Needless to say that WordPress is a really great CMS allowing to create something that looks good and works well. However, WordPress isn’t infallible – there are still a few disadvantages of using the platform. Here’s a list of some annoyances with straightforward recommendations how to fix them.
Security Holes
Despite the fact that the WordPress core is extremely secure – security (or more correctly the lack of security) is often treated as biggest downside of the CMS. Because it’s so widely used and open source, it’s the one that hackers are likely to target first. To make your WordPress website secure and prevent a hacking calamity, make sure to:
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Check your web host. These days many hosting companies are offering beefed-up security for WordPress sites.
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Keep your WordPress version up-to-date. Older versions of WordPress are especially vulnerable to hackers.
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Install a security plugin to keep the hackers at bay. There’s loads out there so have a search and read some reviews before installing.
There are plugins that help you lockdown wordpress and ways keep an audit trail to help keep track of changes and even ways to limit access to your admin panel by IP.
Bad Themes and Plugins
Truth be told, plugins represent the beating heart of WordPress. There is a gazillion of different themes and plugins to choose from, aiming to make your website meet your exact specifications. Themes and plugins are awesome for many reasons, but they are not without flaws. An enormous number of them are either out of date, buggy, bloated, unsecure, or a combination of one or more of the above. Therefore, sometimes it happens that a bit of poorly-written code from a new theme or plugin can mess up an entire site. It doesn’t mean that WordPress themes or plugins are bad, but there are indeed some disadvantages associated with them. So, what can you do to reduce the risks of using WordPress plugins?
- Adapt the child theme instead (a copy of the theme you’re using).
- Backup regularly.
- Pick reputable plugin producers.
With nearly 28,000 free plugins in circulation, almost any imagination can be brought into reality by using them. Therefore, when choosing a theme or plugin, do your homework and make sure that you are avoiding the malicious ones. Take your time to find user reviews and read them before installing. Besides, bear in mind that the WordPress plugin repository is the most trustworthy place to download plugins.
Unfriendly SEO Out-of-the-Box
There’s a nasty rumor going around that WordPress is perfectly setup for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) “out of the box.” However, don’t be deceived by the words, since from all the great things that can be said about WordPress – out-of-the-box SEO certainly isn’t one of its strong points. The core of the software does need a little nudge in the right direction when it comes to SEO. This can be accomplished in 5 simple Steps.
- Speed up your WordPress. Speed is exactly what makes your website more usable, so your visitors tend stay longer, which can increase conversion rate.
- Optimize your site architecture. Think which categories you want to have and try to stay below 10.
- Optimize tags. They present good pointers for search engines and people, likewise. Your keywords should always be present in the title tag, meta description tag and alt tags.
- Link to related posts. It’s important to keep your WordPress site well linked internally as well as externally, so people may continue reading a topic of their interest.
- Social sharing. Search engines take into account every up vote and share your website gets.
- After you’ve installed WordPress and covered the basics of improving WordPress for SEO and the user experience, it’s time to go a bit deeper. Many great SEO plugins are available to help your WordPress site when it comes to SEO, usability, and conversion. To reflect that – WordPress SEO by Yoast or All in One SEO Pack are one of the best aiming to make a WordPress website a SEO success.
WordPress is Not as Easy as You Think
What makes millions of users and businesses gravitate towards WordPress is how seemingly easy it is to setup and manage. However, while it is easy to add or change content – the inner workings within WordPress are a bit more complex and often require an expert to understand. If you’re looking for a website that you need just to update or add some content – you may consider WordPress as a piece of cake. But if you want to create something intense for your blog or website, then you are going to have a little bit of trouble going with WordPress.
So, if you’re willing to master WordPress CMS, you should have a basic working knowledge of HTML and CSS coding. With that in mind, reading and viewing tutorials will definitely help you master WordPress in the shortest possible time.
WordPress Updates The Software Frequently
In order to keep up-to-dated with the current browsers and mobile devices, WordPress often rolls out updates. Updates are of crucial importance because they help to patch security flaws and allow the latest widgets and plugins to work properly. But updates can also bring down a WordPress site. If a site’s template or plugin is no longer compatible with the latest WordPress update, the site may stop working properly.
Since WordPress regularly updates its functionality, it may not be a good option for those looking for consistent platform. Therefore, prior to updating your WordPress version, it is advised to take a backup copy of the website (some hosting plans include regular backups). In the event there is an issue it can be restored to the earlier version. Overall, moving from one version to another is one more chance to re-think and/or redesign a website, and rebuilding doesn’t necessarily mean throwing out the value from your existing site.
Taking into account all aforementioned, there are still a lot to like about WordPress. You can’t beat the price, and if you invest the time, you will definitely get an amazingly powerful piece of software.
If you do decide to move to WordPress, have a go with CMS2CMS migration service right now and therefore make the migration easier than ever before.