There are times when WordPress might be the right CMS for your organisation. But there are many reasons some of the biggest, most demanding sites out there (the NHS, NASA, Google) use Wagtail.
Let’s get into it.
TL;DR Wagtail CMS vs Wordpress
WordPress can get you online fast
with low upfront costs or need for devs – but cracks in security, plugin conflicts, and scaling expenses often turn it into a liability as nonprofits grow.
Wagtail needs developer expertise
and higher initial investment, but delivers rock-solid security, flexible scaling, and long-term stability.
What’s the best CMS for nonprofits?
Choosing a content management system (CMS) is one of those decisions that seems straightforward at first. Until you’re five years in and your once-fresh platform begins to wheeze like a 50-a-day smoker every time someone tries to create a new page.
It happens all the time in the nonprofit world. And it’s not fun – because your digital home is often the first place donors find you, where supporters sign up, advocates chip in, and your impact gets shown. When it breaks, loads slooooowly, or gets hacked, it doesn’t just tense up your team – it shatters trust in your mission.
Two CMS options come up constantly: WordPress and Wagtail. WordPress powers roughly a third of the web and has that “everyone uses it” appeal. And to be fair, we’re not here to drag it – it’s popular for a reason. We’ve built on it before and clients have always been happy.
Then there’s Wagtail. Built on Django, chosen by orgs who care about long-term stability, and quietly running some of the biggest, most demanding sites out there: the NHS, NASA, Google Blogs, and more nonprofits than you’d expect.
So which one actually serves nonprofits better? Let’s have a proper look.
What nonprofits actually need from a CMS
Before diving into the best CMS for nonprofits, let’s get on the same page. What makes nonprofit web platforms different from, say, a portfolio site or a blog – and how does this shape your digital needs?
You need to manage content without thinking about it
That’s the biggie, really. Every CMS has the same goal: to help you manage the content on your platform in a way that makes sense and feels easy to your editors and developers.
You need to build and keep trust
Your digital platform reflects your mission and values. Downtime, security breaches, or weird, glitchy user experiences can shake confidence in an instant.
You’re probably going to grow
At least, that’s the goal of most nonprofits. More funding, bigger campaigns, global reach – your platform needs to scale with these ambitions, not hold them back.
Your content is complex
Tens of thousands of pages, event listings, volunteer portals, multilingual content, campaigns, donation flows – you’re managing way more than a basic blog.
Data matters
Donor information, volunteer details, sensitive case studies – you need a system that handles this securely and reliably.
Budgets are tight
Most nonprofits operate lean, with budgets under scrutiny at all times. Cost matters, but not at the expense of security or long-term stability. And if they manage to get a one-off chunk of funding for a rebuild, the pressure’s real – you’ve got to make every pound work hard.
With that in mind, let’s see how WordPress and Wagtail stack up.
WordPress: Quick to launch, shaky to scale
WordPress has been around since 2003, and there’s a reason it’s everywhere.
What WordPress does well
Easy to get started You can launch a simple WordPress site in minutes, often without hiring a developer. The admin interface is intuitive enough, with plenty of themes ready to go.
Massive community With millions of users worldwide, finding tutorials, forums, and help is pretty straightforward.
Plugin for everything Need a donation form? Event calendar? SEO checker? Email integration? There’s probably a plugin for it.
Low initial costs A lot of WordPress platforms can be set up affordably, which is really valuable when you’re just getting started.
Where WordPress starts to crack
Like we said, no shade. But we are practical. And it’s fair to say that what WordPress does brilliantly at launch can become problematic as your nonprofit grows:
WordPress is the popular kid, which makes it a prime target for hackers. Plugins often have security flaws, and keeping everything updated becomes a weekly chore. For nonprofits handling donor data, this isn’t just a massive pain in the backend – it’s genuinely risky for your organisation.
The plugin ecosystem that makes WordPress adaptable also creates chaos. Plugins fight with each other, break during updates, or get abandoned by developers. You can end up spending hours each month just sorting them out.
