How WordPress Stole My Soul
Ok, I don't hate WordPress that much, but I have an opinion because I've literally used it for decades.
CLICK HERE to find out How to Build a Website Without WordPress.
WordPress Got Me a Job
When I separated from the military in 2015, I wanted to become a self-taught front-end developer in Boston.
I had already used WordPress to build some affiliate sites, so I figured becoming a WordPress developer was the next logical step.
Sure enough, it landed me a job at a small web dev shop.
I learned how to code and tweak many WordPress sites because the shop managed about 60 sites.
I never felt like I was really building anything significant, but instead tweaking and fixing basic site issues for a customer base who was mostly ungrateful and uninterested in web development.
At that point, I decided I wanted to move beyond being a WordPress developer for a few main reasons:
Plugins are Problematic
The whole Plugin ecosystem in WordPress is a never-ending sea of options, but those 'solutions' often cause more problems than they're worth.
No matter how good the reviews are on Plugins, you end up installing it and find out it conflicts with your other Plugins, or it contains a ton of bloated, unnecessary code that slows down your site.
Plugin creators are always catering to the average person on the street making a blog, so these blogs are mostly bloated, slow sites with superfluous functionality and design throughout the site.
Is Using WordPress Cheating?
I feel like it is in a way. I just want to convey a point with my writing while avoiding bubbly distractions.
No Ads, No videos, No images, No nothing. Just words.
Is that possible in this short term, distracted World?
Can I hold your attention for more than 5 seconds with just words?
I Want to Create and Build
When you build a site with WordPress, you're just copying the herd of boring blog owners who walk, talk, and blog like each other.
Why not become an artist or creator and build your own website from scratch?
It will be faster, more efficient, and more to the point for your reader.
When you create a website from scratch, you develop skills not only related to programming:
- You learn to think in a logical way and manage projects from start to finish.
- You learn basic design principles.
- You learn how to make sites responsive and user friendly.
WordPress Makes You Lazy and Dependent
Like most products in the marketplace, they usually allow you to be lazier and noncreative.
Resist this temptation.
Web development is like anything else in life, your lizard brain wants a way to avoid pain and make things 'easier' in the present moment.
This lizard brain is usually your enemy and doesn't have your long-term best interests in mind.
In Summary, WordPress is OK, But You Can Do Better
I do like that WordPress is open source and customizable to a certain point.
But most people just assume it's the only way to make a site because all their friends do the same thing.
I've coded this present site from scratch and I'm much happier.
In addition, I've become a better programmer in the process.