I don't mind saying it... if you want a site designed in Wordpress, go somewhere else. My clients do NOT find it easy to maintain, add/edit/delete pages, add video, etc. But worse, every wannabe web designer is using WordPress because they have a very low cost entry into that market. BUT, I don't think most website owners understand the risk they take when building a website with a buddy they know that knows computers really well... There's more too it than that!
In the last three months, I've had 1-2 clients each month come to me with a hacked WordPress website. It's not so much WordPress itself that's the problem. There are many reasons. But of all web platforms currently being used by developers, WordPress is probably the most ubiquitous. But there's a cost.
The WordPress platform is free. That's not a bad thing - open source solutions lead to innovations. We use DotNetNuke and it's also open source. In terms of market share, WordPress wins hands down. By some estimates, almost 50% of websites are driven by WordPress. WOW! DotNetNuke pushes 1% of all websites.
Should I as a web developer be worried about this? Afterall, my business depends on the success of DotNetNuke (also known as DNN). I'm not scared! My sites just don't get hacked. That's not to say they can't, but think of it this way. Apple doesn't get hacked nearly as much as Microsoft. I think it comes down to two things. One - Microsoft is a much bigger target so there is a bigger bang for the buck for the hacker. Two - Apple is a controlled platform. Basically Apple has better control of its bugs!
How do we apply this same concept to our business? First, we selected DotNetNuke BECAUSE of it's built in security. I came from a company that has a HUGE investment on the web and they were using DotNetNuke. A $30 Billion dollar a year company using an open source platform? You would think they would be a little intimidated by that but I know that company. It was ABB. And they don't venture into this kind of a commitment lightly.
So, I feel pretty confident that 50Bubbles is using one of the most secure website platforms out there. We still don't take it for granted. There's another problem with WordPress. The add-ons to the package are supplied by people AND HACKERS from every corner of the planet. They look great! And some of them actually work great. And some of those great add-ons come with a back door that lets the programmer into the site without the knowledge of the owner. Most fly-by-night developers won't have a clue! Two recent sites that I had to recreate were both selling Viagra and Cialis. One of these was a landscaper! The other one was a caterer! We also use add-ons. We use a single source for most of our add-ons. The companies we use are vetted and trusted. ITS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THIS.
You should know this. If your website gets hacked, any investment you've made in SEO and any organic placement in Google will go out the window in a matter of weeks. You won't just be starting from scratch, it's worse. You have to rebuild trust with Google. Google does NOT want to send people to hacked sites and will avoid doing so at all costs. That free WordPress site could cost you dearly after 2-3 years of gradually rising in the search engines. Using someone who has some idea about how to program a website without any consideration relative to what add-ons he uses (other than they are free!) will eventually bite you in the butt. Then you'll be calling us to dig you out. Why not just call us now!