WordPress continues to be a go-to option for business owners and website designers. Because it is highly customizable, seamlessly powerful and very SEO friendly, WordPress is an obvious choice for almost any type of online project. No wonder we choose WordPress every day to build stunning websites for our clients.
You may have heard mixed reviews about WordPress. Some people argue that it’s slow, limiting, and susceptible to online malware and other junk. These arguments hold no weight in today’s advanced WordPress world. In fact, the opposite is true for each of these points. We’ll start by debunking these three myths about WordPress, and then follow that up with six reasons WordPress works so darn well in just about any situation.
Myth #1: WordPress is slow
WordPress isn’t slow, certain themes and plugins can be slow. Without getting too technical, WordPress is written using very clean and professional HTML, CSS and PHP code. Those responsible for building the WordPress platform (the backend that we don’t really see) wrote it for speed and performance. Right out of the download, WordPress is lightning fast.
It is true that some themes and plugins that people write can slow down the WordPress platform. Certain themes may have sloppy and outdated code that will bog the site down. That’s why it’s so important to find a developer or theme that has employed clean and precise code. Here at Kite Media, we make sure to only use themes that are fast and properly developed, as well as focusing on writing our own code that will produce lightning-fast websites.
Myth #2: WordPress limits you
Many people confuse WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com is mostly just a blogging platform that creates a very basic website for you (we don’t recommend this option). WordPress.org is a complete content management system capable of powering just about any website imaginable (this is what we’re talking about).
When you download the .org version of WordPress and a theme to accompany it, you have access to every line of code making up the website. This means that with the right technical skill set, you can go in and change anything on the entire website. In other words, WordPress doesn’t limit you at all if you have the coding background to make any change you see fit.
When finding a WordPress developer to build your site, make sure that they are using WordPress.org and that they are capable of making your site exactly how you want it to be.
Myth #3: WordPress isn’t secure
Yeah, WordPress is susceptible to viruses and malware…if you allow it be! Just like any other website online, you have to take the necessary precautions to make sure your site is protected from online threats. This is done by always making sure you update your WordPress site, themes and plugins to the latest version. The experts over at WordPress work hard to keep every site secure. Follow with the updates and your site should remain all warm and fuzzy, safe from any online security threat.
Oh, and be smart about your password. Never use ‘password’ or ‘1233456’ for your WordPress login. You’re just asking for security issues if you do. Check out the list of worst passwords possible to make sure you’re not falling into this trap.
Now onto the good stuff
Whew, enough of the negativity. Now that we’ve gotten those internet myths out of the way, let’s get down to the reasons why working with WordPress every day is such a dream.
Reason #1: WordPress is free! (sort of)
Anyone can go to WordPress.org and download WordPress for free in only five minutes. Just like that you can have access to the famous WP Dashboard. However, you’ll most likely want to download a premium theme (remember, a better theme equals a faster, more secure site). You’ll also need web hosting and a domain name, which aren’t free either.
Reason #2: The support is endless
Since WordPress has grown to be so popular, online support is everywhere. There isn’t a designated technical support unit from WordPress that you can call or pull up a live chat, but they do have forums and documentations on their website that will answer just about any question you’ll ever have when working with WordPress. If you can’t find a solution, start a new thread and wait a couple of minutes for a WordPress expert to come to the rescue.
In addition, there are thousands of other websites and forums focused on WordPress support. Each theme and plugin should also have its own specific support, especially if you’re using paid themes.
Reason #3: Responsive websites
Again, this can depend largely on the theme you use, but for the most part, WordPress websites are mobile friendly. Having a site that isn’t responsive greatly hurts your chances of gaining leads from your site, and it also negatively affects your SEO. Make sure your web designer is using WordPress to its full capability and creating a mobile-friendly site.
Reason #4: Change anything you want
We touched on this before, but WordPress is very customizable if you’re able to read and write code (in particular HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript). Even if you’re not a