What CMS are you using to build your website?

[Brian Altenhofel]

Drupal 8.

Fast (917tps vs WP's 287tps).

Flexible. Dropped the PHP 4 architecture that it shared with WP. Most systems are abstracted away. Uses a service container with dependency injection. Can be built using Composer. All configuration lives in code.

Easy to develop on. Uses modern PHP best practices and principles. Took this non-front-end guy less than six hours to convert a WrapBootstrap theme to Drupal while reading the docs for the first time.

[Harold Mansfield]

Flexible. Dropped the PHP 4 architecture that it shared with WP. Most systems are abstracted away.

I'm confused as to why you keep saying this. WordPress runs on the latest versions of PHP. Even though it can be backward compatible with 4.1 (if you're using very old themes and plug ins) and above, it runs best on updated or recent PHP versions and has for years.

Am I missing something?

[Brian Altenhofel]

Am I missing something?

Architecture is not the same as compatibility. WP is built using practices and constructs from the PHP 4 era. To support backward compatibility and to keep developers from feeling like they need to learn modern PHP best practices, architecture, and patterns, they continue with a PHP 4 architecture.

Other frameworks do the same. When Drupal moved toward modernization with version 8, a group of developers created a fork (Backdrop) that continues with the old architecture. (Curiously, they note "speed of learning" as a benefit of using the fork, but the modern and more flexible architecture of Drupal 8 was much easier to come up to speed on than I recall 5, 6 or 7 being... especially the theming system.)

[Harold Mansfield]

Architecture is not the same as compatibility. WP is built using practices and constructs from the PHP 4 era. To support backward compatibility and to keep developers from feeling like they need to learn modern PHP best practices, architecture, and patterns, they continue with a PHP 4 architecture.

You're talking about development. I don't think the OP was asking from the stand point of development, but as a user running a website. I could be wrong though.

[MyITGuy]

You're talking about development. I don't think the OP was asking from the stand point of development, but as a user running a website. I could be wrong though.

What Brian is referencing would have an impact on user experience/speed which was mentioned in post 11.

Think of it as x86 (Wordpress) vs x64 (Drupal). Both due the same thing, but x64 can run faster due to the number of transactions/memory that can be referenced in a single cpu cycle that takes the x86 platform 2x+ longer to do.

[Harold Mansfield]

What Brian is referencing would have an impact on user experience/speed which was mentioned in post 11.

Think of it as x86 (Wordpress) vs x64 (Drupal). Both due the same thing, but x64 can run faster due to the number of transactions/memory that can be referenced in a single cpu cycle that takes the x86 platform 2x+ longer to do.

I get it. But there are a LOT more things that effect the overall performance of a website. The average user will not be as detailed from hosting to design and coding to tweak every single performance aspect, but I understand the question was why we use what we do and that's different for everyone.

[MyITGuy]

But there are a LOT more things that effect the overall performance of a website.

Yes, there are many things that impact performance, one of which is what Brian alluded to (The code base that you build upon). If you want a fast website, then you consider the platforms available so you're not handicapping yourself right off the bat.

[Harold Mansfield]

Yes, there are many things that impact performance, one of which is what Brian alluded to (The code base that you build upon). If you want a fast website, then you consider the platforms available so you're not handicapping yourself right off the bat.

If I could get people to take hosting seriously and not just get the first and cheapest thing they can find it would make my life, and theirs so much easier.

My customers are the average, non tech savvy, small business that works from home, agencies where no one knows WordPress, or shops and stores with a few employees

Getting into how many transactions can be performed in a CPU cycle is a wasted conversation. It's like talking to them about the difference between one fuel injection system over another. It's too much and they tune out. Anyway, it's a wasted conversation when they're just going to put it on a Pinto, run cheap gas through it, and never get it tuned up until something goes wrong.

[krymson]

Started off with Notepad, then moved to Dreamweaver, then on to WordPress, now my personal site is using Jekyll.

I moved away from WordPress because it was far to bloated with stuff that I wasn't using. I didn't need to store information in a database. What I was looking for was speed and security and Jekyll provides that for me. Now, more complex websites I continue to use WordPress, but I will stray away from it if I can. Most small business sites I do consist of 4-5 pages where content might get changed once a year and the rest is a blog so that's perfect for Jekyll, anything more than that, I'll use WordPress.

[Monegenix]

Wordpress, with a caveat. I run the Genesis framework on Synthesis. If you're not really a web geek and you're looking for a way to just focus on your business, create content, and sell, this is the best solution I've found so far. I've tried sixapart/typepad, Dreamweaver, and a few others in the past. Running on Genesis framework is so much easier.

Also, what I've found is that your host can make or break your experience with your CMS. If you use a discount host, be prepared for extra work. The best cheap host I've found is SiteGround. We used that for our personal site.

Otherwise, WPEngine or Synthesis if you're not a DIY/web developer.