Is WordPress the Best Solution For You?

When it comes to blogging, WordPress is probably the first software that you should look at. WordPress is open source, hence free to use. WordPress has evolved over a long time and is currently in version 3.0 and has numerous features, thousands of themes and advanced plugins that one needs for most kinds of development.

Any technology has its own advantages and disadvantages, and WordPress is no exception. Here are some features that are not so cutting edge in WordPress and what WordPress alternatives you have at your disposal.

1. A perfect content management system:

While WordPress can be used as a content management system, it is still a blogging platform. A good content management system has more flexibility to include custom post types, including dynamic sections on the fly. While it is possible to achieve this in WordPress, other content management systems like drupal [drupal.org], modx and joomla do a way better job at this.

2. Ecommerce System

Again, ecommerce is something that WordPress was not intended to provide. There are a couple of plugins, that are pretty basic and offer no functionality what so ever, relative to the other software. For instance, os commerce, magento [magentocommerce.com], zen cart, drupal with ubercart are very advanced software when it comes to ecommerce. Magento is extremely advanced, and is suitable only for big stores. Drupal with ubercart [ubercart.org] on the other hand is very advanced, has easy functionality to add an affiliate program, coupons and catalogs. Also, when your website has a lot of dynamic content, a blog, a forum, and when you wish to add a store to you store, drupal with ubercart is a perfect solution.

3. Adding a forum

Adding a forum to your website is virtually a couple of clicks away in drupal. I do not recall any kind of plugins that come even close to this functionality in WordPress.

4. Free web hosting

Also, while WordPress is free, you still have to pay for your webhosting. There are a few services that offer free web hosting, and also include a free website builder. You can host your own websites for free with devhub and also create unlimited subdomains. There are tons of well structured plugins that make devhub a great platform, but the number of themes available is pretty limited, relative to WordPress. Blogger also has a free hosting service, but the website builder is not good enough to build a complete website.

5. Upgrade and Maintenance

One of the biggest problems that I have encountered with WordPress, is the need for upgrading the WordPress core and also the themes and plugins. If you own a WordPress site for an year, it is very likely that you will upgrade at least 6 times and go over the pain of upgrading plugins and matching compatibility. This is the case with Drupal, Joomla etc. too and hence a self hosted service like blogger or devhub is a great choice, from this point of view.

6. Security

WordPress is open source, uses mysql and vast majority of users usually install it in a shared hosting space. This makes WordPress not so secure and there are a lot of security breaches, mysql injection, and other security issues which demand constant upgrading and maintenance. Again, a good free webhosting service like blogger, devhub, WordPress.com can easily avoid these problems.

Having mentioned all these disadvantages, WordPress is still a great platform and offers a lot of flexibility. But when it comes to your requirements, WordPress may not be the ideal choice in all cases. This list of software and services can help you make a better decision, based on your needs.