Has WordPress run its course?

[andrew]

So I'm dubious that this is the best place to air my petty foibles, but Jeff likes foibles, and discussion, so here is a chance to defend why you love WordPress so much.

If you read my blog you might notice it has grown quiet. The reason for this is that I simply don't have anything to say any more. I rather suspect the same is true of many WordPress blogs because It has been some time since I have seen anything new.

This is great for people coming to WordPress afresh but hardly moves things along any.

A while back I regularly asked Jeff to ask his guests whether they foresaw a point in time where WordPress would grow beyond the ability of individual hobbyist developers to influence. I feel that we are there. The core team is adding more and more as standard and in the processing removing more and more avenues of development.

So let me ask you this: If you are a WordPress fan do you think you have a contribution to make beyond one small voice in the pack? Do you think you can contribute at all? or are you just tagging alone for the ride?

What is it that you can do for WordPress?

[Ryan]

I think there is a burgeoning industry behind WordPress. The core software will always remain just that, the core, but the real movers and shakers are those who actually use it and/or develop sites powered by it.

Even if it has stagnated (which I don't think it has), that doesn't mean that it won't stay as the number one for quite some time and that more plugins and themes won't be developed for it.

I don't see any viable alternative yet, so I'm not intending to move away from the platform any time soon. But even if a new platform did take over as the most popular, it wouldn't bother me at all. I'd simply port my existing plugins, themes, systems etc. over to the new platform.

I guess if you are looking at working on the actual core yourself, then perhaps another platform which is less developed/stagnant might more appropriate but more general purpose site development I think it is still the best choice for 90% of people.

[theresac]

There are definite limits to what can be written about WP on a daily basis (how many "top 10 plugins" and "how to get thumbnails without using custom-fields" posts does the community really need?). I was thinking about starting a WP-related blog, but realized during the planning stages that most of what I had to say had already been said by others!

That said, there's so much more to the WP community than just core programming. Look at the thriving plugin scene. Look at the nascent premium theme scene.

There are so many areas were WordPress can still be improved: better premium themes, easier to use as a CMS, fine grained permissions, media handling, speed on slow connections, etc, and all of these problems can and probably will be dealt with via independant developers in the community.

There are a million other areas WP can be made *better*. These capabilities are were we, the "small voices" can really shine!

[itsananderson]

What is it that you can do for WordPress?

Ahh, but the question is not what can I do for WordPress, but what can WordPress do for me :)

Really though, I think the issue here is that WordPress is designed for people who barely know what a browser is, much less a template tag.

That's why there's so much more in the core, and to a certain degree that's why extending it is a little harder than "the other" blogging platform.

From a business standpoint, WordPress is just a little more promising (even though many people complain about it's use of the GPL). Who do you really think you're likely to get a development job from, a WordPress user, or someone technically savvy enough to use H?

Those are my thoughts, and that's why I choose to use both platforms (though WordPress is still my primary focus).

[andrea_r]

Mmmmm, I think there's confusion here with "constant change" and "growth". As the userbase grows and become more novice, the need for a *stable* and relatively unchanging core increases.

Back in the day (I'm sure you remember), it was know as the geek's blog choice, and many questions were answered with "read the code, n00b". Now the average user 'can't spell ftp" ;) and the geeks are the ones doing support for everyone else.

What can *I* do for WP? Keep recommending it. :D

[andrew]

From a business standpoint, WordPress is just a little more promising.

Well I do agree that from a business perspective, where it is stable and controllable it is still the best choice.

Perhaps what I mean then is that it is so mainstream that there is little need for the community to develop for it. There is nothing more that needs to be done, except for meeting your own needs, or those of a customer. Perhaps it has run its course as an 'interesting' project and is now just the defaqto standard.

[itsananderson]

Perhaps it has run its course as an 'interesting' project and is now just the defaqto standard.

Having only been working with WordPress for about a year, I've not yet exhausted all things WordPress, but I know what you mean. Most bugs on Trac are so specialized they're either so trivial it's pointless or so complex I have no hope of figuring out how to fix them without going through every file in core.

So yes, because WordPress is a mature project, some of the interest and control over future directions has been taken away from average users. I can see what you're saying.

[Jacob Santos]

I think a project for March, one of the two, will be to develop a WordPress clone built using Yii. I think the primarily issue for me with WordPress is that it isn't exactly meant for speed (processing side) and I want a code base built for speed. Using Yii, I think I can achieve that.

I doubt anyone else will join the project, but by damn I want something that is rock solid and fast as it can be with the given features.

[Len]

Most bugs on Trac are so specialized they're either so trivial it's pointless or so complex I have no hope of figuring out how to fix them without going through every file in core.

Precisely the reason I limit myself to helping out in the forums. :)

[itsananderson]

Yeah, I occasionally hang around the IRC channel. I find helping people a little easier there than on the forums because there's instant feedback. If a solution doesn't work, you don't have to wait a day and a half to find out about it.