WordPress Does Not Suck
Recently I ran across a post and watched a video of Mark Wielgus rant about how he feels that WordPress sucks. In my opinion, this rant is very far from the truth. But, everyone knows… opinions are just like butt holes, everyone has one! lol
On behalf of WordPress.org and their staff of hard working, dedicated and committed programmers on their development team, I wanted to publish this article and voice my opinion about WordPress and shout out a “thank you” to them for all that they have done for me and the millions of other publishers on the Internet.
Mark begins his rant by saying, “…for a business site or a site you rely on for any income, wordpress is a liability!”
and…
“The next time you see somebody promoting wordpress for anything more than a hobby or test site, show them this video or give them this link. Wordpress Sucks!”, says Mark.
I think making a decision to use WordPress is a smart move. There are many highly successful people using WordPress as their platform for publishing content on the Internet. I am one of them. Mark continues on by stating, “…they have so many security updates they are difficult to keep up with leaving your site vulnerable and a liability to your business.” and further explains how TypePad can be a safe and professional alternative to WordPress.
People complain to complain. In my years of experience, I have seen thousands of people complain, beg and even offer to pay money to software developers to make updates on their programs. And then we have an organization called WordPress who religiously offer updates, patches, and security fixes for their user level community, yet I guess that isn’t good enough either. In Mark’s case, he is ranting that it is hard to keep up with all the updates. Who’s problem is that? It isn’t WordPress. They are doing their job by maintaining a very professional and stable platform for publishers. Most importantly, this is all done for free!
A portion of the lyrics to Mark’s song that is being syndicated on YouTube it reads:
WordPress sucks, because wordpress gets hacked like every day.
WordPress sucks, and they have security updates that nobody can keep up with.
If you’re a webmaster/publisher and fail to keep your WordPress install up to date, then being subjected to getting your blog hacked is your problem. WordPress.org does an amazing job with offering a wonderful program to millions of publishers who want to broadcast their work on the Internet. Secondly, you have to understand that there are always risks with publishing your content on the Internet. This goes hand in hand with any program you use on the Internet. WordPress is not less secure than TypePad than any other program.
It is your choice to use WordPress. I would recommend using it for the fact that it is widely supported and updated to assure that you can publish content as safely and securely as possible in a highly infected dot Com world of spammers and hackers.
Anything can be hacked, and WordPress is one of the only communities that I know of where they take extreme and quick action towards correcting problems.
WordPress has an open forum called, WordPress Trac which as they mention, “Trac is the place to follow along with the development of WordPress. You can track changes in the Timeline section of this site. There is also an RSS feed and a mailing list for those interested.” You can contribute by helping resolve bugs, report glitches in the system and be notified when corrections have been made.
WordPress Trac is a huge volunteer community that is obviously working very hard to protect your blog as they have been regularly offering updates.
My final thoughts on this topic are this:
It is better to have too many updates than ZERO updates. If it is too much work for bloggers who have multiple blogs online to perform these updates, then perhaps you are in the wrong business and should fill out a job application for a normal brick and mortar business.
What Do You Think?
Drop me a comment and tell me what you think. Do you feel that WordPress is safe? Are you annoyed with all the updates? Would it be better to not have updates and run software where hackers have found ways to exploit it? I’d love to collect your feedback.
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Date/Time: 1-9-2008 00:44:43 Comment #8705
Wow. How old is this guy? 2. I think he is just setting up some linkbait to get all the Wordpress users fired up. Anyways, I enjoy the updates that close security loopholes. Plus, with the way most hosts are now, they do it for you, or it is just a one click install. No biggie. Ignore the idiot I say.
Justin Dupre
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 00:46:00 Comment #8706
Arrgh! My ears are bleeding after listening to his singing! Please make the pain go away! (sob)
The only thing I have to gripe about WP is not about the software itself, but that it’s sometimes hard to get support from their forums, but you get what you pay for.
I wonder if he’s actually used the thing.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 01:05:28 Comment #8708
@ Money and Blog,
I don’t think Mark Wielgus is an idiot and I surely don’t want to ignore him. I have to support and encourage him along his ventures just I would feel good knowing he supported my efforts.
Aside from that, I strongly feel that his video and his post is extremely misleading. When you get to a certain level of authority such as myself or Mark, you have to be really careful with what you say and how you lead people. I feel that WordPress is a very secure, stable and professional program. Mark doesn’t, but failed to present any actual data, documentation or facts to his readers. It’s all a matter of opinions and I already mentioned about those on the first line of the post.
What I believe happened (and I kind of remember him ranting about this a month or two ago) was one of his blogs got hacked into and Google ended up adjusting his ranking in the SERPs because of it. My guess was that he wasn’t running the most current version of WordPress. From what he described in his post, it sounded just like an experience I had earlier last year as well.
