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Could substack Replace WordPress? I Don’t Think So And Here’s Why.

By Technology, Creativity, The Web, ThinkingNo Comments
Reading Time: 5 minutes

I recently learned about the existence of substack. Substack is a platform that allows anyone to share creative content, including: written articles, images, audio (such as podcasts) and videos with the world. It allows people to subscribe to content creators accounts, in a model that allows both free and paid subscriptions.

Substack’s unique selling point (I hate that phrase!) seems to be that it is easy for creators to grow an audience and to make money from the content they create. Substack boasts that it only takes 10% of creators earnings from paid subscribers, giving the content creators 90% of their earnings. As substack is currently free for content creators to use, it means that substack only make money when content creators do.

As a Writer, I can see the advantages of substack, which include:

  • It is currently FREE, there is no monthly subscription cost, meaning that content creators won’t be left out of pocket. This means that content creators won’t have to pay for domain names, hosting, etc.
  • It appears quick and easy for content creators to set up, use and maintain.
  • No technical knowledge required by the content creators – no knowledge of website design and functionality.
  • It has features that are designed to grow a content creator’s audience, such as notification of new content to subscribers.
  • Substack claim tens of millions of content consumers every week, which in theory means a massive audience. However, they don’t state how many paid subscribers they have on the platform.
  • It allows a variety of different types of content in one post.
  • Substack allows quick reactions (love heart icon) to content, re-posting/sharing content on the platform and discussion via comments.

But substack also has a number of disadvantages, which include:

  • Substack isn’t the only company to have this idea. Patreon is its direct competitor, who have been around longer (Patreon launched in 2013, substack launched in 2017). In some cases Patreon takes less of a percentage of subscription earnings from content creators than substack.
  • The market for paid content through a subscription is uncertain. As is the amount of money that content creators could make. When I refer to content here, I refer to content that is not of an adult-only nature (by this I mean not pornographic). It is safe to say the market for adult-only content exists and that some content creators are currently making good money from this sort of content. However even with this sort of content, some content creators are saying that the market is saturated and that they are making less money than they used to.
  • Substack is a business with costs and a pressure to make a profit. This could mean that at some point it stops being free and content creators get a monthly subscription fee, even if content creators aren’t making any money from the platform.
  • Substack could may also decide to look for other ways to generate revenue, including but not limited to advertising.
  • Substack could go out of business and creators could loose the platform and possibly some or all of the content they created.
  • Substack allows any creator to post any content. This means that content posted on substack will have less credibility with the audience and may erode the content creators credibility and reputation.
  • Substack doesn’t have any quality controls. This means that content could be factually incorrect, biased, misleading or completely inappropriate.
  • Substack has a history (at least according to Wikipedia) of not taking enough steps to protect users data due to privacy breach in 2020 and then a security breach in late 2025.
  • Substack lacks the ability for content creators to customise much of how their content is viewed. This might not be that important for written words, but could be incredibly important for other types of content.
  • Substack appears to let AI generated content on its platform, which will significantly impact human content creators. AI content may also make a number of content consumers avoid the platform all together.

For both content creators and content consumers there are more disadvantages to using substack, than advantages. But in order for me to justify my opinion that substack won’t replace WordPress, I need to write about WordPress.

(Image From: WikiMedia, 2026)

WordPress

WordPress (WordPress.com & WordPress.org) was launched in 2003 as a blogging platform. It has grown and developed over the years. Today 40-60% of all websites use WordPress.

I have used WordPress for my personal blog and website since 2008, although I remember experimenting with it well before then. WordPress can do everything that substack can, although some functions/features would require plugins.

WordPress initially started as a community platform, but as it grew it became more commercialised as it pivoted towards business users. This brought paid themes and paid plugins. Later, it brought paid subscriptions for some themes and plugins, paid on either a monthly or annual basis.

The choice WordPress developers and other non-official developers made to pivot towards businesses meant that they could earn money from their work, which you could liken to a content creator. This is great, they should be paid for their work.

