WordPress is a great tool to deliver content and brand for small businesses that need a web presence. However, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Anyone with a little time and some technical knowledge can install WordPress, pick a theme, and boot up a basic website. But what is that worth on its own? On the content side of things, building a web presence is about helping clients organize and develop content that speaks to an audience. It’s a labor intensive process that requires personal attention to all of the details. On the design end of things, to really customize a theme requires a similar commitment to design and code quality. In order for this service to ultimately benefit end users, Automattic would need to invest a huge amount of manpower on both sides of this equation, and I just don’t see it happening. Also – no offense to any of my clients – I spend a huge amount of time just explaining how all of the pieces fit together. This is worth it to me in building long-term relationships which pay off when those relationships grow, but not something I can see a big company investing for a product with a $5k price tag.