Is wordpress getting harder to rank now?

I've noticed the same topical authority and content quality matter far more than just publishing regularly.

wordpress is not the issue but seo is definitely more competitive now. earlier regular posts could work but now content quality, intent matching and proper site structure make a bigger difference.

Google not ranks cms that's right. But the tech stack a cms is build on , that matters on seo.
Example: WP has old boring DB tech with PHP, deep internal link structure the googlebot not crawls, dynamic content same problem. And each new plugin you adding to your site is messing up your core code, do you think that google likes this?

Squarespace on the other side has; flat internal link structure, no plugins, a world-class cdn, a world-class tech DB with cockroach, and it has static content which always had an slight seo advantage over dynamic messed bloated content wp has. (from plugins).
Millions of people like that wp because it has plugins......

Which tech stack will be better for seo- what do you think?

Yes—ranking a WordPress site is harder than before because competition, content quality standards, and Google's focus on authority and user experience have all increased.

I have noticed the same It feels like ranking now depends more on content quality and user value than just posting regularly

The competition is definitely much higher than it was a few years ago

Because of old boring tech stack wp has. Get some knowledge how dynamic content + old tech php DB is the worst tech stack you can use . This is why the index bot not crawls it today, only little bit scratching, not more.

Listen......
WP it's core out of the box has these issues: a chaos cms the worst for your SEO:

without clean site structure- your content is useless for Google and seo
without clean site structure - build authority is useless
without clean structure - WordPress out of the box is useless cms
you not have a clue what quality site structure is today in google's eye.

This is why big Influencers and media news sites rank much higher and have more multiple listings in serps with their clean high quality site structur with their WordPress.com VIP plan, the free WordPress .org Version not has. Ok they have tons of backlinks too, but a clean quality site structure is the second part of the SEO game many SEO Gurus and Agencies not knowing about. They telling you that the problems are backlinks and content- but the core issues of wp for a clean quality site structure is much deeper.....

By the way, the new Squarespace 7.1 has out of the box not these core issues who are the worst for your authority and SEO ! Yes check some worpdress sites (who have a blog too) with screaming frog then you will know why google stops indexing them !

The setup/ method is not so new it's 12 years old, but the most people not understand this, and you find rarely this deep information in the web. You will understand it when you check some wp sites and new squarespace sites 7.1 with screaming frog, and when you learn the differencies of the modern tech stack squarespace has or the webstudio tech stack, which is beyond the standard free wp version.

Take a deep breath into that wordpress matrix ! The wordpress default setup matrix is a big lie and SEO trap.

WordPress isn't the problem at all. The old lifestyle of just posting and praying for Google traffic is over. If your content is actually good and brings real value, you just need to stop relying entirely on SEO. Push your links to active social media groups and forums to bring in your own audience.

I think competition is more higher than before now. even with good keyword research, it takes longer for content to gain engagement.

Been in those shoes and it’s a slog. What helped me was rewriting old posts using fresh stats and adding unique graphics or short videos. For internal links, I use a spreadsheet to map out connections so I’m not repeating stuff or leaving orphaned pages. Some folks are getting good results with programmatic SEO, but I’d only roll that out on low-stakes topics until you see how Google responds.

I do not think wordpress is the issue. Most of the difference seems to come from how competitive search has become. The sites i have seen doing well are spending more time improving existing articles, strengthening internal links and covering topics more completely instead of just publishing more posts.

Yes ranking on WordPress feels harder now because competition increased Google updates changed and quality content matters more than before

yeah, happened to me once also.

I was publishing new posts on a regular basis but I wasn’t getting much traffic. I learned that just posting content isn’t enough – updating old articles and improving internal linking made a bigger difference.

Then the results began to improve.

Yes—ranking a WordPress site is generally getting more competitive, but success depends far more on content quality, topical authority, user experience, and backlinks than on WordPress itself.

My blog is still getting traffic, but it grows much slower now. I just kkeep posting and try to make every article better than the last one.

WP isnt the issue imo. Google is just keeping more traffic inside search now, plus everyone is pumping AI content. Publishing more alone wont cut it anymore.

The WP community will never learn......

wordpress content still works, but the post and watch traffic roll in days feel dead.
even with decent keyword research + regular posting, it’s like google takes forever to move you

No, It isn't hard. I am ranking keywords with decent articles in low niche competition. but my website is already well established my niche.
The articles i am publishing are guides i am writing with my personal research not total AI slop.

Not really but competition is much higher now, so just publishing content isn't enough anymore. Promotion and topical authority matter a lot..