Why I Dropped WordPress for PayHip
By Kris Maze
Let’s Talk Author Websites
If you're like me and chasing the indie-author dream of selling your work online and watching the dollars roll in, you may have noticed your writing time has been replaced with website woes. Things you never planned for like broken pages, clunky checkout processes, and costly plugins just to keep the site functional, wear away at creativity.
WordPress worries began sucking up my time, my money, and my mojo.
Every aspect of the WordPress universe started eating up a ton of my writing minutes. For example, my sales process (which is necessary) required research, installation, and testing before running it live for my audience. In recent months, when I'd commit to a version of my website, it was a gamble whether it would work. I found myself trying to squeeze in sales after installing new plugins and before the next big update hit.
My marketing strategies felt like an ongoing series of "throwing something in front of my audience and hoping for the best." Hoping they had the patience to stick with me through a business model that never seemed to stabilize.
This was not the way I wanted to run a business.
Taking a Risk
So, I made a switch, from the accepted norm and online author WordPress standard, and I moved my entire author site to Payhip. There is an entire section on Payhip below, I promise. But here are the differences that made me switch:
- This platform is different in that it has a cost structure I can grow into as my sales expand. This makes it easy to keep costs within my margins.
- It's a store-forward platform, ideal for selling digital books and physical items.
- The process for building the new site was easy.
- The flexibility to modify their templates to fit my branding worked well for me.
- It offers the ability for authors to build courses.
- All of the above is included with their regular fees.
Not only did I reclaim hours of writing time each week, but I also simplified how I connect with readers and sell my books.
The risk of moving my site was also lessened when I backed up my WordPress files. If I need or want to, I can reconstruct my old site again.
Whether you’re an indie author or just toying with the idea, this post walks through why I made the switch, my experience so far, and why you might want to, too.
What was my WordPress setup?
For clarity, it’s important to understand my experience with WordPress. As a blogging host with Writers in the Storm Blog for many years, I consider myself proficient behind the scenes on the platform.
My own site was hosted by Bluehost, and I stayed longer than I should have because of a great multi-year “deal.” This led to many frustrations while planning book launches. I suffered through poor customer service and irregular ghost problems that caused chunks of my website to randomly disappear. I followed that up with a year of the much-more-stable Site Ground.
Bottom line: Everything was costly and took up way too much of my creative energy to run. So, I started to look into other options.
There were several considerations I needed to address to move my site to a different type of platform.
- I have a designated domain and emails, which I worried would disappear.
- I have an active blog with years of archives.
- My presence and footprint in the analytics. I was concerned that if I switched to a new website, I'd lose all that hard work of driving traffic to my site.
The Problem with WordPress for Solo Author-Entrepreneurs
Let’s be real for a second here. WordPress is powerful. But for many authors, it’s overkill.
Here’s what I struggled with:
Plugin overload
If you’ve played with WordPress, you understand the layers of plugins you need. It quickly becomes a daisy chain of technology—one for blogging, one for security, several to make the checkout process work, especially for taxes and shipping. And others to keep everything compliant with changing rules and laws.
Security fears
Having a WordPress site is like owning a piece of internet real estate. And if your digital storefront isn’t protected properly, your site is vulnerable to hackers and overwhelming levels of spam. One missed update and your site is wide open to a whole host of problems.
Hidden costs
Hosting, themes, plugins, and developer help add up quickly. There was a time when free versions were viable options, but as WordPress evolved, so did the costs for each plugin. Many are now yearly subscriptions, adding up to hundreds of dollars more.
Other essential costs, like having an email service to deliver your blog and ads, and paying for domain names and emails each year, also contribute to the rising cost of owning your own website.
Distraction from writing
Ultimately, I spent more time fine-tuning the store than creating. Content creation for marketing and incentives for my audience took over my creative writing time. This eroded my energy, and my manuscript word count suffered.
The final straw...
During a launch week, one plugin conflict broke my cart system entirely. That’s when I knew I needed out.
What is PayHip? (And Why I Tried It)
PayHip is an online platform that lets you sell digital or physical products directly to customers with no monthly fee. There are many platforms available now, and many have tiered pay structures. Here is why PayHip made sense for my author website switch.
