This post by Scribu encapsulates the trepidations many developers share about wordpress. My friend Chris offers a nice response: https://gomakethings.com/in-defense-of-wordpress/
More thoughts from Jeremy Horland:
PRO:
1) WordPress is now the dominant web platform.
https://trends.builtwith.com/cms
https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_management/all
Market Share: Top Website Platforms
2) WordPress is a convergent platform
PhpBB, Buddypress, and many other projects are far beyond what previous cms platforms called “extensions.”
Many are products that were built before wordpress, then incorporated into it.
Many plug-ins and now wordpress itself can be deployed as “apps” for devices, not just accessed via browser.
3) WordPress is a grassroots ground swell event.
The only other web platforms to see this kind of wide support and deployment existed in a corporate funded bubble.
CON:
1) Web platforms of every shape and size can evaporate in just months.
We’ve all seen this happen to a favorite language or product.
2) WordPress has security problems
WordPress is the most attacked, most often hacked CMS in web history
http://news.softpedia.com/news/wordpress-continues-to-be-by-far-the-most-hacked-cms-508558.shtml
3) Wordpres is a pay-wall
Most good plugins are now yearly fee-required “pro” versions
Good hosting is getting more expensive, wordpress can run slow and consume a lot of memory
Most good and extensible themes are now also yearly fee based.
Summary : WordPress is a required skill.
NEXT QUESTION :
Which plugins are REQUIRED and how do you configure them?
To which I replied with some not terribly interesting thought, prompting Chris to say:
I almost never pay for plugins, but that’s because I generally write my own if needed. Must haves for me:
- JetPack
- Comet Cache
- Easy Digital Downloads (much lighter footprint than WooCommerce, but same feature set, mostly through plugin extensions. You get to pick and choose vs. just have it all lumped in, resulting in a much nicer, simpler interface. Also, GREAT documentation, support, and an API.)
- SMTP Postman
- GitHub Updater
- A slew of my own
I’ve also never purchased a premium theme. I code my own from my own starter template.