When it comes to the health and success of any website, the content management system (CMS) platform used is perhaps the most important consideration. If you think of a website build like the construction of a new home, your hosting provider offers the real estate while the CMS lends you the tools and materials needed to erect your desired structure.
Although different organizations have different needs, WordPress has become a titan in the CMS space, powering over 40 percent of the web. Each day, more than 500 websites are built on the WordPress platform as opposed to the 60-80 per day build on other leading platforms such as Shopify and Squarespace.
So, where does the difference lie? Here are some additional insights that may be useful to those seeking the best CMS for the needs of their organization.
WordPress: The Gentle Giant
First of all, it is important not to confuse wordpress.org with wordpress.com. While both are reputable CMS platforms, the former is “the real WordPress” and the one we will be considering. WordPress is open source and 100% free for anyone to use. All you need is a domain name and web hosting. Here are some additional benefits that make WordPress the world’s #1 choice:
Freedom and Flexibility
Unlike many website builders that focus on a particular type of website— Shopify’s eCommerce engine being a good example— WordPress allows you to create any type of website you want. From personal blogs, photoblogs, business websites, professional portfolios, government websites, media websites, eCommerce websites and more, you can’t really go wrong using WordPress. Although there may be some advanced functionality needs that transcend the capabilities of WordPress themes, custom code can always be written in on the backend.
Robust Plugins for Unique Needs
The WordPress Plugin Directory features over 55,000 plugins. These plugins provide security tools, building tools, backup tools and just about anything else you can think of all seamlessly integrated into the platform. WooCommerce, an open-source eCommerce plugin built for WordPress powers 22 percent of the top 1 million eCommerce websites in the world and is one of the most powerful CMS tools available.
Security
As is the case with any website on the internet, WordPress websites get hacked all the time. However, this is not due to vulnerabilities in the WordPress core software, rather oversights on the user-side. When correctly configured, WordPress offers some of the most effective security of any CMS.
Here are some of the most important security measures to consider when building on WordPress:
- Make sure you are running the latest version.
- Update your plugins and themes.
- Use strong login credentials.
- Set up a firewall in front of your site.
- Backup your website (there are many good WordPress plugins for this).
Focusing a little more on security, in any web-related endeavor can go a long way. If you are careful and taking advantage of WordPress security tools, you shouldn’t be running into too many problems.
SEO Friendliness
As a leading Utah marketing agency, this selling point is one of great importance for us. WordPress was built for SEO. Not only is the source code written in a search engine-friendly format but there are a host of themes that support SEO, lending options for adding metadata and other search engine optimization elements. If the tools aren’t readily available within the themes themselves, there are many plugins that can help button things up.
Conclusion
In short, WordPress gets our recommendation most every time due to its flexibility and SEO friendliness. However, just because WordPress makes building more simple than hard coding from scratch, a reliable website build still requires a good deal of development knowledge. For this reason, many organizations solicit help from WordPress experts in an effort to get their site up and running smoothly. We are proud to say that we are that expert for a number of esteemed organizations. If you have any questions or web development needs, contact us today for more information. We are always happy to help.