WordPress is a free content management system (CMS) that allows you to create a beautiful website that truly represents your business.
At Digital Neighbor, we appreciate the versatility and ease of use that the WordPress platform provides. It’s a great solution for many businesses as it can be used for everything from e-commerce sites to portfolios or professional websites. In fact, over a third of websites use WordPress.
Not sure whether you should make the switch? Here’s what you need to know about WordPress, plus 9 advantages of WordPress that truly make it stand out.
What is WordPress?
I mentioned that WordPress is a free content management system, or CMS. But what is that?
Basically, a CMS allows someone with limited tech skills to build a beautiful website. It provides a user-friendly or intuitive interface to make it easy to create and publish content. A CMS is a content management application and a content delivery application combined. There’s no reason to learn HTML or CSS; a CMS has this coding built-in.
WordPress came about in 2003 as a way to make it easy for people to create websites and blogs. Over time, it’s evolved and grown, and its popularity continues to grow as well. So why should you create a WordPress site? Let’s dive into the 9 advantages of WordPress over other CMSs.
9 Advantages of WordPress
It’s Free
Had to start with the big one. One of the reasons that WordPress is so popular is that there is little barrier to entry. You can start off with a free website hosted by them, or you can pay for your own hosting. You don’t have to buy an expensive theme to customize your site; there are plenty of free ones available.
It’s Easy To Use
All of the advantages of WordPress wouldn’t mean much if they were hard to use. Even if you’re not a tech expert, WordPress makes building a site simple. At its most basic, WordPress allows you to choose a theme and then start uploading content such as images, copy, and blog posts.
You Can Edit Your Site From Anywhere
WordPress sites can be edited from anywhere. You can write a blog post from your phone while waiting for appetizers and run updates from your home computer. You and your team can log in from any computer to make changes to your site.
No Need for Additional Software
Life before WordPress meant using HTML editing software and FTPs to code your site and upload content. These programs lived on a specific computer, which limited where you could work on your website. With WordPress, everything is online. You don’t have to install anything onto your computer. Even when you want to change up themes or plug-ins, they all live online.
It’s Customizable
Your business is unique, and your website should be too. Thanks to different themes (both free and premium), your WordPress site can help capture your brand and share it with the world.
WordPress developers have created themes to showcase images, products, services, and more. Some are meant to be online magazines, others function as online curriculum vitae. With numerous developers constantly creating new themes, there’s bound to be one that resonates with you.
In addition to the various themes which can craft the layout of your site, WordPress allows developers to create plugins. These plugins can help you ensure you are using good SEO practices, make it easy to tweet your latest blog posts, or help you build a custom contact form. Plugins can help you unify the different services you use to reach your target audience.
Mobile Responsiveness
Most of us look up sites on our smartphones when we’re out. We expect a site to load quickly and to look good on the smaller screen. Chances are you’ve come across a website that wasn’t easy to navigate on your smartphone screen. When that happens, we are likely to leave the site and look elsewhere.
This is a big problem for businesses, however, because mobile search is continuing to grow, and potential clients expect to be able to navigate websites on their phones and tablets.
Many WordPress themes are mobile responsive, meaning they change how a page is displayed depending on where it is being accessed. This makes it easier for mobile users to clearly read your site and get the information they need. Yes, you can make a custom website and have it be mobile responsive, but it will cost you a lot more than a WordPress site.
Scalable
It’s very easy to add pages to your site as you increase services or to publish to your blog more frequently. You can edit your menus to make your info easier to find, even as you grow your site. Want to add an e-commerce component? Check out Woo-Commerce. With so many plug-ins and widgets available, you can build out your site to meet your needs.
Easy to Optimize
SEO plug-ins make WordPress easy to optimize. With tools like Rank Math and Yoast, you can check whether your pages and posts meet SEO best practices. You can see how many times you are using your keyword, whether you have internal and external links, if you’ve used appropriate headings, and more.
Multiple Users
No need for multiple installs. With WordPress, you can have multiple users accessing your site so your team can make changes or upload new content. You can restrict what users can do so you can protect your website, too.
Need a New WordPress Website?
Your website is a vital part of your online presence. Make sure it represents you and your brand. Whether you’re in the market for a new website or considering revamping your current site, consider trying to WordPress.
If you’d like to learn more about how a WordPress-based website can help you better communicate with your target audience, drop us a line. We’d love to discuss how our experience with WordPress has allowed us to craft custom solutions for our neighbors. We work with our neighbors to determine their needs and offer everything from design and copywriting services to SEO.