Easy-to-use Storefront Templates
My store setup was easy. I chose one of their templates and added my brand kit to it. It was fairly stress-free. I was able to set up my payments, products, and email service within a weekend.
No Monthly Cost
The monthly fees are simple. For a 0.5% transaction fee, I can use all of their features, with unlimited products and unlimited revenue. There is also a monthly fee option of $29.00 if I want to have a 0.2% transaction fee in the future. This pay-as-I-go and grow model offers me the flexibility to maintain a lower overhead for my business.
Automatic EU/UK VAT Handling
This feature is a relief, knowing that I don’t have to research the legalities of selling to European countries. The stress of keeping up with ever-changing tax rules can take a lot of an indie author’s energy.
Built-in Checkout and Delivery
The selling process is seamless, and my test products were delivered smoothly. This platform accommodates selling physical products as well. I have had no issues with payments.
Integration with Email Marketing Platforms
The system easily integrated with my email program. It offers integration with most commonly used platforms including MailerLite and ConvertKit. I am using SendFox and have had no problems with email delivery.
It’s like having Shopify or Gumroad and a basic website in one dashboard, but more affordable and tailored for creatives. My writing has become the focus again.
Want to see my storefront? Take a look around HERE.
What I Gave Up (And Why It Was Worth It)
Of course, no tool is perfect. Here’s what I gave up:
- Deep customization – PayHip has a limited number of themes and layout blocks.
- Advanced SEO tools – No Yoast or keyword analysis dashboards.
- Traditional blogging features – You can post updates, but PayHip isn’t a blog-first platform.
But I gained peace of mind and writing time. And honestly? That was the trade I needed to make.
How I Made the Switch (in One Weekend)
It’s easier than you think. Here’s what my transition looked like:
- Backed up my WordPress site and exported my email list.
- Chose what to keep (ebooks, about page, newsletter opt-in).
- Created my free PayHip account and selected a storefront template.
- Added my brand kit and modified the site for my brand.
- Uploaded my products with descriptions, covers, and pricing.
- Set up my domain (you can use PayHip’s free subdomain or your own).
- Redirected key links from my old site to my new store.
Need help? PayHip has step-by-step guides for everything. I reached out to customer service and got a human response in both chat and email. The response time was less than 24 hours for each question.
SEO, Email, and Branding
I was worried about visibility, but PayHip plays surprisingly well with:
- Email platforms – Easy newsletter signup buttons and delivery for lead magnets
- Search engines – Custom meta titles and SEO slugs for each product
- Consistent branding – Upload your logo, custom banner, button colors, and fonts
And since I now share links from social media and my newsletter, most of my traffic lands exactly where it should: on the product page, not lost in blog archives.
One disclosure: Unpairing my emails was a little more complicated than I wanted to try on my own. I used the services of our in-house technology maven, Lisa Norman. She offers one-on-one time, custom built websites, and many classes like this one on website basics.
Final Thoughts: Less Tech, More Time to Write
As authors, our job is to write, connect, and create, not to wrestle with broken pages and plugin updates.
PayHip gave me back creative control, without the stress of website management. And for the first time in a long time, I feel like my website is working for me, not the other way around.
If you’ve been itching to simplify, don’t wait for a meltdown. Explore PayHip. You might find, like I did, that it’s more than enough.
What has your experience been with your author website? Share one recommendation or writer-beware moment for our readers in the comments below.
* * * * * *
About Kris
Kris Maze a speculative fiction author who writes at the intersection of science fiction, psychological horror, and emotional realism. She’s a longtime classroom educator and contributor to Writers in the Storm Blog, where she helps fellow authors elevate their craft. Her work leans into dark wit and layered characters navigating extraordinary situations with flawed, human hearts. To see her book collections (also under the pen name Krissy Knoxx) visit her website.
And sometimes, she babysits her daughter’s kitties.
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28 comments on “Why I Dropped WordPress for PayHip”
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When I left the WordPress.com world for WordPress.org hosted by Bluehost, I was buried by updates, plugin overload, and constant alerts of critical problems here, necessary updates there, upgrade offers, and a bewildering dashboard when the WP platform relaunched with blocks. As I grew as frustrated as you, I made the switch but to Wix. Because I do not sell from my platform (my publisher handles my book distribution and sales), and I do actively blog, I’ve been much happier on Wix with my lightened load.
