Comments on: Vlog: WordPress is NOT a Trend

By: Keeshia

Keeshia — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:33:50 +0000

I use wordpress because of.. all of the above really. It's fast, it's easy, and it is extremely flexible. There isn't anything (yet) that I haven't been able to do with wordpress. .-= {shared blog entry - Vlog Week: 05} =-.

By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:34:12 +0000

I used WP as soon as it was available because I loved b2 and how simple it was. When b2 died and "became" WP the switch just seemed to make sense. Although, the first time I used it I wanted to punch it in the face (there were some serious issues at first with the b2 to WP import that got fixed later), I just loved how simple it was and with automatically updating plugins, the abundance of free themes, adding widgets, etc it's only become more and more useful. I used to theme it myself and loved to do that, and would love to now also, but I just don't have the time to dedicate to it right now. My online time suck right now is those stupid Facebook games. *shakes fist at them* I don't think it's "trendy" at all. I installed WP on aflux in early May of 2004 and have used it since then so, yeah, not a "trend" at all.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:00:51 +0000

True, EE does a LOT out of box. The templating system is SO basic and easy to grasp, better at having multiple blogs, etc.

However the community lacks, the plugins/extensions lacks, and the high cost for rare upgrades really put me off.

I want to, for fun, play around with textpattern and Chyrp.

By: C

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:54:06 +0000

I don’t think it’s trendy in so much that it’s just popular. And maybe that popularity speaks to it’s ease of use. For ME, personally, I do not want to look at all of that php. I think in the argument of WP vs EE — there is NO competition because EE is just absolutely robust and does so many things out of the box that wordpress doesn’t do.

I guess it all boils down to comfort levels and what it is you’re trying to accomplish. WordPress definitely has lots of little bells and whistles via plugins that I could see the appeal in, but for me — I have little to no use for them.

I DID end up moving my site away from expression engine (although I ALWAYS seem to go back) to textpattern because I was a little upset about that upgrade fee thing. I think there are tons of vehicles out there to get yourself on the road, so to speak — but you just have to find what’s right and feels good for you.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:09:16 +0000

@Jenn, I just watched your video and I wanted to clarify a few things. In your vlog you state WordPress is not a trend yet on your response on Lavish you state it IS trendy to use WP. I also have to disagree that someone should take the basic "default" template, "strip away the css", and that it would be simple to customize. The default template "Kubrick" is very complicated for a newbie. The best way for someone to create a template is to design/code xhtml/css and THEN insert the WP template code. That is easily done by utilizing the WP Codex. When it comes to plugins, it's very simple to go through and make them XHTML Strict compliant (if you need/want that for your site). @Lynda, aww thank you!! Keith went out at like... 1-2am to get me those flowers so I would have SOMETHING to photograph lol. I agree, EE is charging WAY too much. Especially for those of us who paid the basic yearly renewal fee, and then get told, wait, you need to pay $60 more to get the actual upgrade. It just was not worth it. I switched to EE during the time when MT started charging and EE had a switch campaign going on lol. MT is another company that is more interested in the financial aspect instead of the community aspect. Which is sad really because I quite liked them in the beginning. See, I actually have no issues with pre-made themes. What bothers me is when someone installs a theme, changes a color here or there, adds a header, and claim to have "designed and coded" the entire thing! Some even go as far as to claim themselves "wordpress experts" for doing that!

By: Lynda

Lynda — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:56:20 +0000

First, you are beautiful. I don't care what you're talking about, I like watching you talk. :) Nice touch with the flower behind you. I used the same CMSs you listed: Greymatter, MT, pMachine, ExpressionEngine, now WordPress. I loved pMachine and ExpressionEngine, but I had to create most of my own plugins and hacks to get it to do what I wanted it to do. I was really heavy into the developer community for a while. I appreciate that it helped me learn PHP, but it is sickening how much money they want. I don't use Moveable Type because I hate Six Apart. I've been wanting to move away from LiveJournal for a while (especially since that's owned by 6A) and the ONLY logical choice was WordPress. I did use a theme, but I've customized it quite a bit. I just don't have the time to do my own design anymore! I like how there's a plugin for EVERYTHING so I also don't have to worry about the development side of things. Wordpress has been around for a long, long time.. how's it a trend? .-= {shared blog entry - Wordless Wednesday} =-.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:43:49 +0000

I responded with a video! http://www.jenn.nu/2010/01/07/why-i-use-wordpress/
.-= {shared blog entry — Why I use WordPress} =-.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:36:36 +0000

Right, that was one of the main reasons I personally switched from Expression Engine as well.

I still have 6 months left on my license for EE yet they want $60 MORE to upgrade to v2.0!

I appreciate that WP has such a large community that any question I may have, most likely has been asked before and the solution can be found via a quick Google search.

If it hadn’t been asked yet, a simple thread on a forum or tweet and I usually am presented with an option/solution within minutes!

The community of WP users is a big draw aside from the platform itself.

By: Lisa Marie

Lisa Marie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:30:11 +0000

OMG I totally had one of those slap bracelets! :) I didn't decide to use Wordpress because I thought it was 'trendy' or because everyone raved about it. I was content using Expression Engine until I eventually got bored with it. There weren't many plugins and it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon. Plus there were some features in WP that I really wanted to take advantage of. Like free upgrades. I hated having to make sure my license was up to date (20$ every year) just so that I could have the latest version. .-= {shared blog entry - Resolutions} =-.