Why WordPress?

Discussion in 'PHP' started by GOPalmer, Dec 26, 2009.

  1. #1
    This is probably not the best place to put this but I couldn't find anywhere more suitable.

    I've been seeing an increasing use of wordpress in place of a full blown CMSs.
    I've even had clients recently enquiring about migrating sites from real CMSs like joomla to wordpress.

    This has got me thinking, why wordpress, whats is so special about it?

    My opinion has always been that wordpress is a glorified blogging platform. It provides some very basic content management but that's it. It is actually a rather poorly build system, security seems to be an after thought, speed is often an issue, even simple things like SSL support is unobtainable without serious modification and extendibility is a nightmare [start mini rant]How can a theme possibility be considered a viable way of extending the core functionality of the system? It's ludicrous[end mini rant].

    Id be interested to know what you all think.
    Do you think workpress is over used?
    Have you seen instances where wordpress is being used but is completely unsuitable for the application?
    Do you think there is a whole in the market? Is there need for a middle ground?
    Why do you think wordpress is so popular?

    Just to be clear, when I talk about a CMS I generally mean powerful portal style systems. I understand wordpress is by definition a CMS but my point is that its primarily a blogging platform and is limited in its content management.

    Best Regards, George
     
    GOPalmer, Dec 26, 2009 IP
  2. skilledphpcoder

    skilledphpcoder Peon

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    #2
    wordpress is only good with some good cache plugin... also that makes static HTML pages... and don't need to use mysql by every pageload. only when comments are posted. else... it's the easiest tool if you are a noob and can't code your own script.
     
    skilledphpcoder, Dec 27, 2009 IP
  3. GOPalmer

    GOPalmer Member

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    #3
    Cache plugins may help with speed issues to some extent but that's nothing compared to its major shortcomings as CMS. The fact that no wordpress installation is complete without a host of plugins both fixing and provided expected functionality is a joke.

    I'm not too sure on your point about ease of use. Yes it may be an easy blogging platform but in the context of a CMS I've seen some methods for overcoming worpresses short comings that may even confuse experienced users.

    Best Regards, George
     
    GOPalmer, Dec 27, 2009 IP
  4. sakto

    sakto Active Member

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    #4
    I guess Wordpress is popular because of its "overhyped" seo features.
     
    sakto, Dec 27, 2009 IP
  5. ankit_frenz

    ankit_frenz Active Member

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    #5
    Its popular cause
    Simple to use and maintain
    Highly flexible
    Open source
    GREAT SEO SUPPORT
     
    ankit_frenz, Dec 27, 2009 IP
  6. gaven

    gaven Peon

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    #6
    yes,but many seo experts do agree that google bots do love blogs.
    Update blogs.

    Plus i think bots simple ,well flowing web structures and most blogs are so .So may be because of that it seems so.

    About tropic:
    Use wordpress for
    simplicity
    Easy management
    less bulky
    Does well for simple sites
    If you dont need too many features why do you need too big cms and make your life difficult
    Too many plugin and templates available.
    Constantly developing platform

    and many more
     
    gaven, Dec 27, 2009 IP
  7. Izonedig

    Izonedig Member

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    #7
    Just because better than blogger :)
    I thing it is overused, Joomla is much better. Also I don't see anything special in worldpress, I tried it just one time and deleted it in less than 24 hours !

    people don't know anything about programming, and if he want to make a blog with his own domain name (.com), so he says why using blogger while he can get wordpress for free ?

    By the way, Why wordpress is very good in seo ? Maybe I will use it instead of joomla :) This is because until now, google indexes only my homepage !!
     
    Izonedig, Dec 29, 2009 IP
  8. GOPalmer

    GOPalmer Member

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    #8
    Seems everyone is of the opinion WP is great when it comes to SEO. My opinion is very different, WP is very badly optimized by default. The reason WP blogs seem to do well is simple, they're blogs! Blogs rank well because of their content, content is king.

    There are a lot of CMS options available that will rival WP in it's features, are lighter weight and simpler to use.

    I would suggest the the issues lies with developers and designers. We jump on the bandwagon without really researching the new trend. Clients are willing to pay for the WP because it's the in thing but we as experts should be guiding them in the right direction. 99% of my clients who want WP don't really need it, or it's not enough for them, as such the number WP installs i do is very few indeed.

    I think designers and developers need to educate themselves better on the pros and cons of different solutions. WP should not be a jack of all trades, it is a blogging platform.

    It would be great to hear some more of your opinions. It's quite enlightening.

    Best Regards, George
     
    GOPalmer, Dec 29, 2009 IP
  9. danielbuca

    danielbuca Peon

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    #9
    As others said, WP is easy to use, you can use it for low traffic sites and high traffic sites too.
    I know a WP based website that has 50K - 100K visitors / day doing up to 500K pageloads / day .
    Yes, it has caching, yes, it has balancing and nginx behind it, yes, it has a storage server and caching server on separate machines but it's a wordpress :)

    The idea is that when you build a site and start from WP you have your core functionality already developed (WP) and you just focus on what's important.

    Also, I must agree on the seo aspect, it indexes very well, I don't understand why.
     
    danielbuca, Dec 29, 2009 IP
  10. weckho

    weckho Peon

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    #10
    * Easy to use (even for beginner)
    * Powerfull free CMS
    * Quite well support
    * Many, many plugins - almost everythink is possible

    - Too slow, sometimes (for me)
     
    weckho, Dec 29, 2009 IP
  11. minervait

    minervait Peon

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    #11
    Wordpress is free , its easy for a layman, very fast cached by google. Very good blog
     
    minervait, Dec 30, 2009 IP
  12. GeeOne

    GeeOne Well-Known Member

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    #12
    I am not very familiar with it as not used much.

    But it is very famous and reliable so far that is why many are using it IMO, when people have other good option every one will go for it and will talk about it.

    G!
     
    GeeOne, Dec 30, 2009 IP
  13. megathrone

    megathrone Active Member

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    #13
    for me wordpress is best because it has pinging system, autoupdate system, hell of lot plugins, less files than joomla and super fast.
     
    megathrone, Dec 30, 2009 IP