But it means that the core WordPress platform, without any of the paid themes or plugins is limited for content creators. Content creators, especially those trying to build an audience that are willing to pay for their content (like myself) just don’t have the money to spend to get the functionality/features currently being offered for free by platforms like substack.

I am a Writer. I write this blog, books, articles and short stories. I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Writing this blog is a hobbie and I am happy to give away the content for free.

But my more substantial content like my books, articles and short stories, take me a considerable amount of time, energy and work to create. I believe that they have monetary value and that it is fair to ask for a small amount of money in return for them.

I am truly appreciative of everyone who reads something that I write, whether that be on my blog, or through one of my books, articles or short stories.

But the WordPress platform, without the paid plugins makes it difficult or in some cases impossible for content creators to:

  • Help you to find your audience.
  • Help you to grow your audience.
  • Help you to keep in touch with your audience.
  • Help you to take payments for products (whether that be physical or digital).
  • Help you to offer subscription services.

WordPress has dominated the market when it comes to Writers, for a number of years. But one of my hopes, is that services like substack cause WordPress developers to add some functionality/features into the platform that address some of the difficulties faced by content creators who can’t afford to buy the paid plugins.

Conclusion

I use the WordPress platform through a self-hosting company and have a domain name to help people to find my website. This costs me £25 per month. But due to the lack of functionality/features in the WordPress platform (without paying more money for plugins), this website costs more to run than any money I’ve ever generated through it.

But despite WordPress’ limitations, I think it will be around long after substack is a distant memory. Substack appears very good at marketing to content creators. But to me its business model seems to have far too many flaws. Their business model is based on an idea that people are willing to pay for content. But there isn’t any good data on:

  1. Whether people are willing to pay for content.
  2. What sort of content people are willing to pay for.
  3. The number of people who are willing to pay for content.
  4. How much people are willing to pay (or can afford to pay given the global economy) for content.
  5. If substack can generate enough income to not only meet the costs of operating, but also make a profit.
  6. The impact AI will have on content creators and their audiences.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Friday 8 May 2026

Why I Wrote FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS

By Happiness & Joy, Books & Authors, Creativity, Friends & Family, Health, LifeNo Comments
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Dearest Reader,

I recently released my latest book FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS. I wanted to share with you why I wrote it. To do so, I need to tell you part of my story. So, here goes:

Nearly 2 years ago now, after two years of being physically and mentally ill, I was diagnosed with Vasculitis.

Vasculitis is an autoimmune disease, where your immune system wrongly mistakes small blood vessels for foreign cells and attacks them. The vasculitis diagnosis came with a reduced average life expectancy.

The average life expectancy for someone with Vasculitis is 20 years from the point of diagnosis. This meant I had just 20 years of life left. I was 38 years old at the time of diagnosis.

This shortened life expectancy caused me to ask myself: Are you happy? The answer was no.

I have Type 1 Diabetes and was slightly overweight. My blood sugars were always too high. I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I was on two different antidepressants and an antipsychotic medication. I didn’t have time, energy or motivation to exercise. I didn’t eat well or sleep well.

I was working in the National Health Service (NHS) as an Alcohol Specialist Nurse. I enjoyed my face to face work supporting people with addiction issues. But the ever increasing workload and other stressors made me unhappy at work.

My relationships with family or friends were good. Or at least, at the time, I thought so. I spent a lot of my time with family or friends trying to meet their expectations of me – to be entertaining and funny, to be there to support them in difficult times, to take care of them. This is what I thought a good relative or friend did.

I didn’t have a partner. I didn’t go out on dates. In truth, I’d given up on romantic love. I’d decided that I just wasn’t lucky in that department.

Despite being a Specialist Nurse on a decent salary, money was always tight. When I really thought about it: I was very unhappy. I felt like I was existing, rather than living.

I decided to use my own counselling skills developed in the 18+ years working with people with addiction issues to counsel myself. I decided to look at my entire life, every aspect of it, and ask myself: What would make you happier?Then I would make the necessary changes. It was a daunting task.

