The question “Should I use WordPress for my business website?” is one of the most commonly asked by business owners looking to go digital with their businesses. For some, they already have a website but keep hearing about the benefits of “going WordPress”. Whichever category you fall in, the answer is yes, you should, and there are a good number of reasons for that. In this article, we would be sharing the answers to your question “Should I use WordPress for my business website?” as well as other things you should know before embarking on this journey.
What is a WordPress website?
A WordPress website is a site that is built and managed by WordPress. Basically, when you make use of the WordPress website builder to make a site, it is called a WordPress website. It is a common misconception that WordPress is just a blogging platform and nothing more. However, that is certainly not true because although it started as a blogging tool, it grew over the years into an all-in-one website builder. Today, WordPress is both an amazing website builder, as well as a robust content management system (CMS). If you’re still in need of an answer to “why use WordPress to build a website” that’s one of the best reasons why you should.
WordPress is very easy to use and has features that allow you to make different types of websites. According to research, WordPress powers 39.5% of all websites on the internet. This is nothing short of impressive, and when you consider the websites that only use a content management system, WordPress’s market share goes up to 64.1%. WordPress is easy and flexible to use which is why top brands like Disney, Target, Facebook, Sony, The New Yorker, and more make use of it. With this, the answer to the question; do web designers use WordPress, is yes.
WordPress.org Vs WordPress.com
Another misconception that people make is the distinction between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Choosing the right platform for your business is very important to its success as these two are not the same. Basically, WordPress.com is a hosting service, while wordpress.org is a self-hosted WordPress, which would need to be hosted on another platform. Let us discuss a little about each so that you do not get confused.
Firstly, wordpress.org is the real WordPress and the one you have heard all the amazing testimonies about. It is a completely open-source software application and free for everyone to use. However, to use it, you would need to purchase a domain name and web hosting. With wordpress.org, you would have full control over your site and can customize it as much as you want.
On the other hand, wordpress.com is more of a hosting service that allows you to create a free website without hosting or buying a domain name. However, the completely free edition is limited and you would have to upgrade if you mean business. WordPress.com is more suitable for strict bloggers and nothing serious at all therefore, although the answer to the question “Should I use WordPress for my business website?” is yes, it is more accurate; yes, WordPress.org.
Is WordPress suitable for business websites?
Answering the question “Should I use WordPress for my business website?” Yes, WordPress is literally the perfect platform for business websites. It is really easy to use and offers complete the freedom and flexibility to customize your site in whatever way you wish. Regardless of your type of business, WordPress has the structure to accommodate you. This includes blogging, eCommerce to magazines, landing pages, social media websites, and more.
What are the benefits of using WordPress for my business website?
WordPress remains the best platform for business websites for a good number of reasons. Some of these are:
1. WordPress is completely free
Being completely free, you can be sure there is no hidden limitation or policy issue that could cause harm in the future. Basically, you are free to download, install and customize it to suit your needs in whatever way you desire. Also, WordPress allows you to create any type of website you desire, however, you need a domain name and web hosting to install it. Your domain name is the address of your website on the internet (e.g. www.mywebsite.com) which is what your customers impute in their browser’s address bar in order to access your site.
Web hosting is the server that accommodates your site and stores all your web information. One of the most common website hosting services is Bluehost.
2. Customizable with themes and plugins
One of the cons to using wordpress.com is that you are not allowed to install themes. However, for the “original WordPress” wordpress.org, you are allowed to customize as much as possible with themes and plugins to optimize your website. Most individuals that use WordPress have little or no knowledge about it before going ahead, however, it is really easy and interactive enough that they thrive. This is one of the strong reasons why the answer to your question “Should I use WordPress for my business website?” is a complete yes.
There are literally thousands of free website themes that you can make use of to customize your business website to your taste and what your customers would love. These free themes cuts across all types of websites, whether it be a blog, eCommerce, or a business site. Many of them also allow you to customize appearances, changing the logo, background colors, and create beautiful sliders without writing any code.
Plugins are also live savers for business websites as they help you add custom functionality. Basically, they are like apps for your website which can be used to perform specific functions and optimize your site to meet certain needs.
3. SEO Friendly nature
Getting your SEO right is one of the core pillars in running a successful business website and using WordPress is one of the best ways to achieve this. Basically, the WordPress platform is written using codes that are favorable to the Google search engine. This is why WordPress websites most often rank higher than other sites on the search engine result page. Also, you can make use of SEO plugins to further optimize your website for better organic traffic.
4. Easy to use and manage
From updates to overall use and creating backups, WordPress is very easy to manage and even comes with a built-in updates management system. Basically, this means that you can update your themes and plugins from your dashboard and even update WordPress itself . With WordPress, you can also install a backup plugin to help you automatically backup your files to a specified location, keeping your data safe in case of any mishaps.
5. Security is top-notch
One of the foundational watchwords of WordPress is security. Basically, the platform was built with security in mind and remains one of the safest to use for a business website. If you still needed a different answer to the question “Should I use WordPress for my business website?” this is it. With WordPress, your business website and its data are secure from intruders who are always looking to hack data from websites. In addition, there are also a few things you can do to make your website more secure using WordPress.
6. Media support and capability
If your business website requires files other than text to run successfully, then you would love this. WordPress goes beyond the text, having a build-in media uploader for audio, videos, and images. Taking things further, you can also embed files from oEmbed supported websites like Instagram photos, YouTube, Soundcloud, and tweets. This makes the platform more flexible, covering everything you may need.
7. Mobile friendly
Sites that are not mobile-friendly rank lower on the google search result page due to the fact that 63% of Google’s US organic search traffic are from mobile phones. Using WordPress helps you overcome this hindrance as it is built to be mobile-friendly and most of its themes are automatically responsive. This means that they adapt to mobile displays just as well as computer displays.
8. Can swap hosting easily
With WordPress, you are not stuck with one hosting server alone as you can switch providers easily. This is because virtually all web host services accommodate WordPress CMS, therefore, allowing you to move from one to another as you please.
Do professional web developers use WordPress?
Considering the fact that WordPress hosts about 64.1% when we consider sites that make use of content management systems, surely, professional web developers use WordPress. It remains arguably the most common website builder as well as CMS system in the world today.
How to use word press for my business website
Using WordPress is pretty easy, but requires a bit of technicality. All you need to do is purchase a domain name, and hosting. Although you can purchase a domain name from where you please, ensure your hosting is on a platform that supports WordPress. On purchase, supply your domain name and follow the prompt. Your site would be up and running within minutes or a few hours.
However, for the best outcome, leave it to our professional team at Iconic Digital world. We have a strong history of creating amazing, responsive, and user-oriented websites and so far have built over 500 websites for businesses in the US and other countries around the world. We also offer free website evaluation for those who already own one and SEO tidy content if you need to rank top for targeted keywords within a short time frame.
Bottom line
Regardless of the type of business you own, WordPress remains a viable and arguably the best option for you. Although it may require lots of learning, it is easy to use and interactive enough. However, to get the best combination of appearance as well as optimization, contact us at Iconic digital world to create the best WordPress website for your business.