As you mentioned… WordPress is very easy to update, especially if you have hosting that includes one button installs/updates.
I am pretty sure Mark Wielgus did this to gain traffic and put some attention on himself. I think you can get the same results by doing things in a more educational/informative/professional manner, but that’s just me. I am not too big on link bait, but can understand how he might be struggling to continue growing his blog and his network.
@ Mark Sierra,
I know the feeling… but then again, I would bet money that his singing sounds 10x better than mine!
As far as the WordPress support forum goes. Keep in mind that this entire community is open source and volunteer. Just like any organization of this nature, we need volunteers. This isn’t your first rodeo Mark… meaning, you might not know about advanced WordPress issues, but you know how to help with the little things. And as it stands now, the forums are bombarded with simple to answer questions where people such and yourself and I could easily invest a few minutes each day by helping out the bigger guys answer a few. By having more people in that forum such as ourselves, we lighten the load on all the big guys who can answer all the complicated questions.
Your experience with the forum could be the result of the moderators being too busy answering stupid questions that you and I as well as many others could answer for them.
Its been awhile since I lasted visited… I think I’ll head over there and answer a few questions, it would be nice for you as well as any of my other readers who are familiar with WordPress to visit and join.
Visit - http://wordpress.org/support/
5 minutes per day could make the lives of thousands a lot easier in the years to come.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 04:45:12 Comment #8714
I watched Mark’s video yesterday but I still love Wordpress. Such a sweet voice though, compared to mine.
I have to agree, WordPress doesn’t suck.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 07:52:16 Comment #8718
Garry,
There is absolutely nothing better than WordPress. I have awe for people who just don’t get that! I haven’t watched this video yet (i am at work now) but a right tool in the hands of a wrong person is nothing but a waste.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 08:28:25 Comment #8722
All software has it’s problems. Error handling and security are the toughest elements to program. Yes, Wordpress has some security issues, however, they react to them and they have done an excellent job of listening.
I have personally tried Blogger, Movable Type, TypePad, Wordpress and a couple others.
When anyone makes a post like that it is hard to accept any of it. If you have solid points, make them, but to just say something sucks is an opinion, not a fact. People who complain like that will complain about anything. If Mark got burned, he could certainly use the information to benefit people instead of using it just for a personal rant.
I unsubscribed from Marks blog a long time ago, right after he blasted his own readers for not supporting something he wanted them to. I just thought it was in bad taste.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 08:33:44 Comment #8723
“I am pretty sure Mark Wielgus did this to gain traffic and put some attention on himself.”
I did it because it’s my blog and it’s what I believe. That’s the point of a blog.
I think wordpress.org is dangerous to suggest somebody use that isn’t a techie. No hype, not twists, no turns. that’s what I honestly believe.
I’m 32
And having fun making really bad videos, everybody should try it 
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 09:48:38 Comment #8726
@ James,
Do doubt, right? I think Mark W could make it to the music awards.
@ K,
So Saddam Hussein having nuclear weapons isn’t a very good idea, huh?
@ David,
Well said! I think you hit the point that I am making. The negative experience Mark W. for WordPress could have been channeled in a more positive direction and surly it could have been something that his readers could have learned from. There is nothing wrong with rants; however, when an author as well as their readers have shaped and molded a blog to provide a certain level of authority, content, and professionalism, then seeing a post with an included video of this stature is surprising.
It was bad taste and I clearly remember what you are talking about. Go ahead and push that “Orange” button on his site again. I think this business / hobby can be frustrating, especially if you have a blog where you volunteer information. It was just a few weeks ago when I published a similar post announcing to my readers that I was considering quitting this blog because no one was commenting. I learned a lot within the comments and feedback within that post. Most importantly, I discovered that the problem was “My Problem” and not my readers. I listened to what everyone said in the comments of that post and rolled out an action plan.
Since then my feedburner subscription just broke the 500 count barrier, traffic has increased so much that I had to get a server upgrade, comments are way up as people are interacting with me and each other and the content is related to what people want to read (hopefully lol).
The point is this, people make mistakes. I will be the first pro blogger to admit that I make my share of them. You haven’t unsubscribed from my blog for any of the mistakes I have made in the past, so I don’t think its fair to unsubscribe from someone else’s for the same reason. In the case with Mark W, I agree about everything you say and perhaps he can learn from this experience and better himself. If read the comments on his post, you’ll see that the post didn’t sit well with his readers… and that’s ok! Being a leader within your niche is difficult and many of your posts are used as calibration tools (at least that is how it is for me) to dial in with your readers. Some times the frequency bar is too high and other times its too low. Sheer volume and reader submitted feedback all help an author to successfully dial in with their readers.
@ Mark W.
People read your blog to learn the business of making money online. I have watched your blog gain positioning in the SERPs since late summer of 2007. If you have the mentality that “this is my blog and I can do what I want” then you have worked for over six months to gain positioning as well as gain a readership who have become mislead.
