WordPress is one of the most widely used content management systems (CMS) in the world. However, it still remains a real enigma for some online professionals who continue to deny it. The truth is that its popularity is not accidental, and it is the result of the many advantages it provides when you know what you are doing. In this article, we’ll take a look at the secret to a successful WordPress website and tell you the advantages and disadvantages of the platform.
What is WordPress and how does it work?
WordPress is a free, web-based content management system (CMS) that was created in 2003 as a platform for blogs. Since the platform is based entirely on open source code (every user, programmer has access to the programming kernel of the platform), it is quickly gaining fans among the huge community of web developers. Thanks to them, the platform develops and becomes a powerful tool for creating different types of websites, personal blogs, online stores, news portals and more.
Basic functionalities
WordPress core has the following key features that make it a very flexible system:
- Publishing: Since the original application of the platform was designed for blogging, publishing is at the core of the platform. The entire logic and database is structured on this foundation. Subsequently, it is proving to be quite a versatile tool with many other applications.
- File Manager: a module in the kernel that allows users to quickly and easily upload different types of media files such as .jpg, .png, .mp4, etc.
- Pages: following the logic of publications in the core of the platform, users can manage and create different static pages.
- Comments: a module that allows users to administer comments to their posts.
- Templates: this is a kernel functionality that allows to load different libraries with design and layout of pages and posts.
- View and Layout: this is a core functionality that allows you to load different libraries of page and post designs and layouts (Templates). The core also includes functionality for managing menus and editing theme files, which allow you to make changes to CSS, PHP and HTML code.
- Plugins: This kernel functionality is one of the key features of the platform. In practice, WordPress provides a huge library of free and/or paid plugins that extend the functionality of the system.
- Users: a module in WordPress that allows you to manage users with different types of permissions.
- Tools: kernel functionality that provides access to various tools. For example, Site Status (server configuration and performance check), Import and Export data from the database, Download or Delete personal data of users, etc.
- Settings: a module in the WordPress core that allows you to configure basic site parameters. These are the name, the format of the dates, the time zone, the language, the structure of the links and much more.
Extensions (Plugins)
As we pointed out above, this WordPress core functionality is the foundation of the platform’s development. There are over 59,000 different free extensions in the WordPress directory, enabling many different features. It is in the selection and choice of these applications that lies part of the pizazz of building a WordPress website. Very often, novice users of the platform install a large number of plugins to be able to solve a given task or problem. The more extensions are added to the kernel, the heavier and more sluggish the project becomes.
View and layout
Developing and maintaining a WordPress website theme is another essential element to pay attention to when creating the project. There are many WordPress themes on the internet, but they come pre-loaded with content and context. So at first glance, the theme looks great and catches the user’s eye. When it is installed and work starts on it, however, it turns out that:
- For a lot of the items, there is no content or it can't be housed to look good. Accordingly, the whole vision is lost.
- Content appears for which there is no intended vision and valuable time is wasted in redesign. Finally, just when you think everything is fine, you decide to open the content on your mobile phone or tablet. Then you realize that things are tragic.
- That's why WordPress specialists prefer to use a purchased plugin - theme builder (Page Builder) and create the project design from scratch (on scratch). There are many such tools, the most popular ones Almart Studio works with are Elementor Pro, Divi, WPBakery and KingComposer. Thanks to the experience and capabilities of these tools, beautiful websites are created, which are then quickly and easily administered.
Advantages and disadvantages
Now that we’ve covered some of the basics related to the WordPress platform, we can tell you the main advantages and disadvantages of this CMS.
Versatility and difficulties for integration with external systems
First of all, it should be borne in mind that the platform has a certain degree of versatility. This allows it to be used for many different applications. On the other hand, however, this creates difficulties when it is to be integrated with a specific external system. Most of the extensions have their own logic and in case you need to make some changes to the source code, you get errors. Additionally, with the additional customization of an existing plugin, the ability to make updates is often lost. This is extremely important because developers of various plugins regularly make improvements to the security and functionality of their extensions. That is why Almart Studio recommends that when developing larger projects with specific integrations and functionalities, a tailor-made solution should be used. That’s not to say that, in the vast majority of cases, WordPress won’t work – which is why we recommend that you contact us before deciding on a platform for your website.
The benefits of WordPress for content administrators
The second important thing to note is that WordPress is extremely easy, convenient and intuitive to administrate. In practice, almost no specific training is needed for your employees to learn how to use the platform. There are a huge variety of instructional videos and presentations of the various features on the Internet. So every case can find a quick and easy solution.
Security benefits and risks of WordPress websites
Third, but not least, is the fact that there are a huge number of developers on the platform. This gives you some freedom, as you can easily find a programmer to write an entirely new extension to do special functionality. On the other hand, it can also be a double-edged sword, as it creates the risk of security issues on the site. WordPress sites are often attacked and if good security practices are not put in place, unwanted situations can occur. So be careful who you trust.
Why does Almart Studio love WordPress?
Of course, when you gain experience with a platform you gain routine and professionalism. The Almart Studio team has been working on various WordPress projects for more than 10 years and has a strong expertise that allows us to boast:
- Professional-looking projects: the WordPress websites we create and maintain meet the highest standards of functionality and appearance.
- Effective content management: our team highly appreciates the advantages of WordPress in terms of content management. This allows both us and our clients to quickly and efficiently update the information and content of any such project.
- Speed and optimization: our experience and expertise enable us to optimize projects both in terms of SEO (search engine optimization) and speed.
Rather than a conclusion, when a WordPress website is created by experts, they can achieve guaranteed high results that ensure a quality and confident online presence.
It’s clear to us that when WordPress CMS is considered in light of the knowledge and experience of the experts who use the platform, there are no question marks. Of course, there will always be people who will deny things they don’t know, and for those who can and do create high-quality WordPress web solutions, that denial will continue to be a real enigma.
