wordpress

A couple years ago, it was widely debated whether WordPress should really be considered a CMS considering its roots as a blogging platform. That debate has pretty much fallen by the wayside at this point, as WordPress now powers plenty of non-blog websites, including everything from simple multi-page brochure style sites right up to full-fledged social networks (using plugins like BuddyPress).

There are thousands of themes available for WordPress, as well as thousands of plugins and widgets to extend its functionality. WordPress also has an incredibly active community surrounding it, meaning it’s easy to find tutorials or information about nearly every aspect of developing for WP.

Through plugins and custom themes, you can turn WP into a social network, forum, e-commerce site, and much, much more. There’s also built-in functionality for creating blog networks or other multi-blog installations from a single core installation.WordPress.com offers a hosted, less-versatile version of WordPress, though the basic functionality is all there.

STRENGTHS

• Huge developer community with plenty of documentation and tutorials available
• Free and paid plugins and specialized themes make it possible to create virtually any kind of site with WordPress
• User-friendly dashboard for managing content

WEAKNESSES

• Can be overkill for basic sites
• A standard installation can have a lot of security issues, and is very vulnerable to attack without additional security measures
• No official support outside of user forums, where you may or may not get an official response