There is nothing wrong with that belief; however, for your readers sake who trust what you say: prove it. The only valid thing I took from your post and video is the fact that you admit that you don’t update your installs and in a previous post of a few months ago you admit that one of your sites got hacked.
Having that said, if you kept your sites up to date and then got hacked, maybe you’d have a leg to stand on… However; even so… you can’t say that WordPress is less secure than another of its same class. Anyway, I am not here to beat a dead horse with you about it. There is nothing wrong for you to believe what you do. However, communicating so in the way you did, might not be the best for the overall health of your blog based on your current class of readership. If you are trying to shape and mold your blog into something different, then I understand.
After watching your videos in the last few weeks I have learned a lot about my own videos. We have a lot in common. Anyway, I read your post where you said that you are going to be producing one video per day for the next year. I think that is a terrible idea as I predict the level of quality in your videos to drop dramatically.
I want to share something with you Mark. Its my perception of you.
Here is when I met you:
I saw that video for the first time off of John Chow’s blog. I thought it was very fun, entertaining and professional. You look clean, educated and professional. Let’s speed up time and jump to your most recent video:
There is a huge difference… and if anything you’ll be happy to know what I have learned from you: Nothing can replace quality or time invested. I got on a similar kick over a month ago… I wanted to do a million videos and a million and one blogs posts… hurry hurry hurry and gain more readers, interest, page views, etc…
You can’t substitute quality and you can’t substitute time invested. The amount of investment and time you put into something is exactly what you can expect in return. I am very familiar with the processes involved with producing videos on YouTube and for you to attempt to do one video per day is kind of a bold move unless you are Chris Pirillo.
Just have fun but understand that there are thousands of eyes watching everything you do… these are all puppy eyes that want to learn from the big dog. Don’t mislead your people and show them what they want. Having fun on YouTube doesn’t mean you have to include every single video you do on your blog.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 10:31:24 Comment #8729
“this is my blog and I can do what I want”
I don’t have that mentality. I have the mentality that I say what I believe and I’m honest. And that’s why I believe people read my blog whether they agree or not.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 10:32:00 Comment #8730
also note, the video of me in your comment above is from another website, not 45n5.com
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 10:45:16 Comment #8731
Do you really know why people read your blog? You have no idea why I read your blog… and yet I have probably invested the more time into providing constructive feedback than many of your regular readers. The above doesn’t hold true for me… so, why do I read your blog, Mark?
Good grief dude… you are so far off base it’s crazy. Did you forget to take your meds??? Last I checked, there is only one Mark Wielgus. It doesn’t matter if you publish content on SanataClause.com or PlayBoyBlogJunkie.com there is only one Mark Wielgus… you can syndicate content all over the Internet on many different social media sites such as YouTube, AOL Video, etc.. as well as Digg, StumbleUpon, Sphinn, Propeller, etc…
For you to respond to me by saying, “oh… well, that video was done on another site” doesn’t say anything… lol. How is that justifiable? and also how does that make 45n5.com look better?
The video that you said was done on the other site is the one that I gave a thumbs up on… so if anything, by justifying that that video wasn’t done one 45n5 inadvertently admits that you have lower quality videos on 45n5.
Now knowing that the your lesser quality videos can be found on 45n5 and knowing that you have better videos located somewhere else, I am more interested in reading your other site because I can only guess that if the videos are better on that site then so will your written content.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 10:53:13 Comment #8732
“You have no idea why I read your blog”
no i don’t know why gary conn reads my blog, that’s stupid to assume I do and i never said I know why gary conn reads my blog.
The MAJORITY of the feedback i get tells me they read it because it’s honest and because I give my straight opinion.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 10:55:03 Comment #8733
thanks for the feedback, I’ve got work to do now
l8r
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 11:08:59 Comment #8737
You said….
and then you said….
Of the 994 pages that you have indexed in Google, only 34 pages return results that have the word “honest” in them. Secondly, from what I can see not a single instance of the word “honest” was actually keystroked in the comments by your readers. All instances of the word “honest” was typed by you in your posts.
What does that mean?
It means that there are zero comments and zero feedback on 45n5.com according to what has been recorded in Google where users have submitted feedback saying, “Hey Mark… awesome job, I enjoy reading your blog because you’re an honest guy!”
To assure this, you can check “Honest Guy” and see the results even better.
If you believe that people read your blog because you feel that you are an honest individual, that is fine… and I ask again, is that your same beliefs when you discover that I read your blog?
First and foremost, I think people find your blog because they have hopes and dreams of making money online. You act as a leader and a teacher in that industry. And just like the thousand and one other blogs that publish content about the same topic, do you really help people learn how? How many of your readers have had a life changing experience because they read your blog? How many of your readers have received their first Google Adsense check by way of following your guidance and leadership? How many people were able to get extra gifts for the kids and by something nice for themselves based off reading and following what you teach?
