WordPress is free to download, install, use and modify. It is also open source which means the source code of the software is available for anyone to study, play with or modify. install and use on any website or mobile application. WordPress powers tens of millions of websites worldwide for companies of all sizes and even for multinational brands (CNN, Playstation, Ford, Sony, Disney et al) as well as large government agencies and universities.
2. WordPress is easy to use
You don’t have to be a mechanic to drive a car. Similarly, you should not have to be a technical genius to manage your website. If you know how to edit a Microsoft Word document, you’ll be able to easily update the content on your WordPress site. In fact, most people using WordPress are neither web designers nor programmers. This is a big part of the magic of WordPress!
3. Self-manage your own website content
This is one of the very big deals about WordPress. Of all the ‘big 3’ open source content management systems (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla), WordPress is, by far, the easiest to use. The simplicity of the WordPress dashboard makes it easy for anyone (however technology challenged) to update their own web pages, images, videos and blog posts.
4. Access to thousands of themes (design templates)
Thousands of themes (some free, some paid) are available to create the look and feel of your WordPress website. Whatever the nature of your business, industry, aesthetic requirements or the function of your website (informational or e-commerce) you are almost certain to find a theme that is just right for you. There are many places to purchase themes. However, we do not often use purchased themes! Most of our websites, however small the budget, is designed to the specific requirements and brand image of the client.
5. Access to tens of thousands of plugins
Tens of thousands of plugins (some free, some paid) – are available to add features and functions that are not part of the core WordPress code. With capabilities that can range from special features for a contact form to complex e-commerce, calendar, event, multimedia, security or membership functions, plugins make it possible to customize your WordPress website to your very specific requirements.
6. WordPress is mobile friendly
As an increasing majority of users access the web from smartphones and tablets, it is becoming imperative that all websites be as accessible on a mobile device as on a pc. WordPress is mobile-friendly out of the box as are almost all of its many themes and plugins.
7. WordPress is search engine friendly
WordPress is SEO friendly out of the box and can be made even more so by way of plugins like Yoast and All in One. Google and the other major search engines like websites that are powered by WordPress because its framework is so easy to crawl. WordPress has even earned the endorsement of Google’s SEO guru Matt Cutts.
8. Multi-user capability
Many businesses and non-profits rely on multiple website managers. For example, one person may be responsible for product information, another for blog posts neither of whom should have access to online sales data. WordPress is aware of the need for this capability and makes it easy to give dashboard access to multiple people – but only to the content for which each is responsible.
9. WordPress is safe and secure
WordPress was developed with security in mind and is considered to be a very safe platform. It is also constantly updating its software to prevent attacks. However, with a proliferation of enterprising hackers with evil intentions, many (paranoid?) business and developers go even further with the integration of additional specialized security software or plugins. Some also take steps to keep their content safe by way of regular, automated backups with plugins such as BackupBuddy.
10. WordPress is constantly improving
Because WordPress is completely open source, anyone anywhere can modify its code to deliver specific functionalities. And because the themes and plugins created by people across the world must also be open-source, there is a world-wide community of designers and developers working together to add more features and functionality to WordPress.
11. Very large community of designers and developers
From time to time, we get called by business with a very serious problem. They have parted ways (not always amicably) with the company that created their custom-designed website and are in serious distress because they cannot find anyone to fix a problem or make changes. This is not a problem that anyone with a WordPress is likely to have because of the large worldwide community of designers and developers that are familiar with the platform.
12. Many features for business websites
Update web pages, menus and blog posts yourself;
Easily add images, PDFs, videos and other media;
Easily optimized for search engines;
Compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome;
Can incorporate a business blog;
Sophisticated forms for engagement with customers;
13. Numerous ecommerce solutions
We often work with clients with a need to establish an online presence before they are ready launch an online store. Adding e-commerce capabilities to a basic WordPress website is easily accomplished with plugins such as WooCommerce, WP eCommerce and Shopp.
14. Integrates with other important business tools
WordPress integrates easily with almost all the well-known, important and necessary business platforms. Whether it’s an email service like Aweber or MailChimp or a payment gateway such as PayPal, Authorize.net 2Checkout or FirstData, you are almost sure to find options for WordPress integration.
15. Easily embed audio and video
The addition of images, video or audio files are effective ways to enhance the experience of users on your website. With WordPress, it easy to insert multimedia files into a page or post. It is also quite simple to edit these files from the Media Library Screen.