Neil Lim
WordPress has been around for some time; in fact, it has been available since 2003. Today, over 74 million websites use WordPress to power their website online including big name brands like Fortune, Time Inc., TechCrunch, The New Yorker and ESPN. Given it’s popularity, it’s surprising that a lot of businesses out there still aren’t aware of its existence and the benefits it provides.
To show the benefits of WordPress, let’s take a look at why it’s so great and why so many websites use it.
1. It’s Free
Whether you plan on creating a blog or use it as the primary website for your business, WordPress is 100% free. There are no hidden charges, it’s completely free. Installing WordPress is also really easy and there are two ways that you can install it for your website.
The first involves selecting WordPress Hosting (in which case it comes pre-installed) installing it with via your web hosting provider and installation usually involves a single-click. If you want to install it yourself, you can download it from WordPress.Org and you can also read the 5-minute WordPress install guide.
2. Powerful, Yet Flexible
Unlike other content management systems, WordPress is really easy to use. You don’t need to be an expert in coding; once you download WordPress and activate it, you can begin using it for your website.
As well as being user-friendly, WordPress is flexible enough to support a wide variety of websites. From blogging to e-commerce websites, WordPress can support your needs, regardless of your coding skill level.
3. Customizable
Think of WordPress as a DIY website of sorts.
If there’s a certain feature that you want, there’s a solution among the 36,172 WordPress plugins available to meet your needs. Whether it’s a search engine optimization plugin, social media sharing tool or an image optimizer, the ability to easily add new elements is one of the key features that make WordPress one of the most popular content management systems available.
Furthermore, installing a plugin isn’t difficult at all, especially since most plugins have straightforward instructions. For example, the image below are instructions on how to install Akismet, a popular spam filter for WordPress websites.
4. Large community means a lot of available support
One of the great things about WordPress is the large number of users it has. It has built a large community of users that range from novice users to experts. If there’s an issue that you need help with, the folks in the WordPress forums can help or you can browse existing topics to see if the answer you are looking for has already been answered.
5. Search Engine Friendly
WordPress solves most SEO needs. In fact, Google’s Matt Cutts, announced during WordCamp in San Francisco in 2009 that Google prefers websites using WordPress. The video below shows Matt Cutts talking about WordPress and SEO. To see the full video of Matt Cutts during WordCamp, click here.
6. Mobile Ready
In early 2014, mobile usage overtook desktop usage for the first time and this is good news for WordPress users.
From a user’s standpoint, many themes available for WordPress have incorporated responsive design – which means that your website will be mobile-friendly. If you need to make quick updates to a post, the dashboard from within your account is also mobile friendly.
7. Multimedia Ready
In addition to blogs and e-commerce websites, WordPress also supports media storage. This means that your site can easily incorporate images, videos and audio files to support your website. Simply upload the file, include it in a post and you’re good to go.
8. Keep your website looking fresh
The themes that you can use for your website aren’t just for your responsive design. In fact, swapping themes is quite easy and also helps your website consistently have a fresh look.
This is perfect for businesses that want to constantly keep their website looking fresh or run promotions during specific holidays or events.
Takeaways
With its flexibility and ease-of-use, WordPress is utilized by over 74 million websites online. Whether its a simple blog or a complex e-commerce website, WordPress is a powerful platform that any website owner needs to consider online.
Ready to start building a website? Use our WordPress Hosting for your WordPress website today!