Wordpress.com VIP Reviews

It provides flexibility in building and adding plug-ins, but the plug-in interface is not object-oriented.

What is most valuable?

Constant bug fixes Security patches Flexibility to add plug-ins Building plug-ins is easier than other CRMs such as Joomla Can jump in quickly Easy to use

How has it helped my organization?

I've been able to quickly build websites as needed.

What needs improvement?

Not really anything, but the plug-in interface into the system is not object-oriented. It's diffuse, and you feel like you're dropping bits into many places. They're called plug-ins, but you don't feel like you're plugging in your code, but just reaching in with a hundred tentacles. Lastly, the process doesn't feel encapsulated.

For how long have I used the solution?

5+ years

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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not tried to scale it very much.

How are customer service and support?

The community is enormous and everyone is very helpful, and other people have problems already solved.

How was the initial setup?

It's pretty straightforward. There is a wizard that walks you through the setup process.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have tried Joomla as a CMS, but it's extremely complicated in comparison.

What other advice do I have?

Go for it If it's for a website that's static (just showing content), you can't go wrong, as it can a handle website with 100's of pages easily. If

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user134607

Founder at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Aug 27, 2015

It helps us quickly install blogs, publish articles, and optimize SEO, but scaling it requires experienced engineers.

What is most valuable?

The features which are most valuable are:

1. Easy installation

2. Plugins community

3. Third party integration

4. Ability to extend

5. Affordable for beginners

6. Easy development platform (PHP, MySQL, JavaScript)

7. Multi language support

8. Backup support and availability out of the box

How has it helped my organization?

Improvements to our organization include quick blog installation, article publishing and SEO optimization for search engines.

What needs improvement?

There are several areas for improvement: You can extend the core, you have to comply with GNU GPLv2 license, you can build your own front end theme, you can use a theme out thousands free and commercial themes, you can build any plugin to do your desired functionality, thousands of plugins available to supplement extra functionality, freelance developers are available easy with reasonable pricing to develop your desired functionality.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using WordPress for 5 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues in deployment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We are facing issues with outdated plugins and shared hosting security issues, only if WordPress is implemented in dedicated environment it is highly secure.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

WordPress is scalable, with reasonable efforts and time, but you need experienced engineers to do it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

WordPress has very good customer support.

Technical Support:

WordPress provides very good technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to use PHPNuke and Xoops, but switched from both because WordPress is a more mature product.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented in-house.

What was our ROI?

This product has excellent value, and good reward for the purpose.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Initial cost of setup is my time and say to day cost, is via vendor newsletters to implement patches.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated PHPNuke, Xoops and Drupal.

What other advice do I have?

To use any product, write down your desired goals and usage scenarios, implement the core product. Spend enough time using the product and testing its functionality. Start by searching readymade plugins to supplement your functionality. Do not rush to write your own code until you did enough search on readymade plugins. If any functionality is available through third party plugin with fees, do not write it if you can afford paying the price and asking for third party developer support and development. Act as the end user, do not deal with the product as a developer. Measure your results with users satisfaction and goals achievement, do not measure results with your own developer mindset. Work with users from day one, do not build and build for long time before you get users feedback. Implement the product, and monitor how your users are using it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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June 2022

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it_user243900

Web Administrator at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jun 30, 2015

It can be scaled, but needs to be improved for smaller websites.

What is most valuable?

From a website developer point of view:

Ease of installation
Ease of customization (if you are an experienced programmer)
Excellent community
Excellent plug-ins and themes.

From a website editor point of view:

Very simple
Straightforward CMS
Easy to use

How has it helped my organization?

Building custom websites for customers has improved, generating more revenue.

What needs improvement?

Scalability for small websites on shared hosting.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for five years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

As website content and number of visits grow, one does recognize scalability issues for websites on shared hosting. I do need to note, howeve,r that Wordpress can be scaled indefinitely, and what I have noted is more a host issue than a Wordpress issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

There is an excellent Wordpress community.

Technical Support:

The Wordpress community and the plug-in/theme developers, typically provide outstanding support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Joomla (Up to 1.7). I have found Wordpress to be a lot faster and a lot easier both to setup and use.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We did it in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There was no cost to using Wordpress for us.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Joomla
Drupal

What other advice do I have?

Installation and usage manuals on the Wordpress.org are really helpful for beginners. In addition, the Wordpress community is outstanding for advice and troubleshooting, so take your time to browse through the various forums.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user795

Senior Manager of QA at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Sep 22, 2012

The quickest and most cost-effective way to get a fully functional website up.

Valuable Features:

- Easy to use and easy to assemble a fully working wordpress site - Flexible in terms of hosting - WP can host your site or you can host it on your own server - Plenty of themes available (free and commercial) - Search Engine friendly (Google bot likes WP sites) - Has a built in content management, so you can upload new content and even arrange the layout on a daily basis

Room for Improvement:

- The code behind a WP theme is not easy to modify in case you need additional features not provided by the theme.

Other Advice:

If you want a website ASAP, that is also search engine friendly, I suggest you download a WP theme and hire a WP developer. A fully functional website can be up in a matter of hours. You are then free to modify the content and add images and even change the layout to your heart's content!

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user1122

Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jul 11, 2012

I wish Wordpress had come out a long time ago

Valuable Features:

Wordpress is an excellent multi-purpose platform with a wide variety of uses and features, including:- An incredibly large theme base. - An incredibly large plug-in base. - It's written in PHP and HTML5, which is an incredibly extensible language. - It's easily transitionable from server to server. - It works very well as a CMS (content management system), which is kind of funny because it wasn't designed to be one. - It's scalable and customizable.

Room for Improvement:

The only major con I can think of is that, because it's written in PHP, if you make a manual edit to one of the theme configuration files (which you probably will end up doing during customization), and have even one minor typo, it will pretty much break the whole site.So, my recommendation is to BACKUP YOUR FILES BEFORE YOU EDIT SOMETHING and make sure you have access, whether it be physical, FTP or cPanel, to your host server.

Other Advice:

I use Wordpress almost exclusively as a CMS nowadays. It lets me set up web sites quickly and efficiently, and is really easy to use and administer. Each and every time I use it, I find myself learning something new and surprising myself with the extensibility of the platform.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user1077

Developer at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Jul 2, 2012

wordpress.com is one of the most popular and excellent platforms for creating and maintaining blogs and simple websites.

Valuable Features:

Offer hundreds of free themes (templates) to choose from.Intuitive user interface (UI) and SEO friendly.No hosting required (Freely available, followed by .wordpress.com).Smaller learning curve.

Room for Improvement:

Doesn't provide option to modify PHP and CSS files for free members.Not scalable for big and complex websites.No option to monetize the website (Affiliated links or Advertisements).

Other Advice:

No doubt, wordpress.com offers great features from newbies to experts. In order to improve the product, some of the basic and important features should be freely available (Like Uploading Custom plugins and themes).

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Buyer's Guide

Download our free Web Content Management Report and find out what your peers are saying about Wordpress, EPiServer, Drupal, and more!

Buyer's Guide

June 2022