WordPress: advantages and disadvantages
Kampf der Giganten: Vergleich der besten Content Management Systeme (Teil 2)
One third of all websites on the Internet were built with Wordpress, making this content management system the most widespread of its kind. This is partly due to the fast and easy 5-minute installation. It also makes it possible to build a website without any programming knowledge. The advantages and disadvantages of such a widespread CMS are explained here.
Advantages
WordPress was originally a pure blog system and therefore lightly built. Meanwhile it is used for numerous types of websites and has become adaptable with the sheer variety of plugins.
Wordpress plugins
Wordpress has three ways to install extensions. The easiest way is to use the "Plugin" tab directly from your backend. There you can select each extension via a search field and install it directly free of charge, which the community provides there. Alternatively, they can also be purchased from third parties and uploaded via the backend. This often concerns plugins with costs. Finally, it is relatively easy to write your own plugins, provided you know the appropriate programming languages. The official plugin collection alone can be used to choose from about 50,000 plugins. A huge selection that makes WordPress flexible.
Easy installation
As already mentioned WordPress has an easy and fast way to be installed on your own server. A zip file is downloaded, unpacked and uploaded again. If one then calls up the installation file on the web, there are only three steps to set up Wordpress fully functional. A first design is even already available.
Many themes
The situation is similar with so-called templates, the layouts for Wordpress. Here, too, the backend offers the possibility of selecting and installing one from thousands of ready-made themes. Alternatively, there are third party providers with costs or the possibility to develop them yourself.
Disadvantages
As simply as WordPress is designed, this also entails costs. Mainly in the performance and lightness of the system. Security is also frequently criticized, albeit only conditionally.
Performance
To make a system as easy as possible it is necessary to develop sophisticated code. Wordpress offers a lot of support within the CMS, which leads to a relatively large core. This also reduces the performance, which is only noticeable if you want to create especially large pages. However, such a project would already be complicated by the rather confusing design of the pages and contributions. Wordpress was developed from the outset for small pages and this is exactly what it can be used for.
Criticism of security
Like many free CMS, Wordpress is also an Open Source project. The code is generally visible. The spreading of this system is very tempting for potential attackers, because security gaps can be exploited on a third of all websites in the Internet. Together with the free code, this is also very simple. It should be noted that Wordpress automatically installs security updates if they are available. If a website is operated and maintained with this CMS, the worries are not necessarily justified. However, it becomes problematic if no updates are carried out and maintenance is neglected.
Conclusion
Wordpress is easy to install, easy to configure and looks good. It is especially suitable for small websites that do not have too many users and pages. This is both the strength and the weakness of this system. Who has hardly any previous knowledge or does not plan very large projects, can rely on this CMS.