WordPress? You mean that blog thing right?
Yes. And no.
Many people hear “WordPress” and instantly think “blog”. While WordPress is the most widely used blogging system on the internet, its role as a content management system (CMS) makes WordPress capable of so much more. In fact, nearly a quarter of all websites are using WordPress and over 60% of sites using a CMS have opted for WordPress (W3 Techs).
Here are some of my favorite things about building and working with WordPress Websites:
- WordPress is Free!
- Yes, free. WordPress is free to download and use and is open source so if you are feeling really froggy and are technically awesome at technical things you can tweak the code to suit your whims.
- If you are seeking a professional online image for your company however, you will want to purchase a domain name as well as a hosting service for your website. Free hosting is available through WordPress.com but you will not be able to use your own domain name there. That being said, most all great hosting companies have a control panel or sorts to help make your WordPress installation easy if you are a DIYer. Otherwise your web developer will know exactly what to do and will take care of that part for you!
- Themes galore
- Oh the glorious themes! There are many free themes as well as premium themes that are available for purchase.
- Whether you are a DIYer or you have a web development team on your side themes will save you an incredible amount of time, particularly on the responsive side of things. Be careful when selecting a theme though, while many are responsive there are still some that are not so make that one of your top priorities when selecting a theme for your WordPress site.
- Just like with WordPress itself most of these themes have code that can be edited to suit your particular needs.
- Plug-Ins for days
- Simply put, plug-ins can do pretty much anything. If there is something you want your website to do there is likely a plug-in out there to get it done.
- Just like with themes, there are thousands of free plug-ins to use with your WordPress website as well as many available for purchase.
- In the future I will be sharing some of my very favorite WordPress plug-ins (both free and paid) with you, so look forward to that!
- Easy editing
- WordPress makes editing your content a breeze! With a little bit of training even the most technically challenged business owner can make a quick change to his or her website in a pinch!
Now that I have raved about WordPress I feel I need to also share a deep concern I have as a developer: DIY business owners setting up their own websites, WordPress or otherwise, without the proper knowledge on how to optimize your website for search engines can absolutely ruin the site. You may have managed to build yourself a pretty bomb looking website but will your customers be able to find you via a search engine or will your competitor’s website be listed among the search results while you are nowhere to be seen?
Look for more information on SEO and WordPress websites in a future post. In the meantime let us know what your favorite aspects of WordPress are!
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