WordPress is a widely misunderstood platform, and while it has its issues, it is still the most popular content management system that is trusted by millions of web developers. The platform has been used for building small and complex projects such as eCommerce sites, blogs, job listing boards, non-profit organization websites, online communities, and retail company’s websites.
However, the platform also has its issues, which is normal for such a large project, meaning its pros and cons. The focus on cons is what grabs a lot of people’s attention, and the points that are given against using the platform are mostly misinformation meant to pursue prospective users to ditch the platform for other technologies.
Questions such as whether the WordPress platform is secure and safe to use or if the platform is good for SEO because you have read somewhere that search engines do not index WordPress properly, or even whether your platform will be slow continue to sow doubt on the applicability of the platform for prospective users. However, a deep dive into these topics presents a more accurate representation of what WordPress really does and its capability.
Is WordPress really insecure?
Security of a website is paramount and using unsafe technologies that can be easily compromised can lead to massive damage for small, medium and complex projects. To avoid this, it is important to choose a technology that is time-proven on its security features and support for security updates.; every web developer understands this.
Like other sites, WordPress is also prone to security threats from hackers who are constantly devising new methods of attacks to compromise website security. However, there is no short answer on whether WordPress is secure or not and it mostly depends on what specifically you are looking for.
To determine whether a WordPress site is secure, we should break it down into different sections and examine each part independently to get a clear picture of the platform’s security measures. The three main sections that need to be examined are the WordPress core, the WordPress plugins and the WordPress themes.
Is WordPress core secure?
The WordPress core is safe and security patches are released regularly to patch their core files. WordPress core is also maintained by a team of world-class developers who ensure that they stay on top of vulnerabilities to prevent hackers from accessing the functionalities.
However, there are still some steps a WordPress user can take to ensure that their website is safe by strengthening the security measures of the WordPress core. This can be done using security plugins such as antimalware that are able to scan your websites for any vulnerabilities and programs that can compromise your security.
Ensuring that you use strong passwords and two-factor authentications for your WordPress core application also ensures that your site is safe. WordPress users can also improve security by enabling the SSL certificates that ensure that users who visit your site are doing it safely.
Keeping your site always updated with the latest security patches and taking an active approach to ensuring that your WordPress core is the latest version guarantees your WordPress site’s security.
Plugins
The short answer on whether plugins are secure is that it depends. Currently, there are tens of thousands of plugins that you can install in your WordPress core to extend its functionalities. These plugins are mostly developed by third parties and community members and are available for free or in paid versions.
The problem with plugins is that you are not always sure that the plugins will constantly be maintained, arising security issues be addressed, or if there will be any updates in the future. Considering that there are tens of thousands of available plugins, and while most of these plugins are safe to use, it is not hard to imagine a user placing an unsafe plugin on their site, which ends up compromising their entire website.
Though uncommon, the answer to whether a plugin can compromise your website is Yes! Therefore, users should ensure that they install plugins from only trusted sources such as the WordPress plugin directory. They should ensure that these plugins are maintained and offer support for their users.
Themes
Themes are also installed in the WordPress core to extend its functionalities by giving the site a new look and feel. Just like plugins, the answer to whether they are secure is, security is not always guaranteed depending on where you download your theme and if it offers security updates.
Therefore, WordPress users should be wary of the type of themes they are installing on their site to ensure that their websites are not compromised. They should also try getting their themes from trusted sources such as the WordPress theme directory or from trusted brands that offer WordPress themes.
Is WordPress SEO friendly?
The short answer is Yes! However, the results of your SEO is entirely dependent on the SEO work that is put into the website.
Google and other search engines are very clear that they do not consider which content management system a website uses when ranking a website. Therefore, the idea that websites built with WordPress are flagged and their SEO standing downgraded is just not the case.
However, WordPress core is built with out of the box solutions for your SEO needs such as proper HTML markups, SEO friendly permalinks, title tags and headings, optimized images and easy content creation that makes it one of the best platforms to use for your SEO needs.
WordPress is also extensible and hundreds of plugins are available to help you optimize the SEO of your content. These plugins are regularly updated to capture search engines’ current requirements, ensuring that your site is up to date with all the latest SEO trends.
The majority of themes offered for WordPress sites are also SEO optimized, implementing concepts such as user experience and appealing user interfaces that are able to keep users on your site.
Therefore, SEO’s effectiveness for a WordPress site entirely depends on a web developer’s level of skills.
Is WordPress slow?
Another misinformation that is generally associated with WordPress is how the websites developed using the content management system are slow.
However, this is generally not the case because WordPress core is very light and comes with a full out of the box SEO solution that ensures that your website is fast, user friendly and has a great user experience.
However, WordPress can get slow during website optimization when web developers install plugins and themes that are resource-intensive without making appropriate considerations. Also, hosting websites on a shared server reduces the speed of your site, especially where bandwidth for your site is limited.
This makes the assertion that WordPress is slow false. How slow a WordPress website becomes depends on multiple factors not related to the WordPress core platform.
