3 ms·

WordPress is where it is because the core team puts users first. They've taken on tons of technical debt in order to maintain backwards compatibility with theme

by csixty4 12y ago

WordPress is where it is because the core team puts users first. They've taken on tons of technical debt in order to maintain backwards compatibility with themes & plugins. PHP 5.3 reached end-of-life a year ago, but WordPress continues to support 5.2 because so many shared hosting and un-maintained VPS servers use it. Even cleaning up some of the PHP3-style code in wp-admin needs to be weighed against the risk of breaking some five year old plugin. From a UX standpoint, it's easy to use, install plugins, find themes, and get help. If you spend money on a commercial theme, you can be assured the platform is going to support it for years even if you don't have all the cool new features. It runs on PHP, from a $2/mo shared hosting account to WordPress VIP. The community is great. WordCamps cover a variety of technical and non-technical topics. Most people are welcoming. It's just a great bunch. Could you create a CMS with a cleaner codebase? Easily. And the people who make WordPress want to, too.

csixty4 12y ago
Ok. That was my WordPress cheerleader post. Now, here's the snark I edited out of that because it didn't fit the flow. If you want people to adopt a different CMS, here are pain points I've heard repeatedly from users. Address all of these and you're golden: * It should have perfect security. Vulnerabilities should be patched immediately, not the next day. * There should constantly be new features to enhance my site. * It should never need upgrades. * It should do everything out of the box instead of needing plugins. * It shouldn't be bloated. Keep the core code base small. * It should be easy for me to do anything and everything from the admin interface. * There shouldn't be a lot of options because it's overwhelming. * 24/7 phone support should be included. Or, if I have to use a support forum, I should get an answer in 5 minutes. * Everything should be free.

by csixty4 12y ago

csixty4 12y ago

Ok. That was my WordPress cheerleader post. Now, here's the snark I edited out of that because it didn't fit the flow. If you want people to adopt a different CMS, here are pain points I've heard repeatedly from users. Address all of these and you're golden: * It should have perfect security. Vulnerabilities should be patched immediately, not the next day. * There should constantly be new features to enhance my site. * It should never need upgrades. * It should do everything out of the box instead of needing plugins. * It shouldn't be bloated. Keep the core code base small. * It should be easy for me to do anything and everything from the admin interface. * There shouldn't be a lot of options because it's overwhelming. * 24/7 phone support should be included. Or, if I have to use a support forum, I should get an answer in 5 minutes. * Everything should be free.