WordPress in 2025
WordPress is a lot more complicated than it was when I last used it roughly ten years ago. That's not a compliment. There are tons and tons of preferences, which is a pet peeve of mine, especially when sensible defaults would suffice. It really seems like it's trying to be everything for everyone. Still, some features are nice, like search, the “Related posts” that appear below blog posts, and the ability to rename tags globally. Search is a big one, mainly because it helps me find my own posts. The latter two are nice, but not crucial. I would probably use them if they were available, but it's not a deal-breaker.
Playing around with WordPress just now has made me even more appreciative of WriteFreely, the platform that powers this blog, and its elegance. WriteFreely might be missing a couple of features I would find useful, like the things mentioned above. The internal menu navigation often confuses me. I wish development were more active. Still, compared to the behemoth of WordPress, with its endless preferences, overwhelming editing UI, and slow page load times, WriteFreely really is a breath of fresh air. I always admire when a product focuses on the few things that matter most, and WriteFreely does: a simple editing experience, sensible defaults, and a beautiful design. I hope it continues to be successful.