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There are many different content management systems out there, but WordPress is by far the most popular for small to midsized businesses.

One of the things that makes WordPress so popular is its long list of inexpensive but robust plugins, which can be added to WordPress to create or improve functionality.

There are so many plugins that it can be hard to pick the ones you need, so we've created a helpful list of the top five must-have WordPress plugins.

Keeping up with all the info and news in the world of WordPress can be time consuming and, frankly, a bit overwhelming. That’s why we diligently keep our fingers on the pulse, monitoring and reviewing all the latest updates and sharing with you the ones we find most interesting or useful. On that note, read on for the top five WordPress articles of the week.

WordPress proposes plan for 61% of WP sites using outdated PHP (Search Engine Journal) 

What version PHP is your WordPress site running on? A recent study shows that less than 39 percent of all WordPress sites are using the most current 

Weekly roundup is here again. This week, we're talking all-things WordPress. Find out the latest and industry greatest in our top five news stories about WordPress!

1. How to increase your PageSpeed in WordPress (Search Engine Land)
   Learn how to optimize your WordPress site to increase your PageSpeed - because Google cares about how long it takes your site to load, so you should care too. 
2. Can WordPress support enterprise needs? (CMS Wire)
   The ins and outs of WordPress for enterprise-sized corporations, covering everything from Plugins to integration capabilities and more. 
   
3. UK researchers warn of serious WordPress PHP flaw (Info Security Magazine)
   You may have heard about this over the last week or so, as it's been covered by virtually every digital news outlet who has even the slightest interest in the CMS world. Why is this potential flaw such a big deal? Three words: complete system compromise. Learn more in this article.

1. 3 best WordPress alternatives for serious business owners (AllBusiness)
   Wondering if a WordPress site is your only option? Not so, my friends...Check out AllBusiness's breakdown on the top three alternatives to WordPress - and they break it down even further by segmenting the top options for content-based sites, eCommerce sites and blog-only sites. 
   
   
2. 11 WordPress plugins for customer support (PracticalEcommerce)
   Bad, untimely or an entire lack-thereof customer service can KILL your business. Take a look at PracticalEcommerce's article on the 11 best WordPress plugins for customer support. 
   

If you have a WordPress site or blog, plugins are your new best friend.

Plugins are easy to install and offer your site added functionality and new features. Think of them like an app on your phone. They add extras to your site.

There are thousands of plugins, both free and paid premium, out there – so if you’re hoping to add sliders to your site, or allow users to comment on your blog or add social icons to your pages, chances are, a plugin will allow you to do so.

How do you install a plugin on your WordPress site?

WordPress has made it easy on you – follow these simple, step-by-step instructions and you’ll be on your way to plugin paradise.

For this How-to, I'll walk you through the steps of adding a plugin that will allow your users to share your content via social (tip: if you're not doing this...you should be!).

Version 4.0 of WordPress, named “Benny” in honor of jazz clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard. This release brings a smoother writing and management experience.

WordPress 3.9.2 is now available as a security release for all previous versions. We strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately or your site may be vulnerable to DOS attacks.

According to WordPress, this release fixes a possible denial of service issue in PHP’s XML processing, reported by Nir Goldshlager of the Salesforce.com Product Security Team.  It was fixed by Michael Adams and Andrew Nacin of the WordPress security team and David Rothstein of the Drupal security team. This is the first time the two projects have coordinated joint security releases.

WordPress recently announced that WordPress 4.0 Beta 2 is now available for download and testing.
This is software that is still in development, so it's not recommend that you run it on a production site just yet.

Security researchers at Sucuri are warning WordPress users to update the popular WPTouch plugin after uncovering a security vulnerability that would allow a logged-in user, with no administrative privileges, to upload PHP files to the server.

I want to give a big shout out to Jeff Cram and our friends over at The CMS Myth for their article titled "The Real Reasons People Hate Their CMS".