There is a simple niche not handled well by WordPress and after reading and skimming comments on this article, it is clear this is rarely discussed and places WP in a vulnerable position.

Website maintenance is a key frustration for many people running websites. It's easy to install WP but now - optimize it. What happens? The webmaster spends hours and hours tweaking the site loading only to have a new release automatically (or install a plugin) change things and the webmaster is back at it again. It's hamster-like behavior. Some nerds might think it is "fun" but after awhile it is just perceived as wasted effort. Think of the abandoned blogs - they are evidence WP is on the wrong track.

This leaves a big opening for an easily installed site, extremely optimized for fast loading, and hooked for plugin developers to expand the features of the site without slowing things down.

Next, there is a huge (I mean HUGE or HUMONGOUS) challenge for new users to get support; People new to development, new to setting up a site, new to maintaining a site all suffer. Where do they go to get help? The manuals are written for techies - and not mom and pop or the lone teen wolf.

My final point focuses on a missed opportunity for WordPress; multisite. Operating numerous sites with multiple domains is a nightmare on WordPress. It's a PITA. If I want to change the structure then it is a bigger nightmare. WordPress needs to improve sharing of stories and media on a network, easily set up default widgets to pull in posts from other blogs to build a "front page" ... default ways to have a single RSS bringing all the blogs together.

Bluntly, if I could find something else with less hassle then I'd drop WordPress in a heart beat. I know of dozens who already abandoned WP for projects easier to maintain.

Thanks for reading my 2 cents. Opportunities abound but rough sailing lies ahead if you don't pay attention to the storm clouds.