I think we each have a definition of what “Powerful, Versatile, Predictable” means to us. What does it mean to you?
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Powerful means it can support websites of any size, from the little blog to the complex multisite and SaaS solutions. Versatile means to me that no matter how crazy and complex my project is I surely can build it with CP and predictable means I can feel sure and secure because the CMS if used correctly won’t break letting me down and I can rely on its easiness of use and top notch performance standards.
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Nothing, just someone wanted to write something similar to other statements. It didn’t help for CP in any way, and didn’t hurt, also. Just nothing.
Okay – what would make those words mean something to you?
Nothing. If you want to make an impact, you should to change these words to more powerful positioning statement.
What do you suggest?
I don’t know. If you want, I can think about. It may take few days or few weeks.
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I’d be happy to continue the discussion once you’ve had a chance to think about it. Thanks for being willing to do so.
It’s my daily job for almost 27 years. Maybe because of it, I know how hard is to come with a great positioning statement. And please be ready to discuss something very different, but what have much bigger chance to win users from WP.
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I look forward to a constructive discussion about it. Thanks.
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Predictable means not having an entirely new committee in three years when everyone is forced to step down.
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Why we need " Powerful. Versatile. Predictable" at all? It dilutes “The business-focused CMS”. If something can be done, maybe it is tuning of “The business-focused CMS”. Now we have two taglines under ClassicPress, what is not the best way to convince readers. Because we can do it, it didn’t mean we should.
I must admit that I never really take much notice of taglines. But maybe it does something in my brain at a subliminal level? I’m not a PR person so don’t know how they are supposed to “work”.
I don’t think “powerful” and “versatile” say much to me at all… any CMS promoter would say that about their product. “Predictable” is maybe a bit better; I assume it is referring to the lack of sudden Gutenberg-like changes in direction. But if so, it’s not the ideal word for it. I think I’d prefer a word with a more clear meaning like stable or reliable.
I’d also like to see “secure” mentioned as I think this is a big selling point. So, maybe my point is that it might be better to choose words that will really connect into the “business-focus” idea more directly. Powerful and versatile I find just too vague and waffly… everyone wants that.
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Maybe you are not a PR person, but your marketing thinking is right. Security - yes, thank you for a reminder.
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For me - like for most ‘normal’, non-dev users who are willing to embrace CP - what matters is the long-term continuity. I wouldn’t have looked for another CMS if Gutenberg hadn’t come, with the consequences it will bring. I was perfectly pleased with the pre-5 WP. Gutenberg wouldn’t have disturbed me if WP had made it one option while maintaining the WP we knew as another track.
What had convinced me to switch to WP a few years ago was the argument of backward-compatibility, and that my sites wouldn’t possibly break in a few years due to new developments of the CMS.
Thus I would look for words conveying those ideas. English not being my mother tongue, I am not sure that I am the most qualified for devising catchy slogans/taglines. But what I have in mind would be: “ClassicPress-the CMS you can trust for decades to come” (yes, this is what I want!) - “ClassicPress-a CMS for the long term” - ClassicPress - stable, reliable, built to last"… You get the idea!
(Obviously, I do also agree with “secure” - but it remains to show what will make it more secure than WP: waiting to see a comparison table in a few months showing why it is more secure. Anyway, I won’t trust any CMS if I haven’t good off-site tools for backing up and restoring available.)
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As a lawyer and business owner, I don’t want surprises. While I know that nothing in life is certain, I want as much predictability as possible to enable me to make rational choices about what to do and when to do it. So predictability is absolutely fundamental. Without it, the rest doesn’t matter at all.
Stability is part of what predictability encompasses; I obviously want to be confident that my site won’t crash. But predictability means so much more.
It means that when I click a button, it does the same thing this time that it did last time: no “lost connection with the database” or “memory limit exceeded”, etc. It means that I can tell what something is meant to do from its label and description. It means that the iconography is consistent and meaningful, so that I have a good idea of what is going to happen if I click somewhere I’ve never tried before. It means that similar things are to be found in similar places on different pages.
As this thread exemplifies, predictability is too easily taken for granted. But it’s actually the bedrock of any software that is designed to be relied upon.
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OK, fair enough. I had a different idea of predictable in my head, but yours makes more sense.
If I had to think of three things I wanted from a CMS it would be:
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Simplicity, as in uncluttered, clean. I don’t want tons of bells and whistles. If I need a particular bell or whistle I will add it in myself. The more stuff in there, the more chance of something breaking. So I want a nice simple, light structure that I can build on.
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Stability, reliability, predictability, constancy, long-termness, built-to-lastability… whatever we want to call it. I want to feel confident I can still be using this for many years to come without the need for major reworking/retraining for some wacky new development.
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Security.
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Forgive my lateness…
The phrase Powerful, Versatile, Predictable will mean different things to different people – it is fairly nebulous without more specific context. For example, if you replace any of those words with the word Amazing – which is, arguably, the most overused, meaningless word on the internet – the phrase neither gains nor loses any meaning. To me, this indicates that it’s not really saying anything – it is, instead, putting the onus on the reader to figure out what it means. My guess is that few would bother trying to figure it out and some may even feel left out of the loop as a result. I think @LinasSimonis is on the right track in seeking a more meaningful positioning statement, but, none of this is my wheelhouse – it’s simply my opinion. Here’s some additional thoughts on how I’ve arrived at my conclusion.
As a plugin developer…
- Powerful means that the system creates/aggregates and makes available the common tools/libraries/APIs that not only generate a working website, but, which can be leveraged by developers to save time and improve efficiency.
- Versatile means I can extend virtually any aspect of the system without modifying core files.
- Predictable means that I can count on the various APIs and I’m never left repeatedly iterating my work to keep up with big changes that are prematurely implemented. It facilitates consistency in my code design.
Of course, the above will probably vary from developer to developer – these are my interpretations as a developer who has a long history with the predecessor project and complete context.
I’m including the following simply for contrast; to demonstrate that the phrase is wide open to interpretation.
As a theme developer…
- Powerful – allows me to add plugin-type functionality to my themes
- Versatile – allows me to re-style any aspect of the site via the theme
- Predictable – there’s a consistent interface for theme settings
As a site administrator…
- Powerful – the site can handle hundreds of concurrent visitors and I can manage everthing under one roof
- Versatile – I can post articles and/or sell goods with ease
- Predictable – the majority of site maintenance can be managed with a simple checklist
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I’m like jfmayer, I only started looking for something else because of Gutenberg. Before WordPress we hand coded all our websites. After WordPress came along and doing a little research it seemed like it could make things a little easier on us so we changed sites over to WordPress and it was good. If there wasn’t a plugin for something we needed my fabulous php coder would knock one out for us.
But when they decided to force me to use Gutenberg I decided right then no way. I’ll go back to hand coding first. It wouldn’t be easy because my outstanding php coder passed away about 3 1/2 years ago. He was my son and an awesome DevOps. Some of the php developers may have heard him at a php conference or known him. He was Jefferson McCree Jones aka “Teraboy”.
I found ClassicPress and I’m in all the way. I’m promoting it on all my sites. I’ll try to put a picture of the bottom of all my sites, 
I wish I was a more capable php coded so I could help more but the php coding was done by my Jeff.
I appreciate all the work everyone has put into making a great replacement for WordPress.
Thanks to everyone.
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