Whether you’re looking to build a website or want to upgrade your old one, you’ve likely heard about WordPress. But if you’ve heard the name and aren’t sure what is it, WordPress is a publishing platform that helps build websites or blogs. Many name-brand websites use WordPress as their CMS or content management system like CNN or People’s Magazine.
If you’re still not sure whether you want to use WordPress or not, the following 5 reasons will show you why it is the best CMS available today.
1. Beyond Blogging
If you’re hesitant to use WordPress as the engine of your website because its reputation as a blogging platform, the CMS has significantly evolved over the last few years. While it did begin as a blogging platform, WordPress has a comprehensive content management system that helps many business run functioning websites which include job boards, online forms, and more.
Don’t let WordPress’s history as a blog platform deter you from using it as a solution for your website. Now you can easily create a WordPress supported website with all the pages you need. And if your site is content focused, then WordPress offers the easiest solution to post videos, photos, articles, and blogs to your reader base. It can accommodate multiple users so your whole team can access and create content.
2. Functional and Adaptable
One of the best things about a WordPress site is that you can do just about anything you need on it. While the basic platform gives you an easy way to manage the content of your site, if you feel like anything is missing there are thousands of plugins you can install that instantly add functionality.
For example, if you want to add the social share buttons to your website all you need to do is find the plugin that fits your needs. You don’t have to know how to code or go through the trouble of pasting the HTML text into the complicated website backend. Instead all you do is install the plugin you want. Once installed, you can easily edit the plugin so that it serves your purpose. Plugins exist for anything from website analytics, to email marketing connectivity, to website backup solutions.
3. Highly Customizable
When you first start your WordPress site it will look basic. But you have options. You can either design the site yourself or easily install a template that will make your site look professional in seconds. These templates are affordable and easy to find with just a Google search. Additionally, you can easily move around all the aspects of your site and place your content, subscription forms, and headers anywhere you would like with the simple drag and drop feature.
Besides this level of customizability, WordPress is an open source technology. That means that if you needed to or wanted to (many never have the need), you can go into the source code and make changes to serve your specific purpose. This goes for all plugins and templates as well. Everything can be customized on your WordPress site.
4. The CMS Is Easy to Use
When you start using WordPress for your site, you’ll quickly realize that it is very easy to add new content. Adding a new page or post to your website is as easy as clicking “Add New.” The same goes for putting photos into your site. The level of technical knowledge to operate a WordPress site is very minimal. If you are able to edit a Microsoft Word document, you can manage your content on the WordPress engine.
If you need to update your content, you can do that as easily as you would change text in Word. You don’t need to know any code. You simply type in what you want to see and that is what gets published online. On the backend, you’ll have an administrative interface which is easy to navigate and is very organized. After just a few sessions, you will become familiar with it and be able to get around your site.
5. WordPress is Cost-Effective
Utilizing the WordPress engine is free. So basically all you need to pay for is your website domain name, hosting, and any templates/plugins that cost money. It is completely possible to run a WordPress website for just a few dollars per year. After the initial setup which can be done by someone with only moderate technical skills, you won’t need to pay anything except the costs to just keep your site live online.
As you consider your options available when creating your website, WordPress stands above the rest. WordPress is here to stay and continues to be used by millions of websites each year. Do you have questions about starting a WordPress site? Please contact us today!
