Why do you use ClassicPress instead of WordPress?

General Discussion
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I chose ClassicPress because I appreciate its focus on simplicity and security. It’s a great option for those who value a clean, lightweight platform without all the bloat of WordPress. Plus, the ClassicPress community is smaller and more tight-knit, which I find to be a positive.

Think about it like the protagonist in 'Junoon-e-Raqsham’ by Anoushy Ahmed. The character seeks simplicity and authenticity in their life, and ClassicPress offers a similar experience for those who value minimalism and efficiency.

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SMTP relay

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I’ve been using WordPress for at least fifteen years and absolutely love it, I tried ClassicPress briefly but didn’t make the switch until last month following “current events.”

What I love about ClassicPress:

  • Lightweight admin and front-end, I don’t feel the need for a caching plugin.
  • Easy to use TinyMCE editor.
  • No block editor means the database will be a bit cleaner too.
    More thoughts on my website.
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I can understand why many people are moving toward ClassicPress. Sometimes a simpler platform is exactly what you need, especially if you just want to focus on writing and managing your website without extra complexity. The lightweight feel, familiar editor, and cleaner setup are definitely appealing.

I’ve always liked the idea of having more control and fewer unnecessary features getting in the way. It’s nice to see a community that values simplicity and keeps things straightforward.

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There is an error:
Deprecated: Function add_theme_support( ‘html5’ ) was called with an argument that is deprecated since version CP-2.0.0! HTML5 is the default. in /data/vhosts/elica-webservices.it/httpdocs/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5773

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@Petru that is deprecation warning because CP v2 and up has made that function in themes redundant. You can either go to the functions.php file and remove it (and the theme continues to work) or modify it (there is a post on the forum that contains the code to use to modify the theme so that it uses the function if it is WP and to make it not use it on CP v2 and above).
Third option you can ignore it because it really does not impact the theme or CP.

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I prefer the Classic Editor and don’t use the block editor. I also don’t need AI features in my CMS.
I have multiple sites, and I’m gradually moving them to ClassicPress. I’m also gradually switching their themes to The ClassicPress Theme.
These are the main reasons I use ClassicPress.

Have a good day, and thank you for creating ClassicPress.

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https://elica-webservices.it/why-classicpress/
has an error:
Deprecated: Function add_theme_support( ‘html5’ ) was called with an argument that is deprecated since version CP-2.0.0! HTML5 is the default. in /data/vhosts/elica-webservices.it/httpdocs/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5773

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@RanWest thanks for the heads up. That page is in work in progress mode as of now - I had to take down my site a while ago for some issues and I am taking the occasion to rebrand it and rewrite articles and pages in a better way (I think I caused the site issue with my attempts at cooking something, ClassicPress was working fine, it was my own code that broke the whole thing but having the occasion to improve what I wrote is not a bad thing). It’s content will be updated and rebuilt completely (to include a more in depth reasoning on the why basically because on second thought I feel it was not really exaustive) and I have decided meanwhile to avoid experimenting on my main live site (that is a bad habit of mine, everytime I mess up I promise I won’t do it anymore but after some time I go back to doing it - and I do have local sites and also test staging sites).

EDITED TO ADD:
Also the deprecation is due to a theme I am testing to see if I want to port it to CP. There is a function that CP v2 deprecated that WP themes do use that is the add_support() for HTML5 one, since CP does not need it it means it throws deprecations BUT theme still does work. One can delete it from the functions.php file of the theme and the theme continues working fine OR use a code that Simone shared on this forum (search for HTML5 to find the thread) that modifies it to be a conditional check (if theme is used in CP skip the function, if it’s used in WP use it).

I like this specific theme layout and customization options, however in the backend for its theme page it uses thickbox - this means that to port to CP I will need to clean it up from blocks/FSE stuff, modify the thickbox code and remove/modify the HTML5 support function and in doing so maintain it WPCS/CPCS and PHP 8.4 compatible at least.

