Trouble Brewing at WP
Why ClassicPress? There has been significant turmoil raging in the WordPress world since September 25, 2024. That was the infamous day WordPress.org (thought to be open-source) blocked WP Engine from accessing its servers for WordPress updates. Over one million websites were affected.
The drama continued to escalate, with the hostile takeover of the ACF (advanced custom fields) plugin on the weekend of October 12th. A plugin much beloved by WordPress developers and users, that was acquired by WP Engine a couple of years earlier.
The open-source community, website agencies, developers and, of course, WP Engine customers were impacted. Caught amidst a giant tech battle, through no fault of their own, many were shocked and horrified to see how events unfolded. Many more were left pondering how one CEO could threaten the entire fabric of the WordPress platform and ecosystem. It was also a wakeup call for many on the continued and reliant use of WordPress.
To put these events in context, estimates suggest between 475 and 880 million sites run on WordPress worldwide. The true estimate is probably towards the higher end. Changes to WordPress clearly have a direct impact on many businesses, individuals, institutions, and even large corporations.
The ClassicPress Alternative
For agencies who build and maintain WordPress sites for their clients, September 2024 was one of those pivotal moments. Many started to seriously consider alternatives to WordPress. Platforms such as Joomla, Drupal, Craft CMS, and Concrete CMS all come to mind.
My favorite alternative is ClassicPress (CP for short), the content management system launched in August 2018 as a fork of WordPress 4.9. ClassicPress remains WordPress without the bloat and Gutenberg block editor. It is fast loading and what many wish WordPress would still be. It continues to be updated with new releases and is supported by it’s community.
This is my second time using ClassicPress since I first tested it back in 2019. While not as popular as other CMS platforms, over the last few years it has proven itself an excellent WordPress alternative. I recently switched a few of our in-house sites over to ClassicPress. I was immediately impressed with both its simplicity and speed.
Currently, ClassicPress is community governed and financed. It is a stable and well-supported platform, developed and maintained by a small and devoted team. I feel confident that we can move forward using and building new sites with ClassicPress.
The Simplicity of ClassicPress
WordPress is what I have known for years and enjoyed using before Gutenberg rolled out. I certainly wasn’t going to move to Drupal or Joomla. So ClassicPress, with its Gutenberg-free core and Tiny MCE editor, was an easy choice. As ClassicPress says in its tagline, “Instantly Familiar.”
What do I like about ClassicPress?
1. No Gutenberg!
I wrote WordPress 5.0. What You Need to Know back in December 2017. Like many others, I never liked Gutenberg and found everything about it counterintuitive and counterproductive. However, Automattic is now pushing Gutenberg and blocks into every part of WordPress. That’s changed WordPress into something unfamiliar and unusable for many.
Stuck somewhere between Elementor and WIX, Gutenberg has achieved neither. Platforms such as Squarespace and Webflow far surpass what Gutenberg could ever become.
Like many people who use WordPress, we disable Gutenberg with plugins or code. However, it’s only a matter of time before Gutenberg fully integrates into WordPress core. At that point, there will be no turning back or way to switch it off.
ClassicPress is indeed instantly familiar, and that familiarity is comforting. Old school or not, ClassicPress allows me to design and build as I please.
2. Fast and Responsive
ClassicPress sites load super-fast! The sites we moved to CP load in 0.1 of a second or less. Compare that with the same WordPress sites loading in 0.4 to 0.6 seconds. Any platform that makes a site load 300% to 500% faster is a definite win – especially for SEO.
The reason is obvious. ClassicPress doesn’t carry the bloat of Gutenberg and all the extra code for blocks. There are also additional benefits to the codebase that make it run faster.
ClassicPress is clean and simple, with the TinyMCE editor we have come to enjoy. And without the bloat of blocks, everything on the back end loads snappy and fast as well.
3. WordPress Compatibility
ClassicPress’ WordPress compatibility is also appealing. In fact, the ClassicPress Migration Plugin is kept-up to date with each new WordPress release.
People can easily switch their sites over from WordPress (or reinstall WordPress if they want). That kind of compatibility is unheard of when migrating between website platforms.
Additionally, ClassicPress is kept up to date with current versions of PHP. Therefore, most themes and plugins that run on WordPress can run on ClassicPress as well. With ClassicPress plugins like Classic SEO you can even migrate all your settings over from Yoast or Rank Math SEO.
Note that if you are looking for 100% compatibility, you may be disappointed and need to stay with WordPress.
For example, if you are fan of Elementor, you won’t be able to import your content.
WooCommerce sites are also tricky. While Classic Commerce is the Woo alternative, it was unmaintained for several years. Recently, Classic Commerce is making a comeback and now being generously maintained by Sean Thompson. A website migration from WooCommerce will always be more complex. Especially where payment gateways and WooCommerce plugins are involved.
However, if you don’t have a complex site built with Elementor or WooCommerce, then ClassicPress can be an excellent WordPress alternative.
4. The Democracy of ClassicPress
Unlike Automattic, the strength of ClassicPress lies within its community. Community comes first! ClassicPress will never succumb to a “benevolent dictator” making sole decisions, whether deemed to be rational or not.
As stated in their governance:
No single person within ClassicPress has the power to force through a valid change that affects ClassicPress. Instead, we make all decisions based on community feedback and needs. This ensures that we stay true to our goal of being a community-driven fork.
While “consensus by committee” may seem slow at times, current events are proving it to be a far better model for open source. It’s an easy choice to support ClassicPress, where community members are valued and supported, and decisions are made based on trust.
The WordPress Alternative
Is ClassicPress a solid alternative to WordPress?
Absolutely! Not everyone needs blocks, Gutenberg, or the current chaos brewing in WordPress. Most people and businesses need something simple and stable – something that works. As ClassicPress says so eloquently, something that is “instantly familiar.”
ClassicPress indeed has a future. It will grow and be welcomed by many looking for alternatives to WordPress.
Ready to Make the Switch?
For most people, a migration to ClassicPress will be quite smooth and seamless: just some minor changes to plugins – even keeping the current theme.
Of course, we would be pleased to help people who want to migrate their site over from WordPress. If moving to ClassicPress appeals to you, please reach out to us.
