ou heard of, or are perhaps already using, WordPress as a part of your website or blog? The open source software that started as a blogging-only solution and has now begun to morph into a CMS (content management system) is definitely a popular buzzword in the design and development circles lately.
And all is fair here—there are some really decent benefits that WordPress offers as a back-end for a website, especially now that the version 3 has been released and is taking into account some of the features that really begin to make it more practical for use as a CMS and not just a blog only solution. But with this said, there are still many things that you should know before deciding that WordPress is the route you should go for your website.
Let’s start with the pros of using WordPress to power a website:
It’s free and open source. As open source software, you’re free to use and customize as you please to fit your own site’s unique needs.
Tons of plug-ins available. Third-party developers have created an app for just about any website function you could imagine—from social media to e-commerce, there’s a plug-in for WordPress to accomplish it.
Once setup, it’s pretty easy to use. Once you’re familiar with the system, using WordPress as a CMS to add or edit website content is fairly straightforward.
With these points in mind, we also need to share some of the cons of using WordPress as a back-end for your site.
Setup can be a nightmare. The software is getting better and simpler to install, but if you’re a novice without professional help, it’s probably best stay away.
Plug-ins can be really buggy. Most plug-ins available are developed by third party “hobbyists.” Using them can cause serious reliability and/or security faults for your website.
Security is debatable. Some say that the WordPress codebase itself is rock-solid secure. This might be true, but because there are so many people using it these days, it’s also become a popular target for hackers to challenge—once they’ve figured it out, they can have free reign on just about any site that runs the software.
Getting WordPress established as a CMS is a challenge. By default, WordPress is still configured to operate more like a blog that a content management system. Extensive modification can sometimes be necessary to get it to actually operate according to your vision or CMS needs.
If you’re seriously considering WordPress, it’s probably a good idea to review the pros and cons in detail for your specific intended application with a pro. If you’d like to discuss in detail, please just give us a ring here at WSpider—we’ll be happy to review your plan and help determine WordPress is the best way to achieve your website goals.
