ProcessWire vs WordPress

If you have been searching for the best free and open-source PHP content management system (CMS) to create a blog or website for your business, chances are that you have narrowed down your list to these two CMS. WordPress and ProcessWire. These two open-source platforms are without a doubt the best and the most used CMS. The reason why these two platforms are very popular is that they are simple, powerful, stable, and scalable.

Although WordPress and ProcessWire both do a similar job, how they do their work differs greatly. These two platforms have many unique features that make them different from each other. If you have been unable to make a decision on which one to choose between the two, then today you have landed in the right place. In this ProcessWire vs. WordPress guide, we will review these two platforms in detail to help you know how they differ from each other. By the end of this guide, you will be able to make an informed decision on which one between the two to choose for your business. Now, without further ado, let’s get started.

What exactly is WordPress?

WordPress is an open-source content management system that allows you to create a beautiful app or blog. It is a vast website management platform with thousands of integrations to choose from and also provides users with the flexibility to build and manage dynamic websites.

WordPress is with no doubt the largest and the most popular free open source content management system and it powers over 42% of all websites on the internet. That translates to millions of websites around the world relying on WordPress.

It is crucial that you don’t confuse WordPress.org CMS with WordPress.com, the blog hosting service. Here, we are focusing on wordpress.org, which is a free hosted WordPress software that is used by millions of people across the globe.

WordPress started way back in 2003 as a simple blogging platform, but it has since evolved to become the world’s largest CMS. It is an open-source network, meaning it is100% free. Anyone can download and install it for free. The fact that it is free means that you can use it for any purpose, without worrying that someone will suspend your website because of a violation of the terms of service. Users also have the freedom to customize WordPress to suit their needs without any restrictions. That explains why WordPress is very popular.

WordPress is based on MySQL and PHP and comes with thousands of themes and plugins. The plugins provide virtually any functionality you could ever think of, including site optimization, e-commerce, security, and much more. It is also equipped with premium themes and advanced customization features.

WordPress pros

• It is 100% free and gives you total control of your website. You will not be tied to a particular web hosting company and you can move your website anywhere you want. You will have full control of your site data and files.

• Nearly all third-party tools have integration available for WordPress. This is mainly attributed to its popularity and efficiency. This means that third-party tools like lead generation tools, email marketing software, payment gateways, business phone services, CRM software, SEO tools and much more can all work with WordPress.

• WordPress has thousands of incredible templates and website designs that you can use to create a professional website. More so, each of them comes with unique customization options, meaning that you will be able to create a website that is unique and meets your needs.

• WordPress gives you a vast collection of plugins, add-ons, and extensions to extend your website. The vast access to professional tools will allow you to create a high-quality and professional-looking website.

Cons

• The fact that you will be in full control of your site also means that you will be fully responsible for installing updates, backups, and security of your site. You can automate some of these tasks but you will still have to check them regularly.

• You don’t need to be a programmer to use WordPress but you require some basic understanding of CSS and HTML. Fortunately, these basic skills are easy to acquire.

• WordPress does not have a built-in drag and drop website builder. So, if you are a beginner, then it will take you a bit of time to familiarize yourself with this platform.

Which users is WordPress the best for?

One of the top reasons why WordPress is the most used open-source CMS in the world is because of its incredible ability to adapt to the needs of the user. This platform can be easy and simple to use and can also be complex and sophisticated. It all depends on your unique needs. Because you will be completely in control of your website, you can make things simple or complex depending on your needs. You can also run your site efficiently by controlling costs.

WordPress is suitable for you if:

• You want to build a professional website at a cost-effective price

• You want to build a personal website, portfolio, or blog and use it to make money online

• You want to create a business website and built it gradually with total freedom

What exactly is ProcessWire?

ProcessWire is a powerful and friendly open source content management system (CMS) and content management framework (CMF) that is easy to use and equipped with an incredibly strong foundation. Many people are switching to ProcessWire because of its simplicity, scalability, and ease of use, especially when it comes to editing.

ProcessWire provides easy and stronger control over templates, pages, fields, and markup at any scale. This platform is equipped with built-in file translation tools that allow you to translate static text labels that appear in template files with ease. It also supports front-end editing, meaning you can edit your content directly from the website’s front end. More so, this platform integrates seamlessly with most third-party applications.

ProcessWire is a lightweight CMS that features a simple yet powerful API that you can easily use on your own. ProcessWire sites are built around pages, which have been created in a simple tree format.

ProcessWire is based on MySQL and PHP and it is relatively easy to set up. Although this platform has fewer plugins and themes compared to WordPress, it is very easy to use your own custom designs.

