When you’re first dipping your toes into the kaleidoscopic waters of website development, information overload can drive you as crazy as cats with cucumbers.
On thing’s for sure though – choose the right CMS (Content Management System) and you’ve got a firm foundation for a futureproof site that feels great for customers and fights its way to the top of search engine rankings.
WordPress is downloaded hundreds of times daily and is the world’s most popular CMS.
But is it right for your business? Here are 10 reasons it might be.
1. WordPress is user-friendly
Although getting a website up and running effectively takes time, you’ll naturally want yours to be active ASAP.
And WordPress is so user-friendly that once you’ve got a web hosting account and domain name, you’re good to go in a few minutes.
Throw in an intuitive admin dashboard that’s child’s play to navigate and you’ll soon be channelling your inner customer and customising your site’s layout.
2. WordPress Is Flexible And Adaptable
Adaptability is yet another WordPress strength – a drag and drop interface, terrific templates, numerous plugins and easy access to its source files mean it’s perfect for a wide range of companies.
So whether you’re a niche blogger, SME or global corporation, podcast provider or ecommerce store, creating, maintaining and modifying your site is smooth and simple.
3. WordPress Themes Enable Diverse Designs
WordPress has an impressive theme directory that enables you to switch up the look and functions of your site so that it looks attractive and is a pleasure to use.
And if nothing tickles your fancy from its own basic and premium choices, a web designer can create you something completely unique.
4. WordPress Plugins Extend Functionality
At the time of writing, the WordPress Plugin Directory has 55,565 plugins.
That means that you’re supported when you need specialized functionality like shopping carts, contact forms, integrated Google Analytics or automated backups. And with new plugins popping up regularly, there really is something for every type of site and business
5. WordPress Sites Are Mobile-Responsive
WordPress uses responsive technology which means your website looks as snazzy and works as well on mobiles as it does on desktops.
And this pleases Google as well as your customers – mobile-first indexing means it primarily uses the mobile version of your content for indexing and ranking.
6. WordPress Powers Some Of The World’s Most Prominent Websites
Want to know what a cracking WordPress website looks like? Just pin your peepers to some of the world’s most famous sites.
Big hitters like TechCrunch, BBC America, The Official Star Wars Blog and The New Yorker all use this versatile platform – swoon!
7. WordPress Is Safe And Secure
Since your spanking new website is going to be the engine of your digital business, it can’t be vulnerable to cyberattacks – otherwise you’ll soon be haemorrhaging cash and customers.
But website is regarded as an extremely safe, secure and reliable platform. And if you want to include Fort Knox-style protection, expert WordPress developers can advise on additional protection against everything from malware to DDoS attacks.
8. WordPress Supports Different Types Of Media
Although WordPress was first developed as an elegant CMS platform for bloggers who primarily used the written word to connect with readers, it now supports many different types of media.
And when 84 per cent of marketers say video has helped them increase traffic to their website and Google has added playable podcasts in their search results, this has to be good news!
9. WordPress Sites Focus on UX (User Experience)
The wide world of wonderful themes and plethora of plugins on WordPress mean that optimising your website UX is a walk in the park.
This reduces bounce rates, meaning customers will be clamouring to spend time and money on your site, and also means Google spiders will relish crawling it (there are many ways UX boosts SEO).
10. WordPress Improves Your SEO
Any technical SEO expert worth their salt will tell you that those aesthetically pleasing images that break up blocks of black and white text in your blogs have to be optimised for SEO. And WordPress facilitates this by allowing you to create alternative text for your images that includes keywords or alternatively, by using a plugin that automatically generates alt text.
Furthermore, page speed is a powerful ranking factor in Google mobile search, so slow loading pages won’t just annoy website visitors, they’ll also see your SERP rankings dive. However, WordPress plugins like WPOptimise sort out your site so it’s as speedy and seamless.