In the past few years, business web designers and their clients have been making the switch from old static HTML and table-based web designs to more modern layouts, platforms, and content management systems. The most popular of these has undoubtedly been WordPress, which now serves as the basis for hundreds of millions of different blogs, online stores, and other web presences. And the recent release of WordPress 4.0 only continues the dominance of the platform. As more and more users move to smart phones and mobile devices, WordPress is a great platform to build Responsive, a technology that adjusts to the size of your screen, websites.
But, what is it that makes WordPress so popular… or for that matter, such a good choice in the first place? Here are the biggest advantages to designing your next business website in WordPress:
WordPress sites tend to be fast and affordable. Because using WordPress doesn’t obligate you to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on things like custom coding and programming, there are usually fewer billable hours involved in getting your new website ready to go. That means fewer billable hours, more money to put into an Internet marketing budget, and a website that’s ready to launch several weeks faster than it would have been otherwise.
A WordPress business website can look any way you want it to. Once upon a time, WordPress sites were known for their blog roots, which emphasized magazine-style layouts. Now, though, a WordPress site can have any kind of look, layout, or navigation structure you want it to. That kind of flexibility might not mean a lot to your business at the moment, but it could turn out to be a good thing if you ever find yourself wanting to opt for a different visual style later. With WordPress customization you are only limited by your creativity; a huge plus for design sensitive businesses.
It’s incredibly versatile. Not only can you incorporate any kind of aesthetic look with WordPress, you can build any kind of fully functional business website, as well. Functions like blogs and online databases are well documented and known, but with the right plug-ins WordPress can even handle e-commerce and other heavy-duty content management jobs. Again, this makes things easier for your company now, and then again later if you have to do a redesign or add to your new website. Have a need to create a photo or video gallery, no problem. This platform is highly modular and can accommodate nearly anything you can dream up. Can you tell we love WordPress?
It’s a great content management system for online marketing and SEO. So long as they are configured correctly from the start, WordPress sites have a content structure that’s incredibly easy for Google and the other search engines to crawl (so it’s no problem for potential buyers to find your website). And, with the huge number of marketing plug-ins available, you shouldn’t have any problem promoting your business website later. One of our favorite SEO plugins is WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast.
WordPress enjoys a big community with lots of support. Because so many companies (and business web designers) rely on WordPress, there are always programmers and developers researching new ideas, looking for new applications, and fixing any problems they come across. This is one area where “safety in numbers” really comes into play, regardless of whether you’re trying to focus on Internet marketing or just keep thieves and hackers away.
There are some downsides to WordPress. A highly available, highly used and easily customizable platform all sounds great, and it is, but it is also easily targeted by hackers they prey on un-patched WordPress installs. This shouldn’t deter you, all major content management systems have this exposure, but you should be aware and make sure you have professionals keeping your website up-to-date. Your website is a huge investment and necessity for your business, take care of it and update it, like you would with any other critical technology or business asset.
While every business website and Internet marketing plan is different, WordPress brings the right combination of versatility, affordability, and marketing power for almost every project. Why not talk to a member of our team today and see if WordPress is the right platform for your next web presence?
