What is WordPress?
First off, we are taking about WordPress.org – not WordPress.com. WordPress.com is just for blogging and you have to use a domain name like http://yourname.wordpress.com. If you are a professional, you want wordpress.org for your blog or website. You can run it on your server using whatever domain you purchase.
WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS). Basically, it is software that you install on your server allowing you and anyone you choose to add, edit, store and retrieve data.
There is one interface, called the dashboard, where you log in and can essentially edit any written part of your website, without ever having to know any code. If you know how to use the internet, you can learn how to use the WordPress dashboard.
It is free, open-source software for anyone to use. Simple. You buy a domain. You buy a hosting plan, you upload WordPress, choose a theme, you enter your content and Walla! You have a website.
The continual development of the software, themes (templates) and plugins and other open-source CMSs have made the web an easy and inexpensive place to create almost any kind of website quickly and affordably.
For the website projects I do, I use aWordPress themes and make minor customizations to the code – for the exact site my client needs, at a very affordable price.
Let’s dispel the myth right now: If you think WordPress sites are ugly or just for blogs – check out a few of these themes. I’m telling you -WordPress is awesome and beautiful!
Reasons to use WordPress (these are just a few)
1. Affordable. Because the software is free and there are literally thousands of themes to choose from and more being created all the time – a themed site with relatively minor customizations is insanely cheap. If you are at all computer savvy, you could even spend a couple of weekends and figure it out yourself. Total out of pocket expense (if you buy a premium theme), maybe $100.
2. No ongoing maintenance. If know how to use the internet, you can learn how to update your own website on WordPress. Done. No webmaster required. No recurring fees (okay, well except for hosting your site).
3. Flexibility. Change your site at anytime and keep ALL your content. All your pictures, blogs and pages are all in one place, that great CMS. If you’re in the mood to change up your look or you’re company is off the charts and you need a theme built especially for you – you can do it whenever you like and all your pages, pictures, et.al. will be there.
4. Easy to Backup. Various plugins offer regularly scheduled backups that you can set once and then forget it. They also make it easy to go in and manually Backup whenever you need to. Bonus: if you go with Host Gator and have your site backed up on the server, they will fix it for you if anything terrible should happen. 🙂
5. Simple Storage. Easily upload organize and even search engine optimize all your images, pages and blogs. The images are immediately uploaded to your host, and then you can use them anywhere on the web! Goodbye photobucket.
6. Plugins, plugins! Need links to your social sites? There’s a plugin for that. Need spam protection? There’s a plugin for that. Want to make your site mobile-friendly? There’s a plugin for that. What do you want on your site? There’s a plugin for that. There are over 100,000 WordPress plugins. Or if can’t find exactly what you want – seek out a developer and have it created!
7. SEO baby. Search Engine Optimization – oh yes! Simple plugins or it is even built into some themes. Enter tags, keywords and even meta descriptions for each page, blog and image. However, SEO is extremely complex – for special SEO, I always recommend hiring an expert.
8. Because it’s Fun. Another rumor I’ve heard is that you can’t use flash or fancy things with WordPress. Completely untrue. Joomla, eat your heart out. (Disclaimer: I, personally, never would recommend flash on any website).
These are only a snippet of the various reasons why WordPress is the tops. Don’t take my word for it – Google it.
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