Not as Easy as it Seems
When transforming this website to the Word Press platform, this author accepted the “wisdom” of various online sources and used a so called up and coming new Page Builder. A huge mistake!
After many failures and indeed public page lockups, I changed to a more established solution—the one used for this writing. Over this technological journey, I was told by a number of support individuals to ‘deactivate’ plugins and troubleshoot from there. While this sounds good on paper (or over chat call out), it does now work well when using this technology to run a business.
Software Architecture
According to Wikipedia, “the fundamental structures of a software system and the discipline of creating such structures and systems. Each structure comprises software elements, relations among them, and properties of both elements and relations. The architecture of a software system is a metaphor, analogous to the architecture of a building. It functions as a blueprint for the system and the developing project, laying out the tasks necessary to be executed by the design teams.”
The proliferation of Apps, Plugins and other products are a concern in any Open Source software development process that depends on a global set of independent development firms and individuals.
As far back as the 1980s systems integrators decried the use of third-party memory cards in DEC mini systems. The logic was that these organizations could not assure performance if these products were use. To some extent they were right; however, in many ways it did not matter.
However, when it came to service or warranty, It did matter. If the system crashed because of a third-party product the user was on their own. Loss of revenue and destruction of reputation remained with the customer and not the technology providers. This was also my experience in 2020; some 30+ years later!
These systems are not trivial; they are complex. For example, the following diagram is taken from AWS Best Practices for Word Press. Does your provider manage to this level?
Does It Matter Now?
In an era of turn off your plugins to troubleshoot, I am not sure this doesn’t matter—point made above. How can one run a business or even a personal ‘fun’ site if this error message appears after an upgrade?
One fears that in the Open Source era Generally Accepted Practices for software development are not rigorously followed. Imagine if GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices) were not followed? Oh wait, do I hear Enron, MCI et al? We all know how that ended.
So, use a ‘free’ plugin to clean up short code. Hopefully, the tech selected will refresh when the new ultimately happens and incompatibility will not be an issue. If this your strategy—Good luck!
Are You Betting Your Company on this So-Called MVP Model?
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