Your post really nailed the challenge of WordPress! And your alternative looks great.
HI Jann,
The frustrations were absolutely were taking too much of my creative energy, and I'm sorry you had a similar experience.
Adding the sales aspect made it even worse for me.
But Wix sounds like a more simple option for blogging.
I'm glad you found a better way for your blog!
Kris
I've been using WordPress.com (the "free" version) for years, but only to get information about my books out, not to sell them directly. Outside of the ads I have no control over, it works and I don't have to pay anything or worry about upkeep.
What made you decide to choose Payhip over Gumroad? (Asking because I once used both but it's been years since I had a storefront on either.)
Hello Amy,
Gumroad just probably didn't make the top sites that I was considering. And I was already pretty tired mentally from the WordPress stress and went with one that made things simple for me.I was familiar with Payhip and I liked the possibility to create courses.
In a quick search, I see that Gumroad charges a ten percent, which is twice the cost of Payhip. But you can create courses and do pretty much the same things on there as Payhip.
And there also seems to be some disconnect with PayPal, which I use for collecting payments.
I've heard many other platforms that people have used. Perhaps someone has had a positive experience with Gumroad, I just haven't considered it. 🙂
Kris
How much is the class?
Hey Kris! Thank you, this was informative and helpful. I, too, have been feeling like WordPress is a time suck and money pit lately.
I’m intrigued by your article, but…
I was wondering do you know if Payhip is able to handle moving over post content such as highly trafficked articles I’ve written on my website? And pages such as my Regency Glossary or press kit? What about hidden pages and pdf content we share with readers?
Another question I have is did you see any loss in ranking?
Sorry to bombard you with all these questions, but you really got me thinking it might be possible to move off WordPress.
Hopeful,
Kathleen
(whispers to Kat) Check out Author Websites by BookBub.
Hee, hee, hee - Lisa, you do like that option!
It seems to work well for a lot of authors. BookBub is a very trusted resource.
I'm not sure why I didn't consider this option either.
You also like to say that Substack is a good option for authors switching from WordPress who really need the blog to function at higher level too.
Thanks for the tip!
Hi Kathleen,
The struggle is real, isn't it? Although my switch to Payhip was very easy to set up, there were a few sacrifices. I haven't fully tested it for traffic with a book launch yet either. There are some analytics included within the Payhip dashboard and I'll know more about that over time.
One of the biggest things I gave up was the blog. The features behind the scenes just don't exist on this storefront friendly site. Since I have a backup of my site, I could reinstall it if I really wanted that back. So far, I haven't noticed a big change.
So, migration of the blog isn't an option. I considered posting my more popular content on the site and still might, but there won't be the long trail of traffic attached.
The hidden pages and content is something I would handle using Bookfunnel. I currently use book funnel links on a sell-page type thing to sell certain products, or to share lead magnets. There is probably a way to do this with Payhip too, but I like the added security of Bookfunnel links to protect my content.
My site ranking and where I show up in a Google search are unknown right now. I tend to interact through email and social media. (I also have a Facebook store set up too, which I will play around with to see how well that works in comparison.) It will be interesting to see how important the SEO will be in the next few years, as the way people search is now often summarized and people are not going to sites as much to get information.
All in all, I didn't see a lot of risk in trying this method. Payhip will save me the monthly and yearly expenses that were draining my budget. It has also helped me recuperate my writing time and I have had enough energy to finish a few neglected writing projects. Woo hoo!
It may not be the right choice for everyone. Especially, like in your case where you have a very interactive blog history you would like to preserve. I'm very interested in seeing if you do switch to Payhip, or something else entirely. It a very confusing time to sell content online right now.
Happy Writing!
Kris
Thank you, Kris!
You answered my concerns. I appreciate you taking the time to explain in depth! I hope you run a follow up post in a year or so and let us know how it goes.
You are so right about it being a challenging time for writers to manage all this and write.
