Why use WordPress to build a website?
Most businesses still fail to see how using WordPress to build and run their website can work wonders for them. WordPress is a tool with huge potential to change the way you run your website. Almost everyone who deals with websites and online content knows about WordPress.
So, what is WordPress and how does it work? WordPress is a CMS or a Content Management System. This phrase might not make much sense for someone hearing it for the first time but, here’s the deal. WordPress to a website is what Microsoft Word is to text blocks. It’s a very common misconception that to be able to build a robust and classy-looking website, one has to be skilled at web development with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JS frameworks, and a whole lot of complicated coding. But one of the many benefits of WordPress is that you can customize the appearance of your website without having to know or use code at all!
WordPress comes with a huge spectrum of features, mostly in the form of drag-and-drop blocks of functionalities that lets you not only build but also manage, the website. It’s a software, essentially, with features like creating, editing, organizing, and finally, publishing content on the web.
Beginning to list out all the reasons, WordPress is the best choice to build and run a website is going to be a long one. Let’s begin by looking at some of the coolest features this CMS provides.
5 Reasons WordPress Is the Best CMS To Build Your Website
WordPress is mainly free & its code is open-source
Is WordPress free? Because there’s a whole lot of other factors to consider when using software involves paying for it. One of the biggest perks of using it is being able to access the core WordPress platform free of cost! You can reap the benefits of using the platform without paying a single penny, which means that you’re saving a recurring cost over the course of the time you run the website. Choose from a plethora of themes, tools, and plug-ins to build a website that does exactly what you want it to be. Of course, a few of the more advanced features are paid options, but the low cost perfectly balances out the superior features that come with it.
The reason WordPress is both free & extremely reliable is that the project is open-source. A wide community of contributors and testers is always supporting the platform, constantly updating it, adding new features, and making it easier to customize. Choosing WordPress means choosing a time-tested and flexible solution for your website that also doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.
It’s super easy to use
New software usually takes time in getting accustomed to, especially when it is a Content Management System. But in the case of WordPress, you won’t feel that initial intimidation of using new software at all; it is very beginner-friendly and fairly simple to understand and get your hands on to build your website from scratch. There’s no coding involved in any way, hence nothing is coming in your way of creating the perfect, fully functional website. The admin dashboard is super easy to navigate for editing content, installing plug-ins & themes, or customizing your settings. Even if you’re not a beginner and do have some technical prowess, WordPress is still the most convenient and functional system you can use to build a sturdy website with tons of advanced features.
WordPress is amazingly fluid, thanks to themes & plug-ins
While the core WordPress offers a great number of essential features, a lot of websites might need additional functionalities. These functionalities and design features can be added with ease with tools like WordPress themes & plug-ins. These tools are either completely free or cost surprisingly less for the services they offer.
WordPress offers so many different themes for all kinds of sites, be it eCommerce, photography, personal blogs, or anything else. The only thing limiting you to design a magical website is your own imagination! Similarly, plug-ins allow you to add any kind of functionality you can imagine to your websites, such as contact forms, social media integration, or a free forum. But here’s a little note: keep in mind to not use too many plug-ins unless absolutely necessary or your site might become slow.
It’s highly secure
No matter what kind of website you’re running, an e-com giant or a personal blog, data security is of utmost importance for every user. WordPress makes sure to keep its security measures regularly updated so that your content is safe from breaches. You can also choose to install additional security WordPress plug-ins to add an extra layer of protection to your website.
It also helps your search engine rank
A website’s organic growth is directly associated with the traffic it attracts. Besides creating compelling content that will draw viewers to your website, you can tweak the search engines to rank your page on the top with the help of WordPress. WP is SEO-friendly to the point that it actually boosts your search engine ranks, considering mobile devices’ responsiveness and the speed of your website. Additionally, you can try out an SEO plug-in to give the site an extra oomph!
Other CMS Softwares vs. WordPress
WordPress is easily the most popular CMS in the market, with significant differences from its peers that make it a better choice for most website users. With the presence of several other CMS options, you might wonder, “Why is WordPress so popular?” or “Why choose WordPress when there are so many other software available?” For a clear comparison, here’s a table showing all the features available on each of these CMS software. The ones we will talk about are WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Squarespace, and Wix. These are the characteristics they’ll be compared against:-
- Hosting, since it plays an important role in the popularity of a website.
- Cost of development and maintenance of a website should be within your desired budget (although it can vary depending on the kind of features you want).
- Ease of Use, since beginners definitely aren’t super keen on learning how to code before creating their website.
- Themes & Plug-ins that enhance your site’s appearance and grant the functionalities you want your users to be able to access on the website.
- Number of Websites created using the CMS till date, thereby clearly deciding which one the masses love more.
- Multilingual Support to accommodate a global community of users, contributors, and testers.
|
WordPress | Drupal | Joomla | Squarespace |
Wix |
Ease of Use |
Easy |
Intermediate | Easy | Easy |
Easy |
Themes |
3000+ |
2000+ | 1000+ | Limited |
Limited |
Plug-ins |
44,000 |
26,000 | 5,000 | Limited |
Limited |
Number of Websites |
75M |
1.3M | 2.8M | 1M |
1.2M |
Hosting |
Self-Hosted |
Self-Hosted | Self-Hosted | Hosted |
Hosted |
Cost |
Free |
Free | Free | Free |
Free |
Multilingual Supports |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Yes |
We know how to tell what platform a website is using based on the sheer fluidity of its features and tools. The comparison shows, clear as day, the features and favours that push WordPress to rank as the number one CMS software, loved by all website builders. Building a professional-looking website doesn’t require the skills of a seasoned web developer with a powerful tool. If you ever wondered, “Why use WordPress to build a website?”, now you have an answer. Out of all the CMS giants mentioned above, WordPress is the only one that allows you to build any kind of website, including e-commerce.
The only issue that might partially convince you into thinking why not to use WordPress is its moderately weak security. But even that can be easily fixed with a few robust plug-ins and third-party tools. After these measures, “Is WordPress safe?” will become an obsolete question.
How To Use WordPress Effectively To Make The Most Out Of It?
Building a website on WordPress might be super easy, but the choices you have to make while building it takes some requirement analysis and smart decisions. Here are the steps to building your WordPress website and getting it up on the internet. The basic steps involved in building your own website on WordPress are:-
- For those of you who select WordPress.com over WordPress.org, you first have to choose a plan.
- Next, you set a domain name for your site and a hosting provider.
- If you chose to go with a third-party hosting provider, you need to install WordPress to connect the hosting provider with your website.
- Choose a theme that aligns best with your website’s needs.
- Add as many pages and posts to the site.
- Install WordPress plug-ins to add functionalities.
- Increase your page speed by optimizing the website.
Conclusion
Focus on your website’s user experience and how you can give your viewers the best feel of the site. For an amateur website builder, WordPress download and WordPress login are the easy parts; but to be able to give your viewers exactly what they want and navigate around the site in a seamless manner (hopefully, one that will help your organic growth rate), you ought to look at some useful WordPress tutorial videos, online content, and just overall, become familiar with what potential all the WordPress features hold.
You’re probably no longer wondering, “Should I use WordPress for my website?” Because this article listed every reason you should. With a keen eye to identify technology on websites, you’ll easily be able to figure out, just how many sites on the internet have been created with WordPress, meaning that, it powers a massive number of websites on the internet, larger than what you can fathom. WordPress is a magic tool in the form of a CMS software that’s been around for more than a decade (and now you know there’s a fair reason why!) Explore its core free version or the more premium paid features to tap into a world of unlimited possibilities with your website!