Surreal vs Wordpress

#1

In the past few days a couple of clients have asked me about moving away from Surreal to WordPress. I’ve tried to explain why this isn’t a good idea, but I’m wondering if there is a go to list of reasons, or a blog article comparing the two?

What I said:

  • Wordpress has security issues
  • WP can be slower than a ‘static’ site
  • Surreal is brilliantly easy to use
  • For small ‘brochure’ sites WP seems overkill
  • Surreal is easy for me to set up and so reduces my time and fee

Thanks

#2

Exactly same happened to me recently - a client being enticed away by WordPress. Yuk! I raised the same arguments, but, so far, to no avail. WP bells and whistles.

#3

Yep. I reckon Surreal and Cory need to write a blog post: Surreal vs Wordpress, 10 reasons to choose Surreal.

Not only could we show clients this to pursued them to stay with Surreal, but I think this would help to attract new customers to Surreal.

#4

So here is the question. What platform do you use to create the website for your clients? It seems to me the comparison between Surreal and WordPress isn’t right

#5

For simplier sites I hand code them. Then add on Surreal as the CMS.

For more complex sites I hand code page templates. Then pass them to a developer to add on WordPress as the CMS.

i.e. I use both as a CMS. I don’t use either as a website builder (obviously Surreal isn’t a website builder).

Here’s a good article on the difference between a CMS and a website builder https://www.surrealcms.com/blog/the-difference-between-a-website-builder-and-a-cms.html

So, I think an article exploring why clients should use Surreal rather than WordPress for their CMS would be very useful.

#6

Ok. That makes sense. So I think you should have a good talk with your clients because normally they just want what is popular. Do you know exactly why they need WordPress? …And whenever you use WordPress which combo do you use for Page Builder and/or Theme?

#7

One client seems to view WP as having more features / functionality (I don’t know why they would need anything that Surreal can’t do, but there we go). One seems to think that WP is better for SEO.

This is what I have said:

  • Wordpress has security issues
  • WP can be slower than a ‘static’ site
  • The CMS makes little difference to SEO (and WP being slower is probably worse)
  • Surreal is brilliantly easy to use
  • For small ‘brochure’ sites WP seems overkill
  • Surreal is easy for me to set up and so reduces my time and fee (I don’t need to bring in a developer)

I was just wondering if Surreal or anyone else has a go to list of reasons to use Surreal rather than WP.

And whenever you use WordPress which combo do you use for Page Builder and/or Theme?

I handcode page templates and pass them to a developer to build the theme based on my templates. In my experience it is easier, quicker and more robust solution to start with a barebones theme, rather than trying to customise someone elses theme. And page builders spew out a load of messy code. But I’m up for considering other ways of working.

#8

I see.

So here is what happens. Dealing with clients is tough. Sometimes you 100% know that what you’re proposing is the right thing but still they will reject it. A few years of working with clients has taught me that…it’s always good to make your client happy at your own expense. As long as they are happy…you’re good. But also, before going forward with your proposal…you should state to them clearly the advantages and disadvantages (if any) of any CMS you choose. Clients want to feel that they’re in control…and sometimes it’s better for you to let them use what they want…when they get stuck…they will come back to you and appreciate you even more.

So that’s one…Learning to understand the balance between what you want as a developer and what the client want.

…
Only recently I have got into WordPress Theme Development…You’re very right it’s so much better and easier to come up with your own themes from scratch…especially when you have already mastered that. But here comes the dilemma though…when you make those themes…do you make every area customizable? Like Navigation, Gallery, or sometimes even Layout? How do you handle customization with your own themes. And here by customization I mean…so that when you give your website to your client they should be able to edit those things…because we know they want to able to edit everything!

Last but not least, I think you need to counter their arguments with the exact opposite of what they say…not necessarily saying about other things or advantages they might not care about. For example, when client 1 say WP has more features - You can counter that by saying, “right…WP has more features but with more features comes more complexity…and that sometimes make WP hard to work with. But if you’re fine with learning WP…I can go forward with that.” That way they know you also care about their choice and at the same time you have explained to them about WP features and learning curve.
And when client 2 says WP is better for SEO…You can tell them…“Ok, I understand…So is SEO the most important thing for your site? If yes, then you might want to learn that there are other platforms that are actually better for SEO and WP that’s not its selling point.” You can mention Ghost, or just building static sites. If they’re still adamant or they have not understood you…don’t force it…Just give them what they want. Of course, you may get disappointed…but hey they pay you…and you need to make them happy even when their choice is not right.