Every so often I come across a post that lists several reasons why you should use WordPress. For instance - 13 reasons why you should use WordPress. How many of those reasons also apply to Injader?

1. WordPress is free. So is Injader, Blogger, Drupal, Joomla and many other open source content management systems. Some systems are not free, but many of them are. This is a good benefit, but certainly not unique to WordPress.

2. Really, any host can run it. Well, if the host supports PHP/MySQL, then you should be able to run WordPress, Injader or any other PHP/MySQL-based system. This is true of other products that use PHP/MySQL, too - whether it's a CMS, a forum, or a store. Some hosts offer very limited features, which can result in paying less money for your hosting, but most sites will need PHP/MySQL for something.

3. Setup is no problem. I mostly agree, but WordPress requires an extra step not listed in the blog post. You have to manually edit a config file, and type in your database connection details. Many technically-minded people will be familiar with this step, and to be fair, those who don't understand it could struggle with setting up a database in cPanel too.

In Making a Better Open Source CMS, the author writes:

Your tool will see better adoption if you stop to consider the out-of-the-box experience before you ship it. I want to download, unpack, and run an installer in my browser. Ask me a few questions, and then you go set up the database tables and write the conf.php or whatever. Set constraints for yourself as you design this experience: 10 minutes from download to running, never send a user to the command line, never force open a text editor. It will be hard, but you're good at solving hard problems, and this is time very well spent.

I know you can "make do" with the text editing route, and changing file permissions is a pain in the backside as it is. But editing config files by hand when you're not a technical person can create a whole range of problems. What if you put a double quote between the existing double quotes? What if you omit a quote from the end?

Injader doesn't ask you to edit a text file, you type stuff into the installer. You may need to set the permissions in your FTP program, but this is easier for non-technical users to do than editing a PHP file.

4. Tons of quality support. WordPress definitely has a larger community than Injader. You can get fast and professional support at Injader.com, but there aren't a lot of other sites that will be able to help you. This is the problem with a new system - there aren't many people using it, so not many people know it. And as a result, not many people will take a chance on it. But I'm always willing to answer questions and help people with Injader, and on the plus side I know everything there is to know about Injader, whereas many WordPress people specialise in certain areas.

5. Designing it yourself is easy. The Injader theme system is no more difficult than the WordPress system. Thesis is a nice option for WordPress, but it's not free. Wouldn't using it negate point #1 about the system being free?

6. Finding someone to design is just as easy. Again, this comes back to the point I made in #4 - Injader's community is smaller than WordPress. There are a few people who are starting to build themes though. Rome wasn't built in a day!

7. Thousands of awesome 3rd party plugins. Bit of a double-edged sword, this. Yes, WordPress has plenty of plugins that are very popular, there's no doubt about that. However, there are a number of reasons why relying so heavily on plugins is a risk in itself. Also, I wouldn't say there are "thousands of awesome plugins" - there are some poorly coded plugins, and there is some duplication, too.

Injader focuses on providing the main features in the core - WordPress seems to be a bit too focused on making virtually everything a plugin. There are inconsistencies - for instance, why is revision control in the core, but you can only turn it off by editing a config file or installing a plugin? That seems totally backwards. Either provide it in the core and also provide a core setting so you can disable it, or don't provide it in the core at all.

Incidentally, I'll be writing more about the drawbacks of plugins in a future post at Top Ten Blog Tips.

8. Thousands of premium/free themes. This is similar to point #6, so the same arguments apply.

9. You don't need much technical knowledge to manage it. WordPress has some unnecessary jargon where a plain English description would be better. Calling the default block of links (login etc) "Meta" is silly. "Post slug" is daft - what's a slug?

Other than that, all systems take time to learn. Anyone who is used to WordPress will say it's easy to use. Non-technical users will usually take longer to learn. In my view, Injader is at least as easy to learn as WordPress, if not slightly easier. Also, Injader is being improved so it is even easier to learn. Maybe we should revisit this once Injader 3 is released.

10. It does everything for you. The point of using software to run your site, rather than coding everything by hand, is that many tasks will be done for you. I think this could probably apply to most systems!

11. The admin panel is sexy. I'm not sure that's the best description. Functional, yes; well-organised, yes; sexy? Not exactly. Anyway, if that's what you like, Injader 3 is a major improvement over the existing Injader Control Panel...

12. You can update your blog anywhere. WordPress certainly has an advantage here. I may look at doing this in Injader. Then again, I haven't tried doing anything in Injader on a mobile device - in theory, anything with a modern web browser should be able to run it. Anyone want to give it a try?

13. Multiple authors can access it. Injader can do this too, although there are a few things I'd like to improve in that area.

In summary

Most of the reasons outlined above are not exclusive to WordPress, and some sites would be better suited to a system other than WordPress. There are definitely areas where WordPress comes out on top, and WordPress has many strengths not listed in the reasons above. But it is not a perfect system suited to every possible site.

I'm quite open about the fact that Injader is not perfectly suited to every possible site you could think of. I don't think that WordPress is perfect for every possible site. Sometimes you need functionality it doesn't provide, but you don't want to install dozens of plugins that may conflict with each other, slow down your site, or not have any support options.

A system that has been around for a long time may be viewed as a more reliable option than a system that is both newer and not as widely adopted. I think it's best to try out a few systems so you can get a better idea of which system is the best tool for the job. Sticking with what you know may be easier in the short-term, but don't rule out alternatives before trying them.

What do you think? What type of site do you think WordPress is best suited to? Which sites should consider an alternative system?

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