Wordpress Sucks

You obviously have never tried using other CMS's besides wordpress, otherwise you wouldn't be promoting the use of others so rampantly.

Wordpress is in my opinion the best option for normal bloggers, due to theme, plugin and support availability. There is just, hands down, no better alternative.

"You obviously have never tried using other CMS's besides wordpress"

Not only have I tried many, I've programmed a few.

"There is just, hands down, no better alternative."

Nothing better for sure if you feel like worrying about your site getting hacked every 30 days because you didn't make the security update.

I'm using wordpress at the moment, though I'm not much of a blogger anyway.

My biggest problem with wp is it seems to have the worst reaction to the digg effect (not that I expect to get dugg any time soon). Maybe it's just the cheap hosting people use, but whenever a blog is unavailable after being dugg, nine times out of ten it's a wp blog.

With Automatic Upgrade an SuperCache WP is the best solution available hands down. I run a very high profile site and have never once had a security issue, though I do keep up to date with updates.

Wordpress is the best CMS out there on the market. In this instance you have no idea what your talking about!

I code my own stuff. Easier, simpler, better fit for my needs.

Yeah, I have to disagree with you on this one, too. They've had a whopping two updates in the past 74 days (and counting) (and the last one was just to keep people from viewing your Draft posts, which I couldn't care less about), and there are plenty of hosts who will take care of the updates for you.

The ease of use and flexibility that it gives you -- in my opinion -- more than outweigh the minor downsides that you find any any product.

haha hilarious song - i think most of the comments above are from people thinking about only having one site running off wordpress - imagine trying to keep 10 or 20 up to date?

i actually wrote a post about it a few days ago which may be of interest: http://www.conversion-matters.co.uk/you-should-realise-that-wordpress-is-not-right-for-everything

@adam - thanks and great post. Indeed, multiply the spam/security updates/hacks by 20 sites and wordpress REALLY sucks.

@shane - They've had a whopping two updates in the past 74 days. That's more than enough to make me look elsewhere. They've also probably had 14 million spam viagra emails hit their blogs in the past 2 days.

@sl - i do both. Code some of my own, and use typepad on others.

@kris - magic quote: "I do keep up to date with updates" most newbs would have no idea what that even means.

@crenk - you have no argument.

@hugepedlar - indeed wordpress is a HUGE memory hog. Unless you are a server tech you will struggle with any wordpress site that gets popular.

@NOTE TO ALL - I'm not talking about worpress sucking for a hobby site. I'm saying its not the best solution for a site you care about.

Sorry, but 99% of the world isn't a program or understand how to update sites or manage thousands of spams or run caches on their blogs or check that any plugin they install isn't a security vulnerablility, etc,etc,etc..

Furthermore, can 1 person try to intelligently explain how wordpress is better than typepad for BLOGGING?

Not for goofy plugins, not because it's cool.

How is worpress better than typepad for security, ease of use, hosting, reliability, and actually blogging.....

LOL, great song. This was even better than the walking blog post. Glad to see a fellow online marketer/guitar player!

Mark... Wow - the creative juices were flowing huh :) I run a billion smaller sites on Wordpress for the sake of it being easy. But you are right - when any of those sites ever starts getting bigger... Wordpress gotta go! It's a nice quick starter option though. Nice music :)

Is typepad even a consideration since you don't own the domain? I've looked at typepad before but I couldn't find a self hosted option. Did I miss it? Drupal is painful. And anything else out there I've come across just doesn't come close to the community support that WordPress has (for plugins, help with issues, security updates).

I love WordPress but I make darn sure to keep it updated across all my sites. It's like Microsoft, it's the biggest and most widely used, so it attracts the hacker efforts.

Mark, my ears are bleeding btw ;).

@terry - a 2 second change to your dns settings (which I recommend you just email your host to do) will give you typepad on your very own domains ;)

http://support.typepad.com/cgi-bin/typepad.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=539

That's just my suggestion though, Certainly many other alternatives beat wordpress for security, reliability, lack of spam, etc.

sorry about the ears.