The more people visiting your site, the slower WordPress becomes. Scaling often means expensive hosting upgrades and constant performance tweaking – costs that add up fast.
WordPress wasn’t designed for complex data. If you need to publish interactive datasets, manage multiple campaigns, or create custom reports, you’ll quickly be fighting the system.
Many organisations find themselves using Jenga-style workarounds and custom code to make things work, which makes the platform fragile and harder to maintain over time.
So, is WordPress bad? Not exactly – but it’s often a temporary solution that nonprofit organisations outgrow. What starts as a sensible, cost-effective choice can become a liability that works against your mission rather than supporting it.
Wagtail: Built for the long haul
Wagtail is an open-source CMS built on Django. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, it focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well: managing content in a way that scales with your organisation.
What makes Wagtail different:
It makes editors happy Wagtail lets editors be editors, not developers. To your comms team, it feels like writing – with Lego-style blocks that take the brain strain from page creation and allows people to play to their strengths, without wasting energy elsewhere.
Genuinely hard to break Wagtail’s architecture makes it difficult to accidentally wreck your site. This lets your comms team flex their creative muscles in confidence, knowing they’re not a click away from bringing your platform to its knees.
Workflows are tailored to your team Need multiple approval stages for content, or someone to proof automated translations before they go live? Wagtail allows you to set the right permissions and workflows designed around your team, organisation, and needs – not the other way round.
Scales without drama Wagtail platforms handle significant traffic spikes without stressful infrastructure changes (imagine how many people are hitting the NHS site every day). That smooth performance during high-traffic periods is crucial for campaigns that really can’t afford downtime.
Security that doesn’t keep you up at night Instead of click-to-install plugins, Wagtail uses Python packages that developers integrate and test. This is more technical but results in more stable, secure implementations – Python and Django are known for their robust security. Naturally, Wagtail inherits these benefits, so you won’t be patching up vulnerabilities every week.
Handles complex data elegantly Whether you’re tracking donor relationships, managing event registrations, or crafting custom reports, Wagtail takes complexity in its stride. And when you need those vast datasets to mean something to your audience, it plays perfectly with data visualisation. Have a look at the nonprofits we’ve helped turn heavy insights into clear, compelling stories.
Complete design freedom Wagtail doesn’t dictate how your platform looks or behaves. It won’t lump you with a bargain-bin theme and call it a day. Instead, it lets you create pixel-perfect, true-to-you designs that honour your nonprofit’s unique brand identity – without looking like every other site in your sector.
Thoughtful evolution Wagtail continues to win users with 30% year-on-year growth, powering an estimated 15–20K sites worldwide. From building entire platforms without writing code to responsible AI integrations, we really value its hype-free evolution and generous open-source community, with editors always at its heart.
What to know about Wagtail
We love Wagtail, but it isn’t perfect for every situation. So here’s some stuff worth considering:
You’ll need to work with a Wagtail developer, either through an external agency or in-house hire. Though honestly, this is true for any serious website – the question is whether you’re building something that lasts.
Getting a Wagtail platform live requires more technical knowledge than WordPress. However, once it’s deployed, maintenance is typically much simpler and day-to-day use is a delight.
Instead of WordPress-style plugins, Wagtail uses Python packages that developers integrate properly. More technical upfront, far more stable long-term.
