Ok I will bite. What was an alternative to WordPress especially back then that actually was as easy to use as WP AND had the ecosystem of plugins that WP has. Focus on non technical users only who have no idea how to write code.
You're correct. Alternatives were slim. But in retrospect, perhaps that was part of the problem? WP had zero incentive for clean code, QA, industry standards, etc. The more it grew, ironically the less it cared. The embedded base of site and dev as well as the plugin and theme ecosystem maintain the momentum forward, somehow.
