This article is about PHP and Wordpress. At the time of website development many people are confused between PHP and WordPress. Read here how to choose one from them.
Each PHP and Wordpress can be appropriate for your site depending on the budget, needs, and expertise of the development teams. There is no clear difference between the two although Wordpress is more popular than PHP because of other reasons. The real difference boils down to a Wordpress website and a custom PHP website.
We will breakdown Both PHP and Wordpress and categorize them on the basis of flexibility, support, update, security, etc.
What is Wordpress CMS?
Wordpress is a CMS (content management system) developed with PHP. Close to 58% of websites are powered with Wordpress CMS. One can extend the functionality in most CMS platforms through plugins and themes. With more than thousands of options to choose from, they come in all shapes and sizes from free to paid. With quality hosting options, WordPress is an enterprise-level content management system because of its customizable and extendable nature and most importantly it could be used by novices who don’t have any coding experience at all.
What is PHP?
PHP is a programming language - Hypertext Preprocessor used to build a Wordpress content management system and create web applications. One needs to be well versed in coding to understand the working of PHP. It is the language that powers WordPress, and one will find certain functions that are not pre-requisite. It works on a loose foundation that requires a lot of work from PHP developers. In the market place it as effective as Wordpress, although PHP can be scaled successfully for large businesses.
#1 Flexibility and Compatibility
Php is known for its flexibility and versatility. It supports leading servers, has 20 databases and is compatible with all the major web platforms. Developers and designers use PHP to create cross-platform apps. With the dynamic nature of PHP, changes can be easily implemented on the website without any issues. There are no problems faced with the browser as all the scripts are compiled on the server-side and it seamlessly integrates with XML, JavaScript, WML and other programming languages.
On the flip side, a CMS like WordPress offers lots of choices to its end-users but scores low on adaptability for specific requirements projects.
#2 User Experience
Many would agree that user-experience is critical for any website to function effectively. The PHP framework is a low-level programming language, where the UX is pretty much basic. On the contrary, CMS has an attractive GUI (Graphical User Interface) and serves as a less technical entry point for many of its users. Wordpress offers much rich experience during the development phase.
#3 Updates
Updates are important because they include critical fixes to security holes. They not only improve stability but also weed out outdated features to streamline the experience. All these updates are directed to make the user experience better. The Wordpress developers deliver constant updates to its users on bug fixes, features, and security and also maintains a roadmap that has all the major releases outlined. PHP, in contrast, is a framework that is not updated on a consistent basis. But this doesn’t mean that it is less stable or efficient to Wordpress in theory or practice. The open community of the PHP contributes to much of its updates and the functionalities that meet the emerging needs of the business get integrated without any hassles.
#4 Security
Security is critical for every website owner. Failure to secure one’s site properly, regardless of its objectives, could compromise the website since the misuse of sensitive data is not bound by any rules. Wordpress could be called more secure, as inherent security can be built into the platform itself. However, a PHP framework is a ‘lower-level’ solution. Given this, you can essentially add whatever security solutions you need into the base functionality of your site.
Conclusion
Websites are more important than ever for business owners to attract end-users with their services and products. Wordpress solutions are ideal for website owners are starting new or are running a small to medium business portal. If your business is into complex operations and pool larger resources then you should opt for PHP development services will always be helpful in the near future because of its scalability and adaptability.