May the force be with us all. 😀
I agree with what you wrote about Word Press. Ever since I started my website there about five years ago, it has been a money pit that deepens every year. My blog site is constantly broken. For a long time, I was paying an extra $150 a month for technicians to fix it, only to have a different type of breakdown the following month. Elementor had many problems so writing my blogs was a nightmare. Text wouldn’t wrap around pictures unless I paid $150 for a technician to do it. It is super difficult to contact Bluehost. I could only chat with Bots who didn’t understand my problems. Bluehost tried to force me to pay for its expensive 3- year hosting for over $700. It wouldn’t allow me a one-year plan. I spent hours with a Bot, trying to get a one-year plan which I finally accomplished. And paying for yearly plugins on my website has been costly. But even worse, writing a blog with Elementor on the Word Press site takes many hours and often days. It doesn’t work properly. I’ve used Elementor on email newsletter sites with no problem. Word Press is no longer worth it for me.
Hi Deb,
I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. I should never cost you to get text to wrap around a photo. There was a big upsell and tricky little checkboxes to get you to buy more add ons when I was with Bluehost.
Writing a blog post should be an easier and fun way to interact with your fans, not endless hours of chatbots and expensive online support.
With so many easier options for creating a blog and selling your content, it sounds like you may be ready to make a switch yourself. I hope the best for you and that you will have a better writing website experience soon.
Kris
Thanks, Kris. By the way, I love your blog/articles. Great job!
What a great comprehensive post, Kris! Thanks for sharing the learning and solutions with us and our readers.
It's interesting...I do branding, social media, and website work for a living, which means I LOATHE website and socials on my down time. Do I know how to do all of it? Yes. Do I want to? No. And so I do nothing on my personal front. It's a problem.
It was great for me to hear that you were able to make the switch so quickly. Thank you...I'll check out this option.
...and courses! *wink, wink*
In this changing internet landscape, it is nice to see the variety in how authors are handling their websites.
Hopefully this will help authors to thrive more than survive too!
The behind the scenes drama of WordPress has become ridiculous. For over a year now, I've been encouraging writers to look at some of the other options and I've moved many people away from it.
(And BlueHost is its own special nightmare.)
I haven't had anyone come back and say they wished they hadn't left WordPress.
I *have* had many people tell me how happy they are with their new sites.
One of my favorites was an author who moved to a new platform and was stunned when they had a completed website in 10 minutes.
Have you seen that Payhip now integrates with Book Vault??? You can sell physical books and merch, too!
Re: SEO - long story, but for anyone reading and wondering about SEO - don't make decisions based on this rapidly changing space.
I've loved watching your story unfold, Kris.
Hiya Lisa!
As always you are a font of brilliance. Hugs!
Now, am I going to have to twist your arm to get you to tell us your favorites over WordPress?
I NEED to know. I am so tired of the extra expense for all the plug ins and the clunky interface.
You have been a rock and wonderful support through all of this process. Thank you!
I'll keep you updated on how it's going.
Kris
I'm so glad this is working for you, Kris. So far, I've not had the nightmares with WordPress that many others have so I'm sticking where I am but I foresee a time when I may need a Payhip site. (Filing info in my pocket for later). Thanks for the detailed explanation.
Thanks, Lynette. I'm glad you like it. And happy you are in the camp that has a functioning WordPress site.
For the longest time, I just thought I had to stick with the site for lots of reasons, like cost, building up traffic to my site, and the learning curve would take too much energy too. Having other options can be useful!
High five to fellow PayHip store users!
Super! High fives all around. (does a little dance)
I'd love to know how long you have been using PayHip? Do you sell digital and physical books? What advice would you give to someone trying to make their author site thrive?
And all this time I thought it was just me. Thank you for the informative post!
Nope, not just you!
It is sadly a pretty wide-spread issue. I'm also thrilled to see how many people reached out and joined in to the conversation.
Best of luck in your website situation. I hope you can find a solution soon.
Thank you for the information.
Sure thing, Denise! Thanks for reading. 🙂
Kris
The website isn’t mobile responsive. Might want to check that. Otherwise a great article
wow, the new website looks amazing. I am saving this post and will re-read again. I'm so impressed and thank you.