The final yr has been fairly eventful inside the WordPress ecosystem, marked by discussions and disputes which have prompted some to query the long-term sustainability of the platform and contemplate exploring different options.
Nevertheless, once you dive deeper into these considerations, they pale compared to WordPress’s enduring strengths as a product and its unmatched versatility within the CMS area.
Market Share Is Sustained
The primary model of WordPress was launched on Could 27, 2003. Its distinctive structure, mixed with it being open supply, noticed a surge in recognition – now dominating (as of December 2024) 43.7% of the CMS market share.
This progress has additionally been regular regardless of the emergence of different CMSs together with Shopify, Wix and Squarespace. However none of those are open-source.
Not “Simply One other” CMS
WordPress’ distinctive structure, which permits plugin and theme extendibility, mixed with the ability of open-source, means it will possibly scale far past the running a blog platform it was initially.
This implies themes might be constructed for end-users with out them having to essentially perceive HTML or CSS and plugins made by third-party builders that would lengthen and scale the core platform in limitless methods.
Over time, I’ve constructed a lot with WordPress, together with boards, job boards, academic and learning-based portals, ecommerce websites, communities, comparability engines, and scaled themes.
Our shoppers have ranged from folks performing small aspect hustles and launching startups to managing a whole lot of installs on a custom-built server for scaling websites for various international areas and constructing {custom} APIs utilizing WordPress to scale exercise.
No different CMS gives this flexibility – with any alternate options solely doing so with an enormous price and technical debt.
Extendibility [Mostly] With out Limits
Whereas I’ve been concerned in constructing many issues with WordPress, the idea of third-party plugins paved the best way for trusted extendability inside the CMS.
The emergence of free and premium plugins within the WordPress ecosystem has created its personal area of interest, with over 59,000 free plugins out there inside the official listing – and this doesn’t embrace the 1000’s of plugins out there away from the repo.
Once I found WordPress in 2009, I noticed it wasn’t only a running a blog platform – and, extra importantly, it was essentially the most cooperative to search engine marketing finest requirements. I printed my first of quite a few plugins in October 2010.
In 2013, I co-founded an company with WordPress improvement as certainly one of its core choices the place we now have labored on 1000’s of WordPress websites. Every time we obtained an inquiry or pitched for something to construct, WordPress was all the time the CMS that supplied the perfect answer.
It’s additionally really easy to get began with WordPress, and I counsel anybody who needs to increase their data to take action by experimentation (I talked about it at BrightonSEO a few months in the past)
A Really Passionate Group
Another excuse I beloved WordPress was after I found that the neighborhood’s huge assist helped the CMS progress.
Just like the search engine marketing neighborhood, the WordPress neighborhood is extraordinarily participating and supportive, not simply to assist clear up points and assist develop the CMS total, but in addition there’s loads of assist for folks’s skilled and private improvement.
Away from the intensive sources that WordPress gives by its documentation and boards, the WordPress neighborhood thrives all yr spherical by its WordCamp meetups worldwide and participates in different communities, together with WordPress chat and PostStatus. There are additionally quite a few podcast collection to comply with, together with Do the Woo, WP Product Discuss, and WP Builds.
This neighborhood is extraordinarily supportive and resilient to adjustments, which in flip helps the event of WordPress core, which has been instrumental in shaping the way forward for web site creation, manufacturing, and enchancment.
The neighborhood additionally provides again in methods I haven’t seen in different verticals.
You Personal Your Web site And Knowledge
You’d suppose this is able to be apparent, nevertheless it isn’t. Bear in mind, WordPress is open supply. Not solely does this imply that the core product is totally free and supported by the neighborhood, as already talked about, however additionally it is your property.
To now examine this to Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace – these different CMS platforms personal your website!
Whereas folks might consider there are inherent dangers with WordPress, I’d ask you what would occur to your website if, for instance, Shopify have been to shut enterprise tomorrow.
The reply is easy – your website would stop to exist. Then what? If WordPress have been to cease improvement perpetually from at this time, you’d nonetheless be in the identical place and nonetheless have your web site, content material, and knowledge – all of it. What do the opposite CMSs supply?
As one other layer of freedom and danger mitigation, the selection of utilizing WordPress as a CMS can be impartial of the place you select to host it.
If for no matter purpose you wish to migrate your website from one host to a different you have got the liberty to take action whereas closed supply platforms not solely personal the web site you produce with them, but in addition the server the place it resides.
Do The Latest WP ‘Disagreements’ Current A Threat To WordPress?
TLDR – no. The scenario doesn’t have an effect on the performance of WordPress as a CMS. WordPress stays a steady, dependable, and extensively used platform, with no indication that its long-term sustainability is in danger. The CMS itself is unaffected and continues to thrive. If you wish to learn extra in regards to the present discussions and disagreements impacting WP management, you may learn articles equivalent to this and this to realize extra perception.
Different Choices?
Nonetheless skeptical about WordPress? OK, what are your different choices?
Whereas different CMS platforms can maybe be an excellent different to a “normal informational website”, or a website that has no customization necessities in any respect from the conventional out-of-the-box performance (which ultimately occurs for each website that begins to scale in any manner), it’s a must to make very knowledgeable choices about whether or not it’s truly value it – and what the issue is that you just consider you’re fixing.
Some questions I’d ask myself:
- Is the CMS open supply? If not, what do I personal?
- Is there a powerful type of neighborhood and assist?
- Does it play properly with third-party connections and APIs you propose to make use of?
- Are you able to scale the positioning in the best way you need?
- Are you able to actually management output on the entrance finish?
- Does it adhere to search engine marketing finest practices?
If any of the solutions above are a “no” then it’s essential perceive the dangers of these points earlier than contemplating any migration, as you might discover that the dangers of the choice outweigh something that WordPress would.
A few months in the past, I made a decision to analysis a number of open-source CMSs to see if another platform may compete with WordPress and its capabilities. Unsurprisingly, nothing got here shut.
TL;DR
WordPress is right here to remain and remains to be the CMS I’d advise in 99% of instances.
It’s secure, supported, strong, future-proof, and open supply.
While different CMS platforms can supply some options to smaller or easier websites, I’m but to be actually satisfied that they pose any appreciable danger to their future or their position in the way forward for web sites.
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