@cdfnetworks and @knupNET - thanks for the comments ;) I play guitar sometimes just not too good....

I have posted a video response to this Mark. :) Check out BloggingPro to see it.

Please don't hate me. :P

I figured I had to be missing something, thanks for the link Mark. I thought of domain masking/cloaking, but discounted it because of search engine issues, but domain mapping sounds like it would work just fine.

Just joshing ya about the ears ;), kudos for rocking out a WP song!

@dave - great vid, here's the link for others:

http://www.bloggingpro.com/archives/2008/01/08/wordpress-sucks-i-think-not/#comment-210562

@terry - works like a charm, I also use dns mapping to host my own feedburner feed on my own domain like so:

http://feeds.45n5.com/rss4real

it's feedburners site on my domain. although now that google owns feedburner I don't think they are going anywhere.

Dude ...
I first thought the video would be funny, but it's kinda sad actually.

Obviously something went wrong in the past regarding you and a WP installation. But to pick up a guitar and sing about how WP sucks ... Really.

I like you blog, but this is so not cool.

Mark,

I'll reserve my thoughts here in the comments as they are always subjected to being edited outside from my control. Instead, I have written a post on my blog about this topic and it will go live Jan. 9th, 2008 1201 AM. CST.

You should receive a trackback if you have that feature turned on.

Best Regards,
Garry Conn

@Stefson - sad for who? I had a great time making the video and hope it helps open some people's eyes or at least start a conversation.

Hosting your own version of wordpress should be left to the geeks.

@gary - I don't do trackbacks but i'll look for the post.

I've had a long talk with WordPress. They think you suck too.

@geiger - I'll need to hear it in song before I believe it ;)

45n5, while I'm not arguing that it's better to home-build your own CMS's, I'm just saying that for me, the value of my time is such that wordpress does everything, and much more, for what I need done.

The opportunity cost (The cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. Put another way, the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action) just doesn't add up for me. It may be different for you, but with nightly backups and such, the hours upon hours it would take me to code my own CMS, or the money I'd spend to pay $15/mth to have the freedom to use typepad unlimited, Wordpress is just the winner. In my book at least.

Typepad isnt perfect either. I just know the power of open-source, and will stick with Wordpress. I would, however, go away from wordpress if a site needed a social CMS, as this is the only area I agree that WordPress does lack in functionality.

@andrew - thanks for the feedback. I'm saying for me, wordpress is at the bottom of the list, at least when you host your own version ;)

I agree with Andrew Benton too, it's a combination of what WordPress has to offer and the time factor that makes it so appealing: no major coding work involved, basically an upload and go. It's free and loaded with features, super easy to work with and lots of free themes from the community to choose from. It's the community that WordPress has that makes it so valuable and untouchable (IMO).

I think WP has to work on a few areas: more functional in terms of being a CMS, private post areas (searchable, login users only), easier to manage across a multitude of domains (I know they have an instruction set for upgrading a bunch of WP installs on the same server--but it's not newbie friendly).

I disagree with Mark about WP sucking, the only arguement seems to be the hacker attention & security issues--but that's going to happen for anything that's widely used. I feel better about using a blog software that's got a ton of people behind it to help fix issues quickly (and for free), rather than hope to God someone doesn't pick apart my custom code looking for holes--then I'm on my own.

I do agree it's a great discussion topic.

btw, I do use the feedburner domain mapping feature on a blog or two Mark, never even clicked that I could try that with typepad.

I don't care for having to make updates, so I went to LivingDot for WP hosting.

As part of the deal there, you just submit a ticket to request that they do the update for you, and they do it quickly and let you know when it's done.

Previously, I used MT, and I prefer WP by far.

Lol what a great performance good try, Untill now i tried Blogspot & wordpress , wordpress it's easy to use, but i also agree with you that receiveing lots of spam comments thats the main drawback on wordpress

Every time we see one of your videos, it seems you've got PPC mixed up with PCP. Slow down already! :D

Nice video linkbait Mark. You are way off though. Please name me a better solution than WP. One that is more supported, robust and free.

