If you're thinking about getting a new website built for your business, you might have heard about WordPress. We love WordPress here at Public. 99% of the websites we build for our clients use the WordPress platform.
We've used WordPress to build websites for Wiley, Greenbelt, David Downton, Lilac Rose and Nicola Jarvis Studio, among others.
WHAT IS WORDPRESS?
WordPress is an "open source" website creation tool. The framework is available for anyone to download free of charge - but you need a bit of knowledge (or ideally a web developer) to create a website from this framework. It’s the most powerful and widely-used CMS (Content Management System) around today.
WHO USES IT?
You’re in good company if you've got a WordPress website. Famous blogs like Mashable and TechCrunch both use WordPress. This WordPress showcase gives you a flavour of some of the companies and celebrities using it, and this chart shows which content management systems are currently the most popular.
WHY SHOULD I USE IT?
There are many why a WordPress website would benefit your business.
1. You have control of your own website
No more waiting for your web developer to make simple changes and updates – and paying them for every tiny change. With WordPress, you have control of many aspects of your website and can carry out simple updates yourself.
2. Easy to use
WordPress is very easy to use, even for non-technical people, because the interface is so intuitive. Adding new pages, posts, images, etc. on a regular basis can be done quickly and easily.
3. Manage your site from anywhere
Because WordPress is browser-based, you can log in and manage your website from any computer, anywhere in the world. All you need is an internet connection, and a little bit of knowledge.
4. No specialist software required
WordPress is a self-contained system, so you don't need to use HTML editing software such as Dreamweaver. You can create a new page or blog post, upload or edit images, and upload documents, video files, images, etc. all without the need for additional HTML or FTP software.
5. Great for SEO
Google loves WordPress! The code behind WordPress is very clean and simple, making it easy for Google to read and index. In addition, you can give each page, post and image its own keywords, description and title. You can optimise your content for specific keywords, allowing for very precise search engine optimisation. And you can update all of this yourself, without the help of a web developer.
6. Multiple users
There's no need to be the sole administrator of your website – other staff members can have their own logins. The primary administrator of a WordPress site can set up multiple users, and assign different access levels to different users.
7. Blogging is built in
WordPress started life as a blogging platform, so blogging is built in and easy to integrate. Setting up newsletter subscriptions and commenting is very simple. You can also add your most recent blog posts to other pages of your site, like your home page.
8. Increase what your website can do with plugins
"Plugins" are bits of code that allow certain things to happen on your site. They have already been written, so there's no need for your web developer to write this code from scratch. Plugins are either free or cheap to buy. There will be some configuration required – you can't just buy a plugin, press a button and go. If you're not technically-minded, your web developer will do this for you. Plugins allow your site to have features like event calendars, video galleries and Twitter feeds.
9. Large community
As the world's most popular CMS, there's a lot of free support out there. If you're not sure how to do something, you can search for it on Google. There's usually someone out there with suggestions!
10. It also does eCommerce
WordPress websites can be set up to sell your products online, using a system called WooCommerce.
If an easy-to-use Content Management System sounds like the kind of thing you are after, drop us a line for a no-obligation chat about your requirements.