Why You Should Use WordPress (For Your Small Business)
Out of all of the CMS platforms floating around, it’s often wondered why WordPress remains one of the most prevalent out there. If you’re asking yourself whether or not your current site is good enough — or if you should make the switch to WordPress we have some answers for you.
A little history about WordPress. It all started as a blogging service where creators flexed their skills with valuable articles and other content for the world wide web. But over the years it has almost completely transformed into one of the most powerful website builders and CMS platforms on the market.
WordPress is impressive for a few key reasons:
- It’s extremely user friendly
- Easy to learn
- Simple to update content
- Robust flexibility
- Scalable
Many industry leading businesses have put their faith and websites in the hands of WordPress. In fact, a third of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.
It’s Free
Let’s start with the question everybody wants an answer to: How much is this going to cost me?
Well the answer is a pretty pleasant surprise — WordPress is absolutely free to download and use.
This is because it’s an Open Source platform.
Now the word free refers to the download and use of WordPress but there is a cost associated with hosting and domain name.
Some quick background:
Domain name refers to the web address of your website
Website hosting refers to where all of your sites files are stored
Setting up a WordPress site can be a bit challenging, especially for someone without any technical experience. If you would like some help setting up your WordPress site, there are professionals and agencies available with expertise at hand.
SEO Friendly
One of the most compelling factors when considering a CMS platform is SEO friendliness. If you aren’t familiar with SEO practices or methods. WordPress was built with search in mind, so Google and other search engines are familiar with the platform and do well with it.
It’s pretty SEO friendly from the get-go — and there are dozens of plugins that can help optimize your website even further.
Highly Customizable
WordPress was created with the typical user in mind. This means that you don’t need an extensive computer science or coding background to create something powerful (but it helps).
For anyone that struggles with design, don’t fret. WordPress has literally thousands of design templates or themes for you to choose from. These themes are extremely customizable as well, empowering you to create and modify at your disposal.
- Choose colors
- Upload logos
- Modify the background
- Add rich media
- Create sliders
No coding required!
Note: For advanced or highly customized web builds, some coding knowledge will be necessary and professional assistance is highly recommended.
Every website requires a certain touch or nuance, but WordPress has themes for every type website you can possibly dream of. This allows you to implement a website structure that works best for your specific customer base.
Another great feature is that ability to add custom functionality to your WordPress site. These allow you to stand out from the competition and provide real value to your users.
These can include features such as:
- Contact forms
- Analytics
- Pop up CTA’s
- Subscription plugins
If you’re interested in learning more about the growing number of popular functionality plugins for 2019, take a look at this list.
Easy To Update and Manage
Once your WordPress site is up and running and you have all the necessary components built out (either on your own or with help) — you can easily manage your site.
In the content driven world we live in it’s important that the content of your site us up-to-date, especially according to these blogging statistics. New products or services, promotions or even simple fixes like editing hyperlinks can all be done by someone without technical knowledge of web design.
The intuitive dashboard feature makes understanding your website simple and fixes can be made in seconds.
Also, WordPress comes equipped with an updates management system that allows you to update themes or plugins from the dashboard as well.
House Rich Media
While WordPress may have began as a blogging source it has grown into something much, much greater. Rich media forms like video have become almost standard for growing companies looking to provide value in a variety of ways.
WordPress has a built-in media uploader that can support video, audio or images.
It also supports embed content. Simply put, you can easily embed YouTube videos, SoundCloud audio or social media posts from Instagram or Twitter just by putting in the URL associated with the content.
Very Secure
Safety is always a concern (or should be) for anyone looking to build or develop a website. WordPress is considered an extremely safe and secure place to run your website.
Regardless, there are a few steps you can take to minimize the risk of unwanted intruders in your website.
- Keep your WordPress updated
- Use strong passwords
- Be careful who you give your WordPress permissions to
- Use security plugins
