Earlier than utilizing WordPress to construct your web site, you first have to know its benefits and downsides. That approach, you can also make the appropriate resolution. On this article, we’ll go over the professionals and cons of utilizing WordPress.
What’s WordPress?
A content material administration system (CMS) is software program that gives an interface by means of which you’ll publish posts to your weblog or web site, and handle content material on the whole, with out worrying with the underlying software program framework.
WordPress is a well-liked content material administration system (CMS) and web site builder used for establishing blogs, on-line shops and different kinds of internet sites. As soon as you put in WordPress, you are required to signal into your admin panel, which is the place you may add pages to your website, add posts, set up plugins and themes, and so forth.
The 2 methods to make use of WordPress are by means of wordpress.com (a non-public publishing platform) and wordpress.org (for self-hosting WordPress).
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
WordPress.com is mainly a publishing platform the place you may go to arrange a WordPress website with out having to start out from scratch or fear about internet hosting it. The platform supplies you with the whole lot wanted to shortly arrange a WordPress website and put it on the web.
The second model of WordPress is the self-hosted one, which yow will discover at WordPress.org. At WordPress.org, you may obtain the free WordPress software program and modify it as you please. You’re additionally free to put in it on any internet hosting supplier you favor.
In essence, the one distinction between the 2 is that certainly one of them supplies centralized WordPress internet hosting (wordpress.com) whereas the opposite provides you a free, modifiable code you can host anyplace you wish to (WordPress.org).
Earlier than utilizing WordPress to construct your web site, you may first wish to know its benefits and downsides, particularly with regard to what you plan to make use of it for (weblog, on-line retailer, and many others). That approach, you are higher geared up to make a sound resolution ultimately.
On this article, we’ll go over the professionals and cons of utilizing WordPress.
Benefits of Utilizing WordPress
Professional 1: WordPress is Simple to Use
WordPress could be very simple to make use of, no matter whether or not you are a coding guru or an elder with no technical data. It comes with a easy person interface (aka the “admin panel”) the place customers can create pages, add new posts, edit present posts, add plugins and themes, and accomplish that far more.
Throughout the WordPress.com platform, there are literally thousands of high-quality, already-made templates for various sorts of web sites. You possibly can customise certainly one of them and use it in your personal web site with out having to jot down one line of code.
For those who determine to go together with the self-hosted WordPress, you will not undergo any problem internet hosting it as a result of most internet hosting corporations present a one-click set up function for WordPress. A lot of them additionally present common backups relying on the plan you go for.
Professional 2: WordPress Websites are Reasonably priced
Constructing a web site on WordPress tends to be cheaper than constructing one from scratch. For instance, if you would like you arrange a WordPress website, you are able to do both of the next:
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Set up the free software program from WordPress.org, modify the code to your style and pay a small price to a website like Hostinger to host it for you.
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Signal as much as WordPress.com, pay a price and use their prebuilt instruments and templates to create your personal WordPress website, which they may host and handle for you.
Each of those choices are cheaper than having to construct the web site from the bottom up utilizing HTML, CSS and JavaScript or another internet framework.
Professional 3: WordPress Has a Robust Ecosystem
WordPress is likely one of the most generally used web site builders on the web. Actually, in response to Kinsta, about 43 % of internet sites on the web are constructed on prime of WordPress. That is virtually half of all web sites!
On account of this widespread use, WordPress has a really lively neighborhood of customers in addition to an enormous ecosystem of third-party themes, plugins, and instruments. There’s additionally no scarcity of WordPress builders on the market.
That is additionally nice information should you’re studying about WordPress. You may discover an limitless variety of tutorials and guides on Google and YouTube exhibiting the step-by-step course of for performing totally different duties in WordPress.
Professional 4: WordPress is Versatile
WordPress could be very strong and versatile. You should utilize it for something from easy brochure websites, blogs and touchdown pages to complicated e-commerce websites and on-line shops.
You can begin with just a few pages and add extra as your web site continues to develop. There is no such thing as a restrict to how a lot content material you publish in your WordPress website, offered that the underlying host is able to dealing with it and that you simply preserve your website frequently.