Wagtail CMS vs WordPress: The real showdown
| What your nonprofit needs | What WordPress provides | What Wagtail provides |
|---|---|---|
| Initial setup | Quick and easy, minimal technical knowledge needed | Needs developer expertise, takes longer to launch |
| Security | Regular vulnerabilities, endless plugin updates | Strong security foundation, minimal firefighting |
| Scalability | Gets expensive as you grow, performance suffers | Scales efficiently without major infrastructure changes |
| Maintenance | Ongoing plugin conflicts and troubleshooting | Stable and predictable, rarely breaks |
| Content management | Intuitive enough for simple pages, fragile with complex content | Designed for editors, works how your team works, easily handles complex content |
| Data management | Limited, difficult for custom structures | Excellent for complex data and impactful visualisation |
| Customisation | Theme and plugin dependent, samey templates, lots of workarounds | Complete flexibility, proper custom solutions that don’t look the same as every other org |
| Workflows | Basic, limited permissions | Easy collaboration, tailored workflows, granular permissions |
| Costs | Low initially, climbs with scaling and security, billable hours lost to CMS workarounds | Higher upfront, lower ongoing costs, more time spent on mission-led work |
| Developer experience | Generally not enjoyable, full of workarounds | Lovely clean codebase devs enjoy maintaining |
When WordPress makes sense
To be fair, there are times when WordPress might be a good option:
If you need something basic online right now and plan to rebuild properly later, WordPress can serve as a practical stopgap. Although, we have been known to launch a Wagtail platform for democracy in just six weeks.
If you absolutely cannot access developer resources and need something immediately, WordPress’s low barrier to entry matters.
Some marketing teams that need to rapidly test many different approaches might appreciate WordPress’s flexibility – though this comes with all the security and stability trade-offs we’ve mentioned.
Even in these cases though, it’s worth asking whether the short-term savings justify the long-term costs and limitations.
When Wagtail is the better choice
Wagtail makes particular sense for nonprofits that:
Handle sensitive data
Donor information, volunteer details, confidential content – if security matters (and it should), Wagtail’s solid. Our platforms have never failed a pen test.
Plan for growth you expect to If you expect to expand – more programmes, more donors, more impact – you need a CMS that scales with you, not one you’ll outgrow.
Value brand freedom If visual identity and user experience matter to your mission, Wagtail’s design flexibility ensures your website uniquely represents who you are.
Need complex content structures Multiple campaigns, giant research repositories, regular events, volunteer opportunities, multilingual content, custom workflows – Wagtail takes it all on without whinging.
Want long-term stability Tired of constant maintenance, plugin conflicts, security scares, and chasing tickets with agencies that ghost you once the main work is done? Wagtail – combined with specialist digital care – offers genuine peace of mind.
Have (or can access) development resources Whether through a trusted specialist agency like Cursive or in-house staff, having developer support helps you make the most of your digital investment.
Making the switch: WordPress to Wagtail
If you’re on WordPress right now and feeling the strain of its limitations, migration is absolutely possible.
- For the techies, the open-source Wagtail WordPress Import package, developed by Torchbox, helps streamline moving content from WordPress to Wagtail.
- For the non-techies (or absolutely-no-time-for-that-ies), we jump in and share the load.
Yes, migration requires developer expertise. But the investment creates a foundation that will serve your organisation for years – potentially decades – to come. Rather than constantly patching a leaky boat, you’re building something designed for the long voyage ahead.
The bottom line: How far do you want to take your mission?
When comparing Wagtail CMS vs WordPress, the core question isn’t which is easier to start with – it’s which will serve your mission over the long term.
- WordPress can get you online quickly, but it often becomes a liability as you grow. Security vulnerabilities, scaling costs, maintenance burdens, and technical limitations can work against your cause precisely when you need your web platform most.
- Wagtail requires more upfront investment, but it’s truly designed to scale with your organisation. It offers the security, stability, flexibility, ease-of-use, and longevity that nonprofits need. Your digital platform becomes an asset that grows with your impact rather than a technical problem holding you back.
For organisations serious about their digital presence – particularly those that handle sensitive data, plan for growth, value distinct branding, and want a platform they can trust for years to come – Wagtail is consistently the best CMS for nonprofits.
We help charities, think tanks, and nonprofits make web platforms that serve their missions for the long term. We’ve seen firsthand how the right CMS choices create foundations for growth, while the wrong ones create ongoing headaches nobody has time for.
If you’re thinking of switching to a new CMS or struggling to manage your current platform, we can help you understand your options, make informed decisions, and build something that truly serves your nonprofit’s needs – now and for years to come.