The design of ProcessWire is based on two main components. They include fields and templates. Each page has a template which, in turn, has a PHP file that controls the actual page structure. You can also create a template on this platform to define the page structure.

ProcessWire uses search-friendly, readable and logical URLs that match with the content home in the trees. This means that you will not have to worry about duplicate content or multiple URLs as is the case with other similar platforms. When you switch to this ProcessWire, you will never again waste your valuable time on irrelevant tags.

ProcessWire pros

• It is a flexible platform for web development

• It has an extremely easy to learn API

• It is based on 3 simple core concepts including fields, pages, and templates

• It has over 2 million WordPress plugins and themes, UI kits, web and emails templates, and more

• It is built around a flexible and easily extendable design

• It provides crucial ay to help you create custom and user-friendly interfaces

• It is fairly lightweight

• It is more user-friendly because it was designed with the website in mind, not blogs.

• It is very secure, the entire system was built from the ground going up.

Con

• ProcessWire needs some basic web development skills. If not then you need to hire someone to build the site for you

• It is not popular thus very difficult to find answers if you run into some issues

Which users is ProcessWire the best for?

• For people who want to create a professional website.

• People who want to create SEO friendly websites

ProcessWire vs. WordPress- what is the difference?

There are a few points in which ProcessWire differs from WordPress. Here I would like to explain the most important differences between these two CMS systems to you in detail.

Security of ProcessWire and WordPress

One of the major differences between ProcessWire and WordPress is security. ProcessWire is built from the ground up and this was done mainly to enhance the security. Since the inception of ProcessWire, no one has reported that their website has been compromised because of security-related issues. This platform is very proactive in maintaining security and every new code that is added goes through rigorous scrutiny by experts to ensure that they don’t compromise the security of the platform.

WordPress is fairly secure but due to its wide audience and scale, it is more vulnerable to malware and security issues. More so, WordPress has given users the freedom to do things as they wish. This freedom comes at a cost and that is compromised security. WordPress users have to take care of their website security and if they don’t then they can be compromised.

Plugins

When it comes to plugins and themes, WordPress is by far superior compared to ProcessWire. In fact, one of the reasons why WordPress is the most used free open source CMS is because of the thousands of plugins, themes extensions, and add-ons that it is equipped with. With WordPress, you will have endless options when it comes to plugins, templates, and extensions which will enable you to do wonders to your website.

ProcessWire has plugins and themes but they are not as many as those in WordPress. So, if you are planning to use ProcessWire, then know that your access to plugins and themes will be limited.

User-friendliness

ProcessWire has incredible features that make it user-friendly for developers and designers. Some of these features include drag and drop uploading. Additionally, the ProcessWire installation process takes a short time. However, in order to design a website according to your liking on ProcessWire, you need to have some basic knowledge of programming. If you don’t have the programming knowledge, then you need to hire an expert to create the website for you.

WordPress on the other hand is more user-friendly compared to ProcessWire. Most developers claim that it takes them less than 5 minutes to create a respectable blog. Although this platform also requires users to have some knowledge of HTML and CSS, it is not as complex as is the case with ProcessWire. Many beginners usually learn within a few days how to create a blog on WordPress. Many tutorials available can help you navigate, in case you get stuck.

SEO friendliness

We all want to create a website that people will easily find on search engines. Both WordPress and ProcessWire provide support for optimizing pages but the features that ProcessWire provinces are by far more advanced and thus ideal for developers who want to create SEO-friendly websites. For instance, ProcessWire optimizes the URL for readers and search engine crawlers. The processWire tree structure is also more SEO friendly.

WordPress also has optimization plugins like Yoast SEO. However, the SEO tools provided are not as advanced as those offered by ProcessWire. This means that users have to do more besides using the plugins offered to boost their website ranking on search engines.

Integrations

Both ProcessWire and WordPress allow integration by third-party apps. However, WordPress is much superior when it comes to the number of integrations it supports. Nearly all third-party tools have integration available for WordPress. This includes tools like lead generation tools, email marketing software, payment gateways, business phone services, CRM software, SEO tools, and much more. This is largely attributed to the popularity and efficiency of WordPress. ProcessWire also supports third-party integrations but those available are not as many as those of WordPress.

ProcessWire vs. WordPress, which one is better?

From the above, it is clear that both platforms are unique in their own way and both have their strengths and weaknesses. We recommend that you choose a platform that suits your web development needs. For instance, if you want a platform that is user-friendly and can help you get your blog up and running within 5 minutes, then WordPress is the best choice for you. On the other hand, if you want a platform that is lightweight and allows you to create a website that is SEO friendly, then ProcessWire is a perfect choice for you.