According to the latest statistics, there are around 1.75 billion active websites on the world wide web. There are dozens of different platforms on which you can build your website but one stands head and shoulders above the rest. WordPress powers an incredible 455 million sites, and that’s more than a third of all the websites in existence!
That in itself tells us something. After all, 455 million people can’t be wrong. But there are reasons for choosing WordPress that go beyond merely following the herd.
WordPress Software is Free
With so many types of software, you can choose from free or paid solutions. It’s often the case that you get what you pay for, and if you are in the market for antivirus protection or a VPN, it’s worth paying a little money for the benefits you get over the free alternatives. WordPress, however, is the exception to that rule. It is open-source, meaning contributors help create it, and it won’t cost you a cent to use. But that doesn’t make it inferior to the paid platforms.
Remember that you will still need to spend some money, for example, on hosting and for specific plugins. While it is certainly possible for some to DIY, the result is likely to look somewhat generic. But with help from a professional who has expertise in coding, a WordPress site can be designed to truly reflect your brand. The great thing is, you will still keep your costs to a minimum.
WordPress is Intuitive and Scalable
If you start your own small business, creating a WordPress website is the obvious choice. The dashboard is user-friendly and intuitive. But what if that small business starts to evolve into something bigger? Scalability is one of the biggest advantages of WordPress, and it is all done with Themes and Plugins.
Some people find themselves tripping over these two terms, but it is very simple. The theme dictates your website’s overall style and layout. Plugins, on the other hand, add extra functionality and features. These include things like member-only areas, contact forms, and so on. As your needs grow, you can always add new plugins, but you might also want to change the theme, perhaps to stay relevant in an evolving marketplace.
Bots Can Easily Crawl WordPress Websites
It’s no use having a great website if nobody knows about it, and that’s where SEO comes in. SEO helps your site get noticed by search engines. One advantage to WordPress is it automatically will pull meta descriptions, an important aspect of on-page SEO. Meta descriptions help bots understand what your website is all about. The more Google understands, the better your site’s chances of ranking well in the results when a potential customer keys in a relevant search query. WordPress makes it easy for bots to crawl websites.
There are also some great SEO plugins like Yoast, which will help you optimize your webpages. But use plugins with caution because wrongly used, could cause more harm than good. Hiring a professional to ensure all is set properly is always recommended.
Any downsides?
At Hummingbird Web Design, we specialize in creating sites with WordPress, as we believe it is the best tool for the job. But we know there are pros and cons to everything. As we mentioned above, the main thing you need to be careful about are those plugins. As they drive so much of your site’s functionality, you need to be vigilant to ensure you are using the latest versions.
WordPress can roll out updates several times throughout the year to resolve bugs and glitches. When these updates are set to install automatically, there are often compatibility issues. These can affect the functionality or, worse, completely break the website. For this reason, we always advocate updating manually and before, adequately perform a backup of all site files and databases.
Some WordPress sites can also have problems with page loading speeds. When this happens, it is often directly related to plugins that need to be updated or removed.
Conclusion:
Every WordPress website needs to be appropriately maintained, and with some expert assistance, a WordPress site will be reliable and robust. At Hummingbird Web Design, we can take care of all your WordPress needs, from initial design right through to maintenance. With our maintenance program, we keep your site updated and retain a secure backup in case of an emergency.
If you need support in creating, optimizing, and maintaining your WordPress site, get in touch with us at Hummingbird Web Design. We’d love to hear from you.
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