Here at Stephenson’s IT Support, we regularly develop WordPress websites for Yorkshire based businesses, in fact, it’s one of our most popular services. The clients we work with often ask us: ‘Is WordPress the best choice for my website?’
The obvious answer is: ‘Yes, that’s why we develop sites using WordPress in the first place!’ But many clients are looking for a more in-depth answer, so we’ve put together this guide to help explain the benefits of WordPress – all in simple, jargon-free terms!
What is WordPress?
WordPress is the world’s number one Content Management System (CMS). A CMS allows for the creation and editing of a website – without the need to ‘get your hands dirty’ and delve right into the HTML and CSS (often known as the website’s ‘code’). With a CMS in place, creating or modifying a website becomes an easier and more intuitive experience.
The vast majority of websites online today are maintained by developers using one CMS or another – but WordPress has exploded in popularity to become the number one choice. The statistics speak for themselves – with WordPress thought to be powering at least 60,000,000 modern websites – even by the most conservative of estimates.
There are actually two distinct flavours of WordPress available. The first is a stripped back, proprietary system marketed via WordPress.com (which we consider to be poor value for money and limited in terms of features). The second is the full-blown, feature-rich, and open-source option that’s known as ‘self-hosted WordPress’.
Unlike the proprietary variant, users can install the self-hosted WordPress software onto their own server – and enjoy complete control of their website as a result. (Rest assured, as professional developers we’re able to handle all the ‘techy’ parts of the proceedings if required!)
For the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on the self-hosted option.
Is WordPress Better than Other content management system?
The numbers alone show that more website owners choose WordPress than any other CMS. But rather than blindly following the herd, let’s take a close look at what makes WordPress the best choice:
1) WordPress Works for Any Kind of Website
You may have heard that WordPress is a blogging platform – and to some extent this is true. WordPress was originally created to provide a powerful, simple platform to support the building and maintaining of blogs, but WordPress has been around since 2003, and over those 15 years it’s been enhanced to support websites of every kind.
What’s more, beyond the core WordPress software itself, there are a host of plug-ins available that massively extend its functionality. So, while WordPress remains the number one choice for bloggers, it’s also the CMS of choice for multinational giants such as Mercedes Benz, Walt Disney, and Sony Music – to name but a few.
2) WordPress is SEO Friendly
For modern businesses, the ability to rank well in search results is a must, but some web builders/content management systems have a less-than-stellar reputation when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation. (As an example, Wix is often viewed as being weak in this regard, though some improvements have been made recently.) WordPress, on the other hand, has always maintained a solid focus on SEO…
With its clean code, high performance, and support for the addition of meta elements, WordPress is the CMS of choice for anyone interested in boosting their website’s position on Google and other top search engines!
3) WordPress Gives You Back Control
Many of the popular alternatives to WordPress (such as Wix and Squarespace) tie you into contracts and offer web design tools that only provide a limited number of visual themes and possible functions. WordPress isn’t like that at all. Instead, WordPress is a leading example of open-source software – and as such, it can be developed, modified, and enhanced by any one.
Right now, there’s a huge world-wide community of WordPress enthusiasts adding fresh themes and functionality every day. The result of all that activity is that WordPress has become the most comprehensive CMS available, with a dazzling range of visual styles on offer, and a practical feature-set that rival platforms can only dream of…
If having the ability to customise your website just as you want it is high on your wish list, then WordPress is the only real choice for you!
I’m Convinced – Can You Build Me a WordPress Website?
We can indeed! We’ve already developed WordPress websites for a number of Yorkshire businesses – ranging from start-ups needing simple brochure sites, right through to larger companies needing comprehensive e-commerce solutions – and we’d be happy to do the same for you. With options such as hosting, ongoing website maintenance, and SEO services all available, we’re perfectly placed to support your online success for the long-term too…
We offer website design in Barnsley that you can depend on, built on the WordPress content management system.