Anyone who has spent much time even contemplating the basics of setting up an online business will have probably heard of content management systems (CMSs), these being the software platforms that allow for the easy construction, modification and maintenance of websites.
And when it comes to content management systems, the global market leader is unquestionably WordPress, which powers more than 42% of all websites.
Given that there’s not exactly a shortage of rival platforms out there, you might imagine that in order to command such a formidable market share, WordPress must be pretty good – and it is. This is software that we routinely use for building our own clients’ websites here at Piranha Designs – and here are some of the reasons why it can be such a sound choice.
It’s free!
Well, we should probably clarify this one a little bit; it is completely free to download and use the WordPress software. This is not the same as saying as absolutely everything associated with WordPress is free.
One thing that some casual observers can get confused about at this point, is the distinction between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Basically, WordPress.com is the absolute beginner’s version, based on WordPress’s own managed hosting platform. It’s fine for personal and hobby blogs, but if you’re serious about running a business on WordPress, it is WordPress.org – the self-hosted version of the software that will give you greater control over your site – that you should really be looking into.
And if you do use WordPress in its latter variant, you are likely to find yourself tapping into some seriously advanced plugins to bolster your site’s functionality. The WordPress plugins offering the best features and support are likely to be premium ones that you will have to pay for – and you’ll need to pay for the hosting as well, of course.
The upside, though, is that paying out for those extras – where needed – will help give you an astounding level of freedom over the appearance and sophistication of your website.
It’s straightforward to use
If you have ever used WordPress even just to upload a blog post on your hobbyist website, you will know how quick and easy the interface is to get to grips with. Within about 10 minutes, you are likely to get a sense of how the dashboard works, and all the forms of content you can upload and modify on it.
This isn’t, then, a software platform that will necessitate you calling in highly skilled specialists if you simply need to add a new page to your site. And it’s a very long way from having to hand-code a website from scratch; an impressive-looking website can be built even by those who are not greatly ‘technical’. At the same time, however, there is still a lot you can learn about the platform.
It allows you to create your dream website, as you want it
One of the unfortunately persistent misconceptions about WordPress, is that it’s basically just for blogs. And to be fair, this CMS was originally conceived as a blogging platform.
Nowadays, however, this open-source software – ‘open-source’ referring to the fact that it has been openly developed by a broad community of contributors – lends itself brilliantly to the creation of virtually any type of website you can imagine.
So, whether you are looking to create an industry blog, an ecommerce website, a membership site, jobs board, or almost any other kind of website, WordPress is likely to be the ideal platform for it.
Are you interested in learning more about how the Piranha Designs team can assist you in getting the very best out of WordPress for your own site and online brand? If so, we would be delighted to hear from you, and to discuss how our website design professionals could support your business’s growth.
