Is Dreamweaver a security risk?

[BenPleysier]

Available PHP versions

This is the current status of PHP

Available Bootstrap versions

The current status of Bootstrap

[osgood_]

Is Dreamweaver a security risk?

By @BenPleysier

I've still got quite a few websites running on php 5.4. Mostly because its problematical to approach the subject with low grade/paying clients. I know for sure that the majority would not run on php v7 or v8 and therefore would require some code updates and testing. Explaining this to my clients would be difficult as l know they don't want to spend additional costs. Are their websites a security risk, maybe, they haven't been to date which makes it even more problematical to address.

I think serious clients who allocate a budget to maintain their website should update to new versions. Unfortunately l cant count my clients in that bracket, it is what it is.

Considering 53% of php websites use v7 and 17% still use v5 there's a lot of potentially at risk websites.

[BenPleysier]

My host removed PHP 5 many moons ago making the websites unusable. The clients had to upgrade, either by me or they went elsewhere. Some even decided to turn to Wix???? and do it themselves.

What a world, when even the most (past) revered IDE doesn't keep up.

[osgood_]

My host removed PHP 5 many moons ago making the websites unusable. The clients had to upgrade, either by me or they went elsewhere. Some even decided to turn to Wix???? and do it themselves.

What a world, when even the most (past) revered IDE doesn't keep up.

By @BenPleysier

Yes, that is another possibility, the host just upgrades and the website stops working. I think quite a few large hosting companies do this for good reason 'to keep their house in order'. I use smaller hosting companies who generally don't 'force' you to do anything but then you pay the price of not being current.

I had a client who went to Wix to produce a DIY build and what a poor job they did,  obviously not thinking of their users. 

It's getting harder as a freelance to  find quality clients with a sensible budget so quite happy that lve come to the end of my usefulness. If l was starting out now l would most certainly try and get aboard a better web development company who would target bigger fish and have the resources to manage them.

In regards to IDEs not keeping up it's a question of transparency, either support the product or dont continue to flog a dead horse.

[andyd273]

Could just turn it into a business opportunity, especially if you made the sites in the first place and have a general understanding on how the back end works.
"Hey client, I'm sure that you've see all the news lately about websites being hacked and security breaches. I'm sure that you don't want to be a statistic, and I don't want that either, so I have a special limited time deal where I'll upgrade the PHP on your website to the latest version for only $$$."
Depending on your clients you can basically flip the script and come at it from the other side.
"Hi there client, I'm sure that you've heard about all the big companies that have been hacked lately. Well I have to do some back end upgrades on the server to make sure that your website stays as safe as possible, but that means that without a few tweaks your website is likely to have some issues.
Since this isn't really your fault I'll give you a special deal and do all the tweaks to your website for only $$$."

[osgood_]

I might as well throw the kitchen sink in - your website is more than 6 years old now, you've done nothing with it apart from minor  annual updates since its been published, it's time for a complete re-think, the way things are done now is different, you're website is outdated, not only in terms of presentation but the code base as well.

Small clients have small minds and even smaller budgets, not worth the effort in my opinion these days. Things have changed since l started my career, small clients think that building websites is not that skillful and you don't have to be knowledgeable so their expectation is it must be cheap. Of course we now have solutions like Wix, Weekly, SquareSpace and the rest, which haven't helped matters. 

I've also worked with premium clients who have a dedicated department of employees who focus their attention on the companies marketing and have an annual budget set out at the start of the financial  year. These companies are truly fantastic to work with as they do appreciate the skill involved, the time, the testing, the maintenance aspect etc unlike your shittty small client and the person youre usually dealing with whose attention is more focused on their real job within the company, the driver, the secretary, the bottle washer etc.

I hear where you're coming from though and it might be worth a go in some instances but me l got tired of dealing with low end , low budget time wasters. Fortunately  I no longer have to. 

[BenPleysier]

I have found that the so-called premium companies have their own IT department where they either, have their own web development team or outsource their work to other premium companies that have large teams working on web development. They do not want to waste their time with freelancers,

The only way for a freelance web development business to remain viable is to streamline web development. Streamlining means that the freelancer has to make use of what others have created. This involves having to use services like Wix, Webflow, Bubble, Wordpress or similar.

Problem is that I am from the old school just like @osgood_ and we have a great dislike for products that lock you in to their way of doing things thus losing flexiblity.

I have chosen to go for a solution that combines flexibility and streamlining in the form of a low code editor. This is what Dreamweaver could have been had they listened to their 'real' users. In record time, I pump out a Node project and have it hosted for practically free of charge, depending on the traffic.

For the latter part, have a look at this video:

https://youtu.be/kaQqH9GIYh8