Disadvantages Of WordPress
Con 1: WordPress is Susceptible To Hacking
Within the “WordPress Has A Robust Ecosystem” part beneath Benefits, I discussed how WordPress’s recognition result in it having a vibrant ecosystem of instruments, plugins and themes, which is a big benefit of utilizing it.
Nevertheless, this widespread use additionally makes WordPress an big enjoying discipline for hackers. Actually, 83% of all hacked CMS-based web sites are constructed on WordPress.
Hackers simply love exploiting vulnerabilities in WordPress. They will search for themes or plugins which have beforehand been hacked and discover the web sites nonetheless utilizing them. They will then goal these web sites utilizing the identical hacking strategies because the earlier circumstances.
As soon as they discover a vulnerability in any of the web sites, they will then search for the info and even add malicious content material to the location, resulting in disastrous penalties for you.
Yow will discover a lot of data on securing your WordPress website right here on Envato Tuts+.
Con 2: WordPress Can Be Troublesome to Preserve
WordPress is notoriously recognized for its incompatibility issues and important errors. Only one corrupt plugin, or theme, can convey your total web site down.
Even worse, hackers can exploit loopholes in your web site, resulting in them stealing delicate data or including malicious content material to it.
To make sure that your web site stays lively, responsive and safe, you are required to improve your WordPress plugins, themes, and even PHP, on a frequent foundation.
You are required to usually carry out backups and perform different important upkeep duties to maintain the location protected and dealing.
Nevertheless, all of that may really detract from the time it’s important to really make content material. Subsequently, should you don’t have the time to maintain up with upkeep routines, then WordPress may not be the most suitable choice for you.
Con 3: WordPress Would not Carry out Nicely
WordPress is a 19-year-old software program, and let’s face it, quite a bit has modified within the final 19 years.
Because the introduction of WordPress, we’ve got witnessed, and proceed to witness, the approaching of newer, bleeding-edge applied sciences and tech stacks which permit for the creation of sooner, better-performing web sites.
It is no secret that sooner web sites carry out higher than their slower counterparts. Google has even made it clear that they contemplate loading velocity as an essential metric for rating a website.
On common, most WordPress web sites immediately are slower than web sites constructed with trendy tech stacks and frameworks. For instance, a web site created utilizing a contemporary CMS instrument like Squarespace is more likely to outperform the typical WordPress website.
Nevertheless, this isn’t to say that every one WordPress websites are gradual. In spite of everything, there are lots of plugins you can set up to optimize your website’s velocity and efficiency. However that is the purpose: it’s important to set up further plugins; this can ultimately result in the issue of maintainability which I defined within the final part.
Subsequently, if what you are promoting relies upon a lot on the web site’s velocity and efficiency, you may wish to contemplate newer tech stacks that are higher optimized for efficiency.
Con 4: There’s Little Innovation In WordPress
WordPress is not only falling behind when it comes to velocity and efficiency, but additionally when it comes to innovation. In comparison with the opposite CMS platforms, WordPress hasn’t modified a lot up to now 5 to eight years.
The WordPress UI remains to be kind of the identical. The workflow remains to be the identical. There’s a number of unhealthy product design and approach too many tutorials. On prime of that, WordPress continues to undergo from compatibility and safety points. Many main companies will suppose twice about utilizing WordPress for his or her website in 2022.
One other downside with WordPress is that it is too general-purpose; it lacks a specific use case. Whereas most of its opponents are tailor-made for particular makes use of. For instance, Shopify is tailor-made for making e-commerce websites.
Conclusion
Regardless of its flaws, WordPress stays the preferred and broadly used CMS immediately, holding a market share of over 60% within the CMS trade.
Prior to now couple of years, we have witnessed different CMS instruments gaining extra traction. Amongst them are Shopify, Wix and Squarespace. In contrast to WordPress, most of those platforms are tailor-made for a particular use case (e.g. Spotify is used for e-commerce websites).
Different running a blog platforms like Ghost and Medium are additionally rising in recognition. Regardless, there isn’t a doubt that WordPress will proceed to reign within the foreseeable future.