When you break out and publish posts and included videos such as the “WordPress Sucks” bit, you’re really not helping your readers at all. I would guess that 95% of your readers use WordPress. So, now what?? Do they have to jump ship and start over with TypePad?
If you believe that WordPress sucks and TypePad is the better solution, then how do I migrate all my information over to TypePad? Are you prepared to hold my hand and walk me through the process?
If you believe that WordPress sucks, then can you offer me advice on how to keep my content safe while I start making head way towards switching over?
If you act like a leader in this industry, then you need to actually and physically be one. People’s hopes and dreams depend on your leadership and when you tell them that their WordPress blog is NOT safe it can worry them. Most of my readers as well as yours are not programmers or very skilled Internet savvy things. They are inspiring writers who want to take their skills to a level that will help them make some extra money.
They depend on people like you and I to supply them with accurate and relevant information that will help them in their ventures of making money online. I am very critical of this and I am not here to make friends among people within my own niche. Either you put out the information they request or you jump ship and bail and shape and mold your blog into something else.
When people visit and read 45n5.com they come there wanting to learn how to make money online. Show them.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 11:10:20 Comment #8736
-Garry,
You said….”Go ahead and push that “Orange†button on his site again. “…and I do agree with giving people second chances and we all make mistakes, but…..
After further review, the play stands
I think I will stick with my unsubscribed status.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 11:39:39 Comment #8739
David,
Well… I tried, but I kind of don’t blame you. I have tried real hard in the comments to speak with Mark and for whatever the reason may be, it seems like he just doesn’t “Get It”…
On a side note, I hope things are going well for you! Anything new and happening in the CyberCoder world? When is your next post going to publish? Talk to you soon.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 11:56:47 Comment #8741
-Garry, yes you tried. Oh well….
As for me, well been busy, but not with the Net. Working on something new for a part time gig, more on that later…
Got a little bored and burned out on the Blogging I guess, making money is ok, but not been real fun lately. Think it is the same old thing, I like the programming stuff more than the writing.
I did get a FANTASTIC writer signed up on my NonPartyPolitics.com blog !! Brennan is very impressive writer! And I have to give you some credit on that one.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 12:00:52 Comment #8743
Congrats on that! Brennan is a great writer. Not to worry about blogging… you should do what you enjoy doing and if programming is your cup of tea, then drink up! You do an awesome job with programming. I am glad to hear that income is still doing well for you and I am sure it will continue as you are bringing in writers to help and join with your efforts.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 16:27:03 Comment #8751
The only thing I can think of is that Wordpress doesn’t have as much stuff as Joomla
-Mike
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 16:37:29 Comment #8753
I’ll be the first one to admit that I am NOT a techie. I don’t understand a lot of the things that go on in the back end of a blog, nor do I understand how the plugins work. However, Wordpress is the only self-hosted blog I’ve ever used and I’ve been very happy with everything that has come out of it.
I love Wordpress and the ease of making my blogs. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to get a wordpress blog up and running, and to look and feel nice. Yes, it is true that in order to get ahead in some things, you have to know which plugins go where and which code to put in certain places, but for those who are just looking to put up a nice blog, I’d promote Wordpress all the way.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 17:31:39 Comment #8755
I’m not sure why you are wasting your time with that guy. He was rude to me once and I have forgotten about him and would like to keep it that way.
Date/Time: 1-9-2008 19:46:29 Comment #8759
I won’t make many comments on the song as I don’t think I’d even have the guts to try singing. hehe. However, I don’t think I agree entirely with him. Now I don’t like everything about wordpress but I do like it. In fact I love their customer service because when needed the most they came through, worked their tails off during holiday dinners to make sure a few sites were up that I know of. It paid off too. But I do believe there are other sites out there as well, for instance blogger. Yes, I know there are many that hate it but it is simple and easy and even easy to make money off of.
Wordpress is great because you can mess with your templates and predate your entries. Those are the two features that make me love it, if blogger were to do the latter I’d be all over them. (yes I know I have about 20 sites with them already)
Date/Time: 1-11-2008 07:08:07 Comment #8819
Gary, I’m with you here, Wordpress is one of the best free blog scripts and has helped my site go from strength to strength.
Date/Time: 1-14-2008 11:39:27 Comment #8938
You forgot the “and everyones stinks” part of your statement about opinions. It is my opinion that Wordpress does not suck.
Date/Time: 1-14-2008 23:18:31 Comment #8959
LOL!!!
Thanks owen… I’ll be sure to tack that on next time…
I can see it now, said the blind man to his deaf wife!
Date/Time: 1-18-2008 05:58:42 Comment #9246
I agree with you, look at how popular wordpress has b