I have been specialising in web design services using the WordPress platform for some time now, and I am often asked by existing and prospective clients alike why?
There are a number of reasons, most prominently the ease and flexibility with which clients can update, maintain and grow their own websites, but also a host of other factors that make WordPress a clear stand-out in what is fast becoming an expansive sea of both open-source and proprietary content management platforms available out there.
So, without further ado, here’s my quick and snappy ‘Top 10 benefits 0f WordPress’ list:
1. Fantastic for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
WordPress by default contains numerous in-built features that make it extremely SEO-friendly such as SEF (or ‘Search Engine Friendly’) permalinks, tags and standards-based coding and scripting. In layman’s terms this means that by nature of its design and structure, WordPress does about 80% – 90% of the SEO work for you without you needing to do anything else. To enhance and build on these features there are a host of really effective free plugins available, such as the increasingly popular Yoast and All-In-One SEO plugins.
2. Easy to use admin interface
This is best demonstrated by showing you a screengrab of the actual WordPress dashboard below, where all your site administration, content loading / editing, comment approval and other integral functions take place. Super easy to use and find your way around, even for the complete novice.
A snapshot of the WordPress dashboard
3. Variety of plugins available
Along with those SEO plugins mentioned above, you can customise your site with almost any plugin imaginable. Rather than me reeling through them all, I’d recommend checking out www.wphub.com to see which plugins might be suitable for your sites needs.
4. Well supported and documented
Because WordPress is an open-source content management system, its is regularly updated and maintained, with new releases of the software released regularly (at the time of going to press WordPress V3.3.1 was the current version). It is also supported by extensive user and developer documentation and countless user forums, so if you are ever in need of technical support, or an answer to a tricky question, it is usually easy to find.
5. Automatic blog integration
WordPress in its original form was designed primarily as a blogging tool. That said, it has now evolved into a sophisticated content management tool for complex websites. Blogging capabilities however are still central to the WordPress infrastructure and so, regardless of whether you’re operating a large scale online store containing thousands of products, or a simple two page website for your service-based business, a seamless, easy to maintain blog will still be a central component to your websites CMS, ensuring the content stays fresh and your site can be readily and accurately indexed by Google.
6. Accessible anywhere
This one is pretty simple. As WordPress is completely web-based you can login to your CMS and manage your content anywhere, anytime in real-time. You can also set posts and/or other content to be published on future dates when you might have other commitments or be away.
7. Spam protection
WordPress has a number of robust technical features that naturally help to prevent spam, however there are also a number of highly effective plugins that can be added to your site for increased protection, particularly in relation to spam comments being made on your blog.
8. Seamless social media integration
WordPress has a number of default ‘widgets’ (optional, customisable small areas of content) that are designed to enable seamless integration with social media. I have a Twitter widget installed in the footer of my site (see below) enabling my three most recent tweets to be displayed on my site at all times. Including dynamic content such as this helps enormously in terms of SEO. There are also similar tools for integrating content from Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr and many other social media platforms.
9. Low Cost
Because it is an open-source platform, WordPress is free to install and run. The vast majority of WP plugins are also free to install.
10. Back-Up / Security
Although all draft posts and pages are automatically saved within the software itself, the security of WordPress can be enhanced by installing some simple auto back-up plugins that ensure your site and the content within it is always safe from hackers. A recommended free back-up plugin is Human Made’s BackUpWordPress
For those still curious, you may want to check out some of the online resources below or contact me to discuss your next WordPress-based website project.
> Official WordPress.org site
> WordPress TV
> WPInspiration – a showcase of some of the best WordPress sites from around the globe