One of the reasons I attended a recent WordCamp in Sacramento was to find out how WordPress as a Content Management Solution is faring and whether other “hosted” solutions are gaining traction.
When WordPress got started in 2003, it was hailed as a minor miracle for people building websites. Now used by tens of millions, its community remains kind and generous. As an Open Source project, hundreds of people all over the world work on it and developers are constantly adding new features and “plugins” that extend its allure. As they say, “WordPress is limited only by your imagination.”
What I learned is that WordPress continues to grow and improve. Lots of larger businesses are now building separate WordPress sites within their organizations for specific groups such as Human Resources or Project Teams because it’s easy and doesn’t require IT support. WordPress remains an excellent solution for small businesses and nonprofits: You can just do more with WordPress than hosted solutions like SquareSpace or Wix.
While WordPress is the most popular publishing platform in the world (it runs more than 24% of all websites worldwide), like everything else on the World Wide Web, it has been attacked by dark forces. I’ve been building websites for more than 20 years…but keeping those websites secure has become an unfortunate, time-consuming, consequence.
Every WordPress site uses WordPress free software, Premium themes and various plugins that all need to be updated on a regular basis. And when sites do get hacked, it requires running security software to identify and repair the damage. My business model doesn’t include maintenance service contracts because I want my clients to “only pay for what they need.”
But the reality is that people become complacent and really can’t be bothered with the protection business until something goes terribly wrong. Let’s not wait, okay? If you see that plugins or WordPress need updates, please get in touch so you don’t wake up one morning with the “white screen of death (WSOD)” where your website should be.