WordPress can be used as a company intranet—either hosted locally or online—with themes like Woffice and plugins for access control, knowledge bases, social interaction, and project management. Yet, although it’s widely used (43 %+ of web platforms run on WordPress), it wasn’t designed as an intranet, and adapting it for internal use brings unique challenges .

One core challenge is deciding between building vs buying: a DIY WordPress intranet demands technical know-how, server space, and ongoing maintenance, while off-the-shelf plugins/themes may deliver limited capabilities and may become obsolete . You’ll also need a carefully chosen combination of intranet plugins—BuddyPress, knowledge base tools, project managers, Google Drive embedders, access restrictions—and a theme that supports intranet design.

Finally, usability and support significantly affect adoption. While WordPress offers “5-minute installs” and user-friendly basics, building an intranet adds complexity. Many users find it more taxing than expected, especially without IT expertise, and ultimately pivot to purpose-built platforms for ease and long-term scalability.