What to Make of WordPress DXP

Longtime WordPress hoster WP Engine has rebranded its enterprise offering as "WordPress Digital Experience Platform."  DXP is a sexy term now, but in this case, what does it really mean?

One of the nice things about WordPress (and to a lesser extent, Drupal) is that there is a very vibrant PaaS ecosystem, including WP Engine and others.  They can provide an array of system services, potentially including: managed cloud hosting, specialized system reporting, connectors to services like Google Analytics or Twitter/Facebook, services for agencies doing multi-tenant stuff, and formal and informal vetting of plug-ins/modules for security and performance. 

That’s all good.

What these hosters typically don’t do is heavily customize or extend the core platform itself.  WordPress DXP is really just souped-up managed hosting and not a WordPress fork.

As subscribers to RSG's Web Content & Experience Management research know, WordPress natively is a useful WCM system — especially for blogs, microsites, and some news/club sites. Yet it remains rather weak at broader notions of managing “Digital Experience.” Of course, DX is a practice and not a technology marketplace, but if your vision of DX includes services like segmentation/personalization, integration of content and services, and specialized content applications, then you'll probably want to look elsewhere.

Wordpress is WCM, not DX

So in this case I’d say the DX label is a misnomer.

 


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Gil, Partner, Cancentric Solutions Inc.
iStudio Canada Inc.

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