WordPress VS. ClassicPress:
This section of our site is running on ClassicPress, which is a fork, or a ‘split’, from the main branch of WordPress. It is essentially the same as WordPress but with the ‘Gutenberg code’ removed. Thus, it loads and runs faster, is easier and less annoying to use, and yet has an editor that is more powerful and gives you more options.
WordPress is by far the most common content system for creating and managing websites. It is flexible and good, but also bloated and runs a bit slow. It was quite popular, and still is, but a few years ago it introduced a new system into it called Gutenberg, and this created quite a few negative side effects, which caused a number of people to ‘fork’ the code, splitting off to form a new system called ‘ClassicPress’ which is simply WordPress without the Gutenberg. The problems for some people that Gutenberg created are these:
— Gutenberg is a page builder, which is a type of system that can help you create custom layouts. But, like all other page builders, it significantly slows down your website! That also lowers your site’s SEO ranking with Google, making it somewhat harder for people to find you.
And there are many other alternative ways to create custom layouts that do not slow down your website, and in fact, we can create a custom speedy layout for you!
— Gutenberg uses its own editor, which is a lot less powerful than the classic editor. There are a lot less buttons and options for styling your writing. (And if there’s anything you don’t like about the classic editor, we can easily customize it to your wishes.) It’s possible to get a plug-in to add the classic editor back on top of the Gutenberg system, but then your site is even further slowed down. (And WordPress has threatened to remove this plugin, if people don’t adopt their Gutenberg.)
— The Gutenberg editor is also annoying to use. You have to right-click on each paragraph, wait for the editor to pop up and then use it. That editor appears right over your text, making it hard to see the whole picture. And each time you want to edit another paragraph or section, you have to right-click and open a new editor for it! Whereas the classic editor works the same way as your word processor, with all the buttons in a bar at the top of the screen, for you to use anytime, anywhere in your text.
— Another problem is that the main line of WordPress keeps pushing new updates that change a lot of things and break a lot of plugins and features. This means website owners have to constantly learn new ways of managing their site, and scramble to find replacements for the plugins that broke. Often there aren’t any good replacements. If you don’t like dealing with these problems, then ClassicPress would be a better solution for you.
— Another issue is democracy versus the autocrat. All the changes and decisions in WordPress are made by one person (its founder Matt Mullenweg), despite loud outcries from its users, the bloggers who often don’t like these changes. By contrast, ClassicPress revolted against this, and all decisions, and all leadership, are governed by elections. If you use ClassicPress, you can join their forum, and vote on any decisions. So the changes in ClassicPress tend to be those that people actually want, such as bug fixes or security fixes, or desirable features.
However, there are people who like Gutenberg, and prefer to stay in the main line of WordPress. We gladly do both types of websites, and it’s completely up to you which one you wish to use. (You can also switch at any later time.)
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