This blog has now been migrated from WordPress to ClassicPress.
For normal readers this makes no real difference, just some slight changes of page style.
ClassicPress is a fork of WordPress, but from an older version and retaining some traditional elements. It is still an open source CMS which is actively maintained and has modern improvements.
I have great respect for WordPress having used it for simple blogs and entire websites. However in recent years it has moved away from its original simplicity, becoming rather overburdened with rarely used features and most significantly a style of authoring and management that attempts to be more modern but many people find is not intuitive. This includes introduction of the block-style Gutenberg editor, which personally I find inflexible and relatively awkward to use. ClassicPress was developed to address this, keeping the traditional TinyMCE editor, reducing bloat and offering a familiar experience. This has also resulted in a more lightweight and better performing software product.
Concept for the change was tested offline which also enabled the development of a new custom theme, since the previous one was not compatible. Migration on the live server was straightforward, backup of everything first, disable all existing plugins and replace the theme, then execute the ClassicPress provided plugin. Thankfully all the plugins were compatible and were simply reactivated. A replacement theme was needed because the old one was a child of a very old theme with no newer version that might have worked with ClassicPress. The new theme was based on one specifically offered for ClassicPress, customised to appear similar the previous one and the rest of the website, although inevitably there are a few small styling differences.
For anyone interested, you can read about ClassicPress on the official website.