EDITED TO ADD 2:

To be complete, I went to search for the code Simone shared for themes add_support(HTML5) function, you can read about it here.

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Welcome back! (I noticed CP.net had an issue with SSL) Nice to have you (all) back.

Sounds like me.

I promise myself not to mess with live sites, and tell my students not to do that, and then I go and do it again. I have a site I built maybe 5 or even 10 years ago. It’s a WordPress and I managed to delete the site in cPanel. Yesterday I went looking for it and it was 404. After a panic attach, followed by a call to a calm less-panicked support staff who could think clearer, we found the last backup just hours from oblivion! Whew!

Edited: At least with PHP we know where to start looking.

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Sometimes the damages I cause are so big that correcting is not an option, but yes - PHP does help to understand. And everytime I do mess up I learn something new - this means that even messing up has a value to me.

I am not a perfect developer, I am someone who makes mistakes. But I try not to make the same ones twice…

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I’m really not a developer so I appreciate your perspective.
May I ask you how the cp.net home page was built? It’s an HTML page but works with the cp php architecture.

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It is not a native HTML page.

What ClassicPress and WordPress for what matters too do is have a PHP structure that allows a site owner to install a theme and plugins.

The theme is what takes care of front-end appearance (what you see as an HTML page) and is composed by PHP files, JS files and CSS files. Some of those files are what we call templates, they tell ClassicPress core the HTML markup and structure the site must use to render content. There is a template to show a list of articles for example (a blog page or the homepage if you set it to show latest posts), with a specific PHP function in it called loop. The loop does two things: asks the PHP to extract from the database the list of posts and is contained inside HTML markup so that when the template is used the page shows according to that markup the list PHP returned. ClassicPress core knows what each template is for (this is identified by specific names and file headers that are standard).

A person visiting the site and inspecting the page with developer tools sees the rendering of the template that the specific page they are inspecting uses - in the form of HTML markup and CSS styles. The page is generated by means of PHP and renders a result in styled HTML markup on front-end.

Now to the fun part: to “build the page” you have basically two ways.

Both start by going to Page>Add New, then you can:

  • write the content and format it using the editor (you can enhance the editor by installing FX Builder and related plugins :stuck_out_tongue: so that you have more design options, shortcodes and all the whistles and bells of a page builder without the hassle of a page builder) - this is done in the visual part of the editor
  • write HTML code in the text part of the editor (for this you can use the natural theme CSS to style your HTML so that you have it consistent with all the rest of the site and you do not have to write CSS or write your own CSS in the Customizer CSS section if your content needs some more CSS that is not included in the theme own CSS)

Once you have the content in place you save it. ClassicPress will use one of the templates supplied by the theme for that content. On the front-end inspecting the page will show HTML markup - but it’s a PHP template rendered correctly.

ClassicPress main website is a website built with ClassicPress. The home page of that site is simply a ClassicPress website page. I do not know who made it specifically but I think the method used was writing the content as HTML markup in the text tab in the ClassicEditor in ClassicPress when editing the page.

Without going too far, something similar can be achieved using the aforementioned FX Builder suite of plugins and a good barebones theme and your specific CSS or a good theme with a CSS that appeases your aesthetic sense.

Small Note: every website (no matter the stack used to build it, be it WP, CP, Joomla, Laravel, etc) will always render only HTML markup and styles on the front-end. because the back-end stack is used to make it work - not to show the content.

ClassicPress is a PHP based CMS, PHP powers all its functions, themes are a specific extension within the CMS used to take care of content rendering in HTML markup. Joomla is another PHP based CMS with “Layouts” taking care of rendering. If you inspect both types of sites (a Joomla and a CP one) what you will see is HTML and CSS and nothing else. And both have PHP under it to make them work correctly.

If a site shows up something else you need to close the tab real quick because there is something fishy… :stuck_out_tongue:

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