I really like WordPress. Perhaps that’s an understatement. I really really really like WordPress, but it’s not a perfect application by any stretch of the imagination.
That’s why I’ll never be completely dogmatic about it’s usage: There are times when other platforms may in fact be better suited to provide for your needs.
But I doubt it. 
In any case, it’s always good to hold software in an “open hand” and to know the areas of weakness. In this 7 Part Series I’ll discuss very “lightly” 7 Reasons why WordPress could fail.
Reason #1 – Bloatware
I think every one is familiar with the feeling of buying that brand new computer and booting it up for the first time to only realize that half of your entire hard drive space is being used for non-essential applications that are, for the most part, completely worthless.
That’s called “bloatware.”
As with any application, as it gets better it get’s bigger. It adds more functionality and features. But there’s always the risk of it getting “too big” and having it get too bogged down with non-essentials.
If the “hivemind” of the general WordPress community starts buzzing about how WordPress is getting heavy, that’s a very very very bad sign.
How to Save from Fail
The answer is simple. Keep the “core” of the install package as light as humanly possible. Trust that 3rd Party Developers will continue to knock out kick-butt extensions, plugins, and customizations. Keep polling the community for ideas that keep the core small.
But this leads us to the next issue…
I agree with this. I know I am tempted to add every bell and whistle I can find. Part of this is experimentation. My guess is after a month or two, I will strip it down to the minimum. I value simplicity — and speed!
I love the bells and whistles, but I research them first. Some make it to the back-end but like Tweet-Roll spammed me so much that I had to cut it off. The plugin area reminds me of going to Wal-Mart
wal mart. i got there a lot.
Please not anytime soon, I am just getting on board.
This all depends on how elegantly features are implemented. Cars evolved from simple motor driven carriages to safe, quick and very nimble vehicles because the balance among the components was maintained. It's not really whether they are small/light – but they must work that way. The power has to be distributed and balanced.
dude, i love this example.
I agree, yesterday was nosing around in the plugin gardens and then in the theme forrest. There a lot of options.
I still consider the WordPress it's self to be an able application cms wise, its much cleaner than tikiWiki for example. Of course, I also just migrated my wordpress.com blog over to Tumblr for the simplicity and speed.
The funny part,
I actually gained the ability to use Intense Debate, and Google Analytics ;>)
There's 2 things I look forward to; Intense Debate and Google Analytics.
Wordpress.org rocks
that it does.
The only way WP will fail is if people force it to do something it was never designed to do. A hammer makes a terrible screwdriver – it can do the job, but it destroys the real function of the screw. This topic is relevant for me because I'm evaluating WP for a large scale project.
I just revamped Insurance In The Light with Word Press. I am still in the building stage, but haven't seen the bloatware factor, but then again, haven't tried to look, either. I went with third-party application, Thesis, and seem reasonably satisfied, but still getting into it. Typepad's captive template, the one I used to use, seemed a little constraining and confusing, but like I said, I'm still getting into it on Word Press. When is too big, too big?
you'll know it when you see it…!
i dont mind wp being a bloatware as long as it functions properly.
very cool. care to share what it is?
Still in discussion stage. Direction: pre-built configurable themes (+ widget sets) later paid optional membership features, including network ID/profiles, comment tracing, categorized syndication, common media galleries, advertising network. The whole thing has to scale without become unwieldy – thus my interest in your WP observations.
I'm getting really tired of having n-dashboards/accounts in order to manage my on-line life. I believe others are too.
really? hmm.
I like how you're willing to push it to the limit… and be courageous with your implementation!
i'm not willing to be mediocre in any aspect of life.
of course. wordpress can do it. implement carefully…!
I think wordpress has really lucked out an matured right at a time when incompatibilities from one hosting provider smoothed out all things considered and php matured as a programming language.
The unfortunate thing is that I don't think wordpress was ready for it. While they will hammer out one great plug in after the other they will break one installation to the next with each subsequent upgrade. Jmo…
I mean it's chaos in a box… I think everyone will start to reach a point where it's just not worth it to them. So those who do strip the functionality to a minimum and run a lean and otherwise stable package will certainly continue on with forward momentum but I do not believe this is what an average user will do hence it's reputation as a good choice will give way to the truth of it being an overtly cumbersome app…
Jmo… not much of a wordpress user myself…
Great thoughts here. Seriously.
John