@jim - I already did, typepad. what support/community do I need to type a post and hit send anyway?

@mr cow - When I do longer videos poeple say to speed them up ;) I can't win

@vhxn - yep, wordpress gets hammered with spam

@Shawn Collins - thanks for the tip. I still think if people are really stuck on using wordpress to go with wordpress.com and map a domain name to it.

@terry - you have some good points, but you justify wordpress having security issues as "but that's going to happen for anything that's widely used."

Sorry, but if something is having a bunch of security issues I go elsewhere, not throw up my hands and say it's to be expected, or that's just the way it is cause it's popular.

*grin* did anyone stop to think that this is a neat 'get hits' stunt? It wasnt long ago Mark was talking about using really 'out there' post topics to get hits/readers. How many people out there do you think saw this topic and just HAD to watch/read it?

well done Mark! hehehe, works a treat! (regardless of Mark's opinion on WP, he just got mega mega hits, infact I'd love to see some stats after the day is out)

I use WP, on most of my sites, for ease of use. I also use 19pages, iWeb, static HTML, e107.... It depends on my requirements :)

Someone above posted about automatic updates for WP, how do you do that? is there a plugin? sounds interesting, sick of updating my blogs! (10pts for Mark on updates/security)

James

*SNAP* Jim picked up on the linkbaiting :)

Re WP, 2.5 will be out in a couple of months, we shall see how it goes. I find it painful to use with a Mac. I don't know if anyone has tried to run a WP site using Safari for their web browser? HARD. You cant use the GUI editor without the posts getting completely screwed up! *sigh*. It's especially difficult when you run a v'popular site and 96% of your visitors and contributers are Mac users :( I spend forever repairing busted up posts using firefox....

Bring on new WP, and auto updates, and, and...

Great post Mark, and I think you should crank out some more guitar in your future vids! haha

It's great for attention that's for sure.
Anyone up for the 'WP is great' song?

@stefson - lol, I nominate you!

@james - thanks for the compliment. Linkbaiting (or whatever) works best when you mean what you say. In this case I really mean it.

@all - I might have to do some more singing, this post is getting quite a few comments. Actions speak louder than words!!!!! lol

Kinda like the whole 'MS vs Apple' thing.

Apple is safer than Windows with all it's spyware and virus problems. One major reason for this is that it would be much more 'fun' and effective to write a virus that would affect 90% of all computers out there than just the 10% that run Apple.

Just because the blogosphere mainly runs on WP, most attacks will occur on the majority of WP blogs.

Just because nobody takes the time to write exploits for typepad doesn't mean its safer.

With such a huge community behind WP, I for one feel more at ease knowing there's also more people out there that are trying to improve the product instead of breaking it.

"Just because nobody takes the time to write exploits for typepad doesn't mean its safer."

:) yeah it does, because "nobody takes the time to write exploits for typepad"

Ahh well,

You don't have many worries once you know how to hack Wordpress especially with the more sophisticated techniques of hijacking servers. While I won't go in depth about it, learning this information does not have to be used for a bad purpose, it can be used to thwart offenses. However, most of the people who set out to learn it, are the ones who want to use it for the darkside.

Nice guitar BTW Mark.

Hi! :)

"Not have time to write exploits for .." - that sounds like a Mac discussion years ago. If you write an exploit for WP it will get caught instantly because everyone is afraid of those exploits. On other systems, where noone is afraid of such things, guess what... :D

Best wishes

Numbers into the box, I felt like chmodding. :)

I just discovered Chyrp the other day. It seems promising.
http://chyrp.net/
I'm still trying to decide which site I should use it on to give it a whirl.

By the way, every video post should be you playing the guitar in song form.

I agree with Jim, more guitar, and more suitable "rockstar" clothing, and "punching air" actions.

