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Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

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Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#1

Post by _p9wz »

I may get to work for a small translation agency to build a website for them plus a bit of marketing stuff, and maybe a remote desktop and a platform for invoicing for their personnel. I am self-teaching myself web-design and the related stuff (Python mainly for everything, but HTML/CSS, C++, SQL and databases also) and a few years ago I also administered a Wordpress site for a while, so am a bit familiar with themes/addons etc.

But for a few recent months it seems I've seen some news on HN as about once per month that someone's Wordpress site was hacked.

Which web framework may be better for a small agency (or in a general business case): Wordpress or Django/Flask?

Can you describe a typical workflow and which other tools/frameworks/keywords/etc (like REST) I need to use for this?

As I am a bit nervous that I am self-taught in this field, though have tons of materials on that, but this job may provide some resources for my main projects.

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#2

Post by qup »

If you don't have a developer, you need WordPress or an alternative.

The description isn't enough to know if it's something wordpress could handle out of the box.

There are places that host and manage WordPress. If you don't install any plugins, WP is secure enough.

The difference in a Django hello world and a fresh WordPress install is like a million lines of code.

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#3

Post by notpushkin »

Given you're willing to learn some code, I'd go with Flask — it's fairly easy to get started with IMO. It might be a better fit for more complex apps, but should be fine for marketing stuff as well. You do have to implement pretty much everything from scratch though (or, more realistically, use plugins).

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#4

Post by amts »

qup wrote: post #2

If you don't have a developer, you need WordPress or an alternative. The description isn't enough to know if it's something wordpress could handle out of the box. There are places that host and manage WordPress. If you don't install any plugins, WP is secure enough. The difference in a Django hello world and a fresh WordPress install is like a million lines of code.

It may be a typical informational website for a small agency with up to 3-4 tabs, presenting their services, a blog, some contact form. It may not need much animation or interactivity in the beginning. But optimization for mobile may be useful. I've watched a dozen of tutorials on Django/Flask on Pluralsight/FreeCodeCamp building some simple registration sites, even a basic e-shop. For my former Wordpress site I have several plugins, including SEO optimization. But you mean to not install even the Wordpress recommended plugins?

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#5

Post by bell-cot »

Go with the one you know. "WP got hacked" is (~99% of the time, when on a competently-run web host) a case of (1) Webmaster used an iffy WP Plugin* or few (the plugin was obscure/orphaned, and not getting timely security updates), (2) Webmaster didn't bother installing Plugin security updates, (3) Webmaster disabled WordPress' own automatic security updates, or (4) Webmaster wasn't smart about his admin password.

*or Theme, or other 3rd-party code

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#6

Post by nhgiang »

Wordpress: Least learning curve, hard to customise down the line.

Flask: Deceivingly simple at first, but you'll spend full-time debugging it soon. It is NOT a framework for beginner.

Django: A bit more learning curve than WP, but will take you far, if you read its docs properly.

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#7

Post by redder23 »

"I am self-teaching myself web-design and the related stuff (Python mainly for everything, but HTML/CSS, C++, SQL and databases also) and a few years ago I also administered a Wordpress site for a while, so am a bit familiar with themes/addons etc."

Sounds like you trying to learn to many things at once. And you for sure do not need to learn C++ for web development. PHP is and JS/TS is missing from your list. That would be the languages to learn for WordPress. But there there are already plugins for invoicing and things you need out there, sounds like there is nothing too obscure that can not be solved with already existing plugins. So do you really need to be a programmer? Probably not.

There is a reason WordPress is used to much, I am biased because I am a self taught WP dev but WP and PHP and evolving constantly, there is a plugin for everything ...

You supposed to build a website, remote desktop, invoicing for an agency and their hired you for what exactly? What skills did you tell them you have?

Sorry but you sound very naive and I could not find what your actually skilled in. You look for "keywords"??? And you read one article about someone WP site getting hacked that makes you think WP is insecure?

Even if I try to be unbiased this sounds like a clear case for WordPress to me.

Re: Ask HN: WordPress vs. Django/Flask?

#9

Post by codegeek »

WordPress is totally fine and used by many agencies in the real world. It gets a bad rep because it is extremely popular and has low barrier to entry which also attracts more eyeballs and script kiddies trying to break in due to vulnerability in some low quality plugins.

But you need to choose based on what your objectives are. WP is quick and give you decent bang for buck especially if you don't need to create something from scratch and needs to be used by non developers. It is not really comparable to Django/Flask which are actual frameworks to build web applications. WordPress is more of a Content Management System (CMS) that has been extended over the years to technically create flexible Applications but mostly for non tech users.

Use WordPRess if you want to build websites with some dynamic functionality like contact forms etc (plenty of well vetted plugins for those). Use Django/Flask if you are building a full web application with tons of user interactions.

WordPress = Web Site

Django/Flask = Web App

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