WordPress is the single most versatile platform for building websites –and we believe it’s the perfect solution for a small business.
There’s a reason why WordPress is so popular. About one-third of all websites run on WordPress, and it has continued to be the most popular Content Management System (CMS) for nearly a decade now.
While it is known for being primarily used by small businesses, big brands such as Spotify, The New York Post, TED and TechCrunch all run on WordPress.
As a business owner, setting up a proper business website is the first step to establishing credibility and getting your brand’s name out there in the digital economy. While there are many competitors to WordPress out there, WordPress is the best option for most businesses out there, especially for small businesses.
If you are evaluating whether WordPress is the right website builder for your business, you’re in the right place. We’ll breakdown everything you need to know.
What Type of Websites Can You Build with WordPress?
WordPress has become so popular because there are so many used cases for it. Here are just some of the type of websites you can make with WordPress:
- Small business websites
- Large, corporate websites
- eCommerce shops
- Personal Brand
- Freelancer
- Blogs
- Portfolios
- Resumes
- Membership Sites (something that requires a user to sign in)
And the list goes on and on. Better yet, most website hosting providers offer free one-click installs of WordPress after purchasing a domain name, making it super easy to get up and running.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
Believe it or not, there is a pretty big difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
WordPress.com is the open-source WordPress platform that has a service built on top of it that manages things like hosting and website maintenance. With these services, however, you lose a lot of the customization and flexibility that WordPress.org offers.
In general, we always recommend that small businesses go with WordPress.org. If you are starting a business, we don’t hesitate to recommend the fully-featured WordPress.org, which unlocks a lot more functionality and customization.
For one, there’s cost. WordPress.com plans can cost up to $30/month, while the installation of WordPress.org on your domain name is free. You would be smart to purchase a good theme, which likely cost you a one-time purchase price of around $60 - $75.
WordPress.org is inherently much cheaper and allows for much more functionality and customization. It’s a win-win, and quite honestly a no-brainer for any small business owner.
What is a Content Management System?
It’s important to understand that WordPress is a content management system. A content management system (CMS) is a platform that allows you to manage the content of your website. These contents include things such as blog posts, images, case studies, videos, testimonials, and any other creative assets that are currently being used on your website. It is also the place where you or a developer can create and edit web pages.
A CMS is essential for managing modern websites as it keeps everything organized and lets you easily create new content. While WordPress is one of many, it is the most flexible and powerful option for most small businesses.
With a CMS, if you have enough tech knowledge, you can manage your website after your designer/developer has finished creating it. Before a CMS, websites were made of only HTML, CSS, and Javascript files and any changes needed to be made by someone that knows code.
Now, you can manage your website yourself. This makes it easy to ensure your brand’s image stays relevant online, and you can reduce development costs over time.
Top WordPress Features
With such a significant market share, it’s no surprise that WordPress has tons of great features that make it a competent CMS solution for all kinds of small businesses.
Let’s take a look at the features that separate WordPress from other website builders and provide a real competitive advantage for small businesses.
Free and Open Sourced
Unlike other CMS –like Wix or Squarespace, WordPress is free. While you will have to pay for hosting on a monthly basis, the actual WordPress platform is entirely free to use.
In just a few months, going with WordPress is going to save you much more money compared to other similar platforms.
Highly Customizable
WordPress is open-source. Meaning, anyone can go in and edit its code, resulting in all of the theme variants you see on the internet. It’s basically the Android equivalent of web development software.
This has allowed for a tremendous amount of customization, as WordPress can be tweaked to fit any businesses needs.
Plug-ins
WordPress features a wide library of plug-ins. Think of them as add-ons to your site that enable new features.
They range from small things like increasing security and creating forms to adding an entire e-commerce section to your website. Moreover, since WordPress is open-source, anyone can go in a create a plug-in.
We can’t tell you how many times we were dealing with a website issue or looking to add a new feature, only to find that someone else had already gone through the same thing and developed a plug-in that provided a solution.
Take, for example, the chatbot that we have on our website and that you have undoubtedly seen on many other websites. We added that in just by downloading and installing a plug-in. Had we built this website on a different platform, we would have had to wait for that platform to release their version of that plug-in, which could take months, or code it from scratch.
Flexible and Future Proof
WordPress is updated regularly. Further, it’s customizable nature, and it’s the large community of supporters behind it that will ensure that it will continue to be used heavily in the future.
Whatever new features or trends that websites start to incorporate, you can be sure there will be WordPress themes and plugins that will offer the same for your website.
Easy Install
Many website hosting services, like Bluehost or GoDaddy, provide a one-click install of WordPress once you purchase a domain. It couldn’t be any easier.
Tons of Documentation
Your website is going to run into problems from time to time. Whether this is in the development stage or years down the line, it’s a huge benefit to know that there is a massive community behind WordPress.
Whatever troubleshooting you’re going to have to do from time to time, there will be people that have encountered the same issues as you. Also, each theme comes with extensive documentation behind it, running you through all the settings and customization options it offers.
So if you are ever trying to do something on your own, there’s likely a guide already on the internet to take help you step by step.
Wrapping Up -Why WordPress is a Great Solution for Small Business Websites
Overall, WordPress is a highly customizable CMS solution that is flexible enough to meet the needs of almost every small business. There is a wide variety of themes out there that can be tweaked to your business needs. Moreover, if you ever need help, there are many WordPress developers for hire.
It’s regular updates ensure that it will continue to be relevant in the future, and its vast library of plugins can add tons of functionality to your website.
Better yet, since WordPress is open source and not privately owned like it’s competitors, it has a safer future. What we mean is that since Wix and Squarespace are privately owned companies, if they were to go out of business, who knows what could potentially happen to your website and its data.
WordPress is immune to such issues, which is why the development community has embraced it. This is why we almost always recommend our small business clients choose WordPress as their Content Management System.