I really like WordPress and yes there have been some security issues, which the developers are fixing, etc. I like the fact that WordPress is free. TypePad isn't. I've tried other CMS systems and for me, WordPress was the easiest to understand and implement. So I went with it. I've created quiet a few sites with it and I've not had any problems yet *knock on wood*.

Nothing like a post like this to get the blood boiling for some folks :)

For now I'll take the free WordPress over a paid subscription service like TypePad. I'm not sure how they work - since I won't spend the money. But I'll take your word for it that they are good ;)

Hope all is well!

Tell me 10 of most popular blogs and blog stars, how many of them use WP? How many of them use others?

Fortunately for all the people here I won't pick up a guitar and start singing. I'd hate to break the internet or something ...

lol, that guitar takes it to a whole new level!

Sure wordpress gets hacked a lot, but if its been just fine for me so far (nearly a year now) why waste time experimenting with every single blogging system? Time is money!

I should also add about security - there is a WP plugin that backs up your blog automatically, so even if you get hacked you can easily recover anything that was lost.

Mark,

You have created quite a stir with this post!
Good job! :)

~Debby

thanks all for the continued comments, for OR against ;)

So the only answer to worpdress.org getting hacked, spammed, and having security issues is "it's to be expected" ??? ;)

I guess it's a matter of perspective Mark, WP is huge, it's the leader. It's got a target on its back. It works for me, and does what I want it to do and I know that if something bad happens, the community support behind it is going to pull it out of any problems that hit at it. I love Microsoft products and use them too--even though they have the same target from hackers. I leave their email client alone though ;).

The other blogging platforms have *really dropped the ball* IMO by not making their software more user friendly, AND not keeping their forums stocked full of knowledgeable supporters who are FRIENDLY to non-coders. Drupal is a perfect example of this the last time I checked (many moons ago). They're the only legitimate alternate solution to WP IMO, yet you are screwed sideways and upside down if you're not a coder or don't have a coder on retainer. They'll answer you in support forums, but in a language you've never heard of before and God help you if you ask for clarification (impatience). I personally think Drupal and its userbase has no interest in serving the needs of a non-coding userbase (I mean geez, just read their documentation). So we move on and have made WP what it is.

Jooma looks interesting at first glance, but it has some funky problems (the server has to be less restrictive on some security tweaks--disaster) and it's pretty heavy/chunky/slow the last I looked at it. And security issues/hacking problems of its own.

WP isn't "only" an out of the box blogging solution, a lot of us mold it into a CMS or get it to stand on its head because that's what we need it to do. If all one wanted to do is type a few words and hit publish, then I guess you're right--pay typepad or stick with blogger and hope for the best (non-hacker attention). But for those of us that have other things going on or want specific features, WP *is it*.

If WordPress becomes more of a hassle than a plus and if it loses the community propping it up, then they'll lose users rapidly. That's just not anywhere near the case IMO. But good job with the convo here ;).

"I guess it's a matter of perspective Mark"

for sure. I think I could turn wordpress on it's head also and make the updates and such. But I think 98% of the people using it probably can't and are leaving themselves wide open for trouble.

Yet I think most people defend it because wordpress is the "in thing".

Plus, for the majority of america thinking of starting a blog tomorrow that are non techies wordpress.org would be a nightmare for them, yet I always see it pushed as the #1 solution regardless of your situation.

I agree with your points if you are skilled in using cms software php etc.

Wordpress is great for certain uses. It certainly is a nice introduction to building a web site, and it's easy enough for non-tech savvy people to learn.

I switched to Joomla, and I couldn't be happier. It does everything I need it to, and I'm still learning new things I can do with it. The learning curve is steeper, but you end up with a nicer looking web site.

Which is my number one beef with Wordpress. I have never seen a Wordpress blog that didn't look like a Wordpress blog. Is this a limitation of Wordpress, or is it just that so many amateurs are making Wordpress themes? I've never seen a Wordpress theme that comes close to looking as nice as a good Joomla or Mambo template.