Sometimes, it is easier to be stuck in an unhappy and unfulfilling rut, rather than be brave and face the truth. Especially when facing and accepting where I was in my life. This involved acknowledging the unhappiness and beginning to make changes.

Change is always uncomfortable and sometimes even difficult. Our brains like patterns of behaviour, they are key to our survival as a species. But patterns of behaviour are not key to a healthier and happier life.

So I got counselling. In my eyes, the Counsellor had two roles. The first was to ensure I kept being honest with myself. The second was to ensure that I made the changes that needed to be made.

I explored every aspect of my life. I started making changes. After nearly two years of hard work, I can finally say that: I am the happiest I have ever been.

Transformation complete? No. True happiness is a constantly evolving and ever changing process. One that requires daily checking in with yourself, navigating through the challenges of life and continuous work to ensure you stay as healthy and happy as possible.

Take a moment to think about a time your past when you were truly happy. Imagine living every day with that same feeling of happiness. This is why I wrote FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS, because everyone deserves to live a happy life.

Take care,

Antony

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Saturday 25 April 2026

Can Money Buy Happiness? – a section from my next book titled FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS

By Money / Finances, Books & Authors, Creativity, Happiness & Joy, ThinkingNo Comments
Reading Time: 4 minutes

I am currently writing a book on the topic of happiness, titled FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS, which is due for release later this year (2026). Writing a non-fiction book requires me to do a lot of research and explore my thoughts, opinions and feelings about what the research suggests. This is something I love about writing.

A question that has caused me to do a lot of thinking and feeling recently is the question: Can money buy happiness? I didn’t know the answer to this question, so I looked into the research. In this blog post, I share with you the section I’ve written for FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS, free of charge, because I’ve found it fascinating.

Your Money

The question that I often get asked is:

Can money buy happiness?

Research suggests that having more money does increase the likelihood of a person being happier, up until a certain annual income.

Once a person reaches around £75,000 (around $100,000 USD) per year, money no longer has any impact on how happy the person is, when compared with other people that have the same income.

I would like to acknowledge here that this is a very high level of income and that most people don’t have an income this high. At this point, I am answering the question above based on available research.

This amount of money stated above is correct for the year 2026. This annual income amount is likely to increase year on year, as the cost of living is ever increasing.

According to research, the reasons why more money increases the likelihood that a person will be happier include:

  • Basic needs are met: Enough food, clean water, decent housing, appropriate clothing, access to healthcare and access to education. This significantly reduces a person’s level of stress and can provide a person with a greater sense of security.
  • Increased choice and autonomy. The person has more options and freedom of choice in their life.
  • The person has money for comfort, pleasure, leisure and fun. This includes money for travelling and new experiences.
  • The person can use money to give them more free time. For example, they could hire a cleaner, cook, pay for childcare, all freeing them up from the time they would have spent undertaking these activities.

Some people who reach this high level of income or exceed and still seek to increase their income. Why do they do this?

One reason could be that they have a strong belief that more money = more happiness. This belief likely comes from their past experiences. Earlier in their career, increases in income probably did contribute to making them feel happier.

Although the research does suggest that more money increases the likelihood of being happier, it also points out that having any amount of money doesn’t guarantee happiness.

You could earn the amount stated above (or more) and still be miserable. You could equally earn a lot less and yet be incredibly happy.

My view is that no amount of money can buy happiness. Happiness is a feeling. A feeling we get through a wide variety of experiences. Yes some of these experiences require money, but others do not.

The best way to keep informed of the release of FINDING YOUR HAPPINESS is to sign up to my newsletter here. You’ll receive just 1 email per month covering: details of my new books/articles as I release them, notification of my latest blog posts and the very occasional special offer. This is not a spammy sales newsletter, but an opportunity to stay up to date.

Write soon,

Antony

My published non-fiction books include:

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Saturday 28 March 2026
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