I’ve recently been asked to set-up websites which contain mainly customer-generated content. Before embarking on any sort of CMS design, I ask myself if it’s worth the effort, when sometimes you can just be re-inventing the wheel.

I decided that these new web design projects had such little static content, that it wouldn’t be economical to spend time designing (what would effectively be) a specialised blogging system. Being a happy WordPress blogger myself, I decided to use it as the basis for the designs, and customise it where necessary.

Fortunately, WordPress has a large internet user community, with a host of plug-ins adding functionality, and hundreds of themes changing its appearance. So peer support and versatility are a big plus-point for WordPress.

Setting up WordPress is easy. Make a few basic decisions about content and location, copy the software to the server and hit the install button. It’s a no-brainer. Customising WordPress is a little more involved. Without becoming an expert in all things WordPress, you need to work out how to manipulate your chosen theme to give the layout you’re aiming for, and setting up all the options of WordPress and its plug-ins can be a time-consuming and slightly mind-boggling process. But, in a relatively short time, you have a smart, fully-functional CMS, with several pages of static content to act as a foundation for the bulk of the site: the customers’ own words, updated regularly.

It all sounds too good to be true. It is…

There is the issue of copyright: make sure that WordPress is not being resold or rebadged. It’s just not cricket, claiming it as your own or selling it for a profit, when it’s just been so good to you for free.

Don’t think that you can set it up and forget it. WordPress needs regular maintenance, and, for me, this is the biggest downside in its use as a CMS. WordPress is updated often, and, not only that, its plug-ins are also updated often. The implication of this is that security flaws, if discovered, can be exploited by hackers.

If updates are not applied as soon as they are made available, and hackers manage to miss your website, you may still risk falling out with your web hosting company, some of whom regularly check their servers for unpatched software.

So, when using WordPress as a CMS, you won’t necessarily be saving time in the long run. Factor in your time as an ongoing concern, and keep an eye on developments in WordPress and its plug-ins. Fortunately, the latest versions of WordPress 2.3 make this quite easy. You have no excuses!