Ooops I meant Joomla above, not Jooma lol. I agree with mlankton that Joomla sites look awesome and have some neat features, but I have concerns with it that keep me running back to wordpress (as mentioned above). Namely, they need to work on the code so that it's easier to install. I'm not messing with server security just to have it run right.

Is this a typepad site?

@dishtv - no this was built from scratch, but i do have some typepad sites.

@45n5 - Thanks. It's pretty good for being from scratch! I thought it was WordPress at first.

Mark you have to follow the link to read my response to your video. ;)

Your singing sucks even worse then your inability to rhyme.Glad you found in your opinion a better solution,you probably think Microsoft is great too. Different strokes for different folks

reasons people like to use wordpress:

1) they really like to get spam
2) they think trackback is a great feature (aka more spam)
3) they don't realize that wordpress is barely a framework and anything outside of simple blog functionality requires php
4) they feel like they're in the 'in crowd' because every other blogging idiot uses it
5) they like to get hacked by pwnpress tools
6) they think forcing it to work like a CMS is actually a good idea
7) they like having to update their installation(s) at least once a month due to yet another security update

I agree that it's not the best solution. I stuck with it for a long time as it autogenerated rss feeds and with a few plugins a xml sitemap and tags on the fly. This brought in combination with some affiliatespamfeeds the possabilty to make nichesites real fast which ranked faster then i was used to when i build a site myself in php/mysql as i would willingly or not forget things like proper navigation, xmlsitemaps, tags, socialbookmarkingplugins etc.

Wordpress and all bulls*** blows serious ass. I prefer Vox or Livejournal, so don't use Wordpress.

a moron award to the person who can't figure out how to update 10 to 20 sites when an update happens. I host about a hundred blogs on a couple of servers. It's easy peasy. I spent 2 minutes writing up a script that does it all automatically.

If you want to keep using TypePad, go ahead and be sissies. Admit it, you are unable to administer your own site so your little daddy has to do it for you.

Hi all,

I have not had blogging in my focus for the last few years after some bad experiences. After reading through this informative thread, I ask...

What are the parts of a blog platform that are critical (such as CMS, feedback, etc.)?

I ask because I can code circles around most people and would find it a breeze to create my own blog software within a short period of time. I just need to know the latest on the "business" side of what blogging is doing and being currently used for. (in regards to how to make money from it of course!)

As far as writing chops - I am a published computer book author, have been writing for 20 years, and I "still" have a lot to say. However I am thinking of switching my focus off technology and onto politics. Think political blogs can bring in the bucks?

Although I currently hate wordpress with all my gut right now, I just can't stay mad at it for too long. It's just great all in all and besides getting hacked, I find it to be the best blog CMS out there. Or maybe second after typedpad, I love typepad too. Btw what guitar is that? can't tell.

Wordpress not only get hacked all the time, but the code is also an absolute disgrace. Have you ever tried to do anything with it? Its a complete jumbled mess - rivalling the unanimous awfulness of osCommerce.

I have to agree that Wordpress is an utter disgrace. What was once a fantastic, easy to use, extensible piece of software has turned into an utter pile of crap.

I've had numerous installs for my hosting clients hacked, spammed, etc and at this point as a hosting company, we're thinking about removing Wordpress as an option and moving all our hosted Wordpress sites to their own server at their own risk.

Wordpress sucks for systems administrators worse than anybody else.

Nice video. I'm with April on this one. You don't get much worse code than WP. I can't believe they use the banner "Code is Poetry".

the big problem with wordpress is that they need to re-write the copy & instructions near the "one-click-install" button so it says:

"button for morons who have no clue what they're doing and know nothing about this software, the servers it will run on, or anything else for that matter, -- so they can stroke their ego, and think they know something until any actual work has to be done or any thought or learning is needed, if you're a complete jacka$$ and agree with all of the above, ---click here---"

for the rest of you that might know at least more than nothing, instead of crying about something like wp, either 1) use something else, or 2) write your own and start your own open source community, or sw company to sell the stuff if that's your thing.

Geat video. I am feed up of being hacked on WordPress. Time to move on.