October 29, 2011

Why Choose WordPress?

WordPress, the new industry standard?

For a considerable amount of time now, WordPress.org has been the platform of choice for most of the World’s bloggers; challenged only by free publishing platforms like Blogger. However, in more recent times WordPress is beginning to make it’s mark on web design, for both blogs and full website installations; this comes as a result of an almost unending list of benefits.

WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time. WordPress.org

So why has WordPress become so popular? My first instinct is to suggest that the flexibility offered by WordPress to everyday users (by which I mean non-web designers), through the plethora of themes and plugins, make this publishing platform an easy (and inexpensive) way to build a great looking website.

However, WordPress is equally as popular with web designers and developers the World over! The answer becomes apparent when you delve a little deeper into the structure of WordPress and the community generated codex. The core functions of WordPress (and the ability to add custom functions) provide the opportunity to build anything, limited only by one’s imagination.

Whereas in times gone by WordPress was used solely as a blogging platform, it has been developed to the point where it can be used for almost any purpose; it’s mixture of dynamic features and static pages catering for almost any conceivable purpose.

If you feel this article was one-sided and you’re keen to offer some criticisms of WordPress, please comment below!

About the author

Paddy O'Neill wrote 3 articles on this blog.

I'm Patrick. I blog about Digital Marketing and drink coffee. Follow my Tweets for SEO and social media goodies @SneakyMedia.

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8 comments

October 29, 2011 - 11:58 am Maybelle

I hear you but I think “industry standard” is just a bit too much. WordPress is still pretty far when it comes to ecommerce website features but is very “ahead” when it comes to SEO and website internet marketing tools. Joomla is a take-away too. Let’s not forget that websites have different features, goals and purpose, which may have an affect on the CMS to be used. Your article is raw, hope you had more on it.

October 30, 2011 - 8:43 am Bernard

I would tend to agree with Maybelle that your article is raw. Not that I was expecting a ten page exhaustive review of WordPress and its merits and demerits, but insights that were of greater depth.

October 30, 2011 - 10:55 am Patrick

Hi all,

Thanks for you comments, to be honest it was originally intended to be a little more in detail but time got the better of me.

I’ll get the full article updated soon, watch this space!

Thanks for your comments!

October 31, 2011 - 4:34 am Patrick

Please contribute to the finished article by taking this short survey!

WordPress Survey

November 2, 2011 - 9:54 am Isaac Shapira

I feel that wordpress is a good blogging platform that has become bloated, and outside of blogging the UX is just terrible. If I have a client looking for a site with multiple users, the last thing I want is for them to deal with wordpress’s rigid interface and post structure. While I am well aware that this can be modded, why would I hack a bloated system to add functionality core to my application? This is why Drupal is so far superior as a php cms, and mvc is best for custom apps. Calling wordpress and industry standard and a darling of the development community is pretty short sited imho. WordPress has become increasingly common for microsites, but that doesn’t mean its the best choice there either. Often clients and screw up a beautiful design because the designer/developer has so little ability to lock down options, or the client may just get frustrated with the WYSIWYG editor. If all you need as the ability for you client to upload photos and edit text, then the ui of wordpress is total bloated overkill that can overwhelm non-savy users. I love wordpress for blogging, and use it myself, but thats it.

November 2, 2011 - 10:22 am Paddy O'Neill

Thanks for your input Isaac, this will all be covered in the next article.

If you haven’t done so already, I’d appreciate it if you could fill in this survey :-)

http://www.sneakymedia.co.uk/wordpress-survey/

November 24, 2011 - 7:41 am Richard Carter

I’d tend to agree with Isaac: WordPress is a very nice blogging tool, but as a CMS it’s not suited to larger sites (anything over 50 pages, and that’s pushing it!), and to corrupt it for ecommerce, etc, is unnecessary in my mind. WordPress doesn’t have to be and do everything: it should stick to what it does best; a solid blogging system!

November 27, 2011 - 5:01 pm Héctor Garrofé

I do not agree with the comments.

I’m a web developer/designer in a company and I’m also working as a freelancer, and WordPress is the choice I made in both areas.

WordPress has long since ceased to be a simple blog manager, nowadays is without doubt a complete CMS for creating websites.

Obviously you have to know how to design themes and play a lot of time with the core. But when you have it by the hand, WordPress is a framework that lets you create ANY thing you can imagine.

And i if you have no idea about programming, WordPress is also the best choice due to its extensive library of plugins.

October 29, 2011 - 11:58 am Maybelle

I hear you but I think “industry standard” is just a bit too much. WordPress is still pretty far when it comes to ecommerce website features but is very “ahead” when it comes to SEO and website internet marketing tools. Joomla is a take-away too. Let’s not forget that websites have different features, goals and purpose, which may have an affect on the CMS to be used. Your article is raw, hope you had more on it.
October 30, 2011 - 8:43 am Bernard

I would tend to agree with Maybelle that your article is raw. Not that I was expecting a ten page exhaustive review of WordPress and its merits and demerits, but insights that were of greater depth.
October 30, 2011 - 10:55 am Patrick

Hi all,

Thanks for you comments, to be honest it was originally intended to be a little more in detail but time got the better of me.

I’ll get the full article updated soon, watch this space!

Thanks for your comments!
October 31, 2011 - 4:34 am Patrick

Please contribute to the finished article by taking this short survey!

WordPress Survey
November 2, 2011 - 9:54 am Isaac Shapira

I feel that wordpress is a good blogging platform that has become bloated, and outside of blogging the UX is just terrible. If I have a client looking for a site with multiple users, the last thing I want is for them to deal with wordpress’s rigid interface and post structure. While I am well aware that this can be modded, why would I hack a bloated system to add functionality core to my application? This is why Drupal is so far superior as a php cms, and mvc is best for custom apps. Calling wordpress and industry standard and a darling of the development community is pretty short sited imho. WordPress has become increasingly common for microsites, but that doesn’t mean its the best choice there either. Often clients and screw up a beautiful design because the designer/developer has so little ability to lock down options, or the client may just get frustrated with the WYSIWYG editor. If all you need as the ability for you client to upload photos and edit text, then the ui of wordpress is total bloated overkill that can overwhelm non-savy users. I love wordpress for blogging, and use it myself, but thats it.
November 2, 2011 - 10:22 am Paddy O'Neill

Thanks for your input Isaac, this will all be covered in the next article.

If you haven’t done so already, I’d appreciate it if you could fill in this survey :-)

http://www.sneakymedia.co.uk/wordpress-survey/
November 24, 2011 - 7:41 am Richard Carter

I’d tend to agree with Isaac: WordPress is a very nice blogging tool, but as a CMS it’s not suited to larger sites (anything over 50 pages, and that’s pushing it!), and to corrupt it for ecommerce, etc, is unnecessary in my mind. WordPress doesn’t have to be and do everything: it should stick to what it does best; a solid blogging system!
November 27, 2011 - 5:01 pm Héctor Garrofé

I do not agree with the comments.

I’m a web developer/designer in a company and I’m also working as a freelancer, and WordPress is the choice I made in both areas.

WordPress has long since ceased to be a simple blog manager, nowadays is without doubt a complete CMS for creating websites.

Obviously you have to know how to design themes and play a lot of time with the core. But when you have it by the hand, WordPress is a framework that lets you create ANY thing you can imagine.

And i if you have no idea about programming, WordPress is also the best choice due to its extensive library of plugins.