two CMS choices that I think are particularly well-suited for newsrooms. The first, [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=werd.io), is perfect for smaller newsrooms with a newsletter-centric distribution model. (I love Ghost’s elegance and use it for my own site and newsletter.) The other is, indeed, [WordPress](https://wordpress.org/?ref=werd.io). In my experience, other content management systems are at least one of the following: * *Proprietary*, locking you into a vendor’s ecosystem without an easy exit * *Flexible but unopinionated*, providing copious building blocks that you could potentially build a site with but not enough out-of-the-box support for editorial workflows * *Overly technical*, requiring that users edit stories in static text files and commit them using git – a non-starter in any newsroom environment * *Marketing and sales oriented*, rather than editorially focused In practice, these are the two systems that excel at sites that center on ongoing content publishing. ##### When to choose Ghost over WordPress A newsroom should choose Ghost if memberships are central to its strategy and simplicity is an asset. Conversely, it should choose WordPress if it needs complex integrations or customizations, multiple content types, or plans to distribute to multiple off-site platforms. Ghost’s [managed Pro offering](https://ghost.org/pricing/?ref=werd.io) requires significantly less ongoing technical involvement than WordPress, making it more suitable for newsrooms without dedicated development resources. However, most CMS platforms, including Ghost, benefit from some technical support for customizations and integrations. The biggest difference is architectural: you can best think of Ghost as an out-of-the-box CMS and WordPress as a framework for building more complex websites with CMS functionality at their core. As such, Ghost may not be suitable for newsrooms that need complex integrations or other interactive customization. Self-hosting is also arguably technically harder than with WordPress. But it’s pretty great. It powers newsrooms like [The Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/?ref=werd.io), [404 Media](https://www.404media.co/?ref=werd.io), and [Hellgate NYC](https://hellgatenyc.com/?ref=werd.io). On the other hand, if you need an extensive plugin ecosystem, WordPress is likely a better fit. ##### WordPress for publishers Although it started as a blogging platform, WordPress has come on in leaps and bounds for professional use cases. (Ironically, it is now less good at this original mission, for which Ghost is a much better choice.) Particularly when you consider its plugin ecosystem, it includes most of the features even very large newsrooms need to publish on the web as well as to off-site platforms like Apple News. WordPress’s open-source nature means that while recent leadership controversies at Automattic have created some uncertainty, the platform itself remains stable and newsrooms have multiple hosting options that provide independence from any single company's decisions. It’s an open platform, under active development, with a thriving ecosystem that allows newsrooms to choose functionality that meets their individual needs while embracing the open web. Because it’s open source, newsrooms can easily move providers and can modify its functionality to their hearts content. But it’s also not one thing. ##### Multiple WordPresses to choose from The platform comes in lots of flavors. Newsrooms need to pick between the following: **Self-hosted WordPress:** Take the WordPress core platform and plugins and host them wherever you like, managing the files and your deployment process. The upside here is complete control; the downside is that you’re on the hook for both platform and infrastructure maintenance, and you need to have the team to support both. *Costs:* The costs and complexity of self-hosting start small, but they grow quickly, particularly when you consider security monitoring and development overheads. WordPress doesn’t have a stellar security reputation, and it’s because of these installations: often people will take the open source platform and run it on their own infrastructure without having the time, resources, or skills to keep it safe and up to date. Those issues stem from outdated installations and vulnerable plugins; a degree of awareness is required to keep an installation locked down and current. **Managed WordPress hosting:** Platforms like [Pressable](https://pressable.com/?ref=werd.io) provide a fully-managed WordPress hosting environment. They keep the core codebase up to date, maintain the infrastructure for you, give you a CDN, and help with tasks like migrations. You’re then left to maintain your theme and any plugins. *Costs:* Usually newsrooms will find themselves paying up to around $500 a month. [**Newspack**](https://newspack.com/?ref=werd.io)**:** A managed WordPress hosting solution tuned for small and medium sized newsrooms that can’t dedicate more than one or two people to building their websites. It comes with a set of plugins and integrations that provide things like CRM, newsletter, and advertising support so that you don’t have to build those from scratch or assemble them yourself. This provides the same kind of integrated, turnkey solution that [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=werd.io) offers. *Costs:* Hosted Newspack starts at $750 a month and smartly tiers itself based on how much the newsroom is making: as of September 7, 2025, prices seem to be roughly pegged at 0.25% of gross revenue. To put this in perspective, a newsroom with $1M annual revenue would pay roughly $2,500/month – competitive with enterprise solutions but potentially costly for smaller operations as they scale. [**WordPress VIP**](https://wpvip.com/?ref=werd.io)**:** Enterprise-grade WordPress hosting with white-glove support, designed for larger newsrooms that need to scale to large audiences (the service hosts Vox Media, NBCUniversal, and TIME, for example; the latter received 100,000 requests a second for some of its Taylor Swift coverage). The support and infrastructure are top-tier (I’ve moved two websites to VIP so far and was impressed both times). But the trade-off is that your code needs to be run through VIP’s own CI/CD tests — as well as the cost, which is not unreasonable for an enterprise-level service but may be too high for many newsrooms. *Costs:* There’s no off-the-shelf published pricing, but it’s fair to say that WordPress VIP is not a budget option. I write about technology that serves journalism and democracy, informed by my work with newsrooms, open source movements, and startups. [****Sign up for a free subscription****](https://werd.io/wordpress-for-newsrooms/#/portal/subscribe) or [****book a call****](https://werd.io/call/). ##### How to choose a WordPress solution The right solution depends on: * The number of full-time technical employees on your team * Your budget * Your size Because of the time involved in maintenance and infrastructure, I think self-hosted WordPress is only really feasible for newsrooms with larger technical teams. For those teams, who may also be building more customizations, the extra control might be worth it. Everyone else needs to apportion their time and resources very carefully. Most newsrooms need to spend their time and resources on the things that make their offerings unique, rather than working on commodities like infrastructure or core WordPress maintenance. That makes using managed services a no-brainer: those things are fully taken care of, usually better than a small team could manage themselves. **If you need an out-of-the-box newsroom platform and want access to the WordPress ecosystem:** Choose [Newspack](https://newspack.com/?ref=werd.io). **If you don’t want or have outgrown the curated set of plugins Newspack provides and you have more development firepower:** Choose a managed WordPress hosting solution like [Pressable](https://pressable.com/?ref=werd.io). **If you have enterprise traffic or security concerns, need white glove support, and have the budget to back it up:** Choose [WordPress VIP](https://wpvip.com/?ref=werd.io). Whichever tier you pick within the WordPress ecosystem, I think it’s a solid choice. WordPress continues to have strong community support and an excellent ecosystem. The key is matching the solution's complexity to your team's resources; it’s better to choose a more managed solution that your team can execute well than a more flexible option that overwhelms your capacity. [*Do you have a question about newsroom technology? Ask it here and I may answer it in a future post.*](https://airtable.com/apprAIfJE1AEamVyC/shrA1LC8KUjDtR4Zb?ref=werd.io), WordPress for newsrooms, Ben Werdmuller, 01k4n6epg0jzzdp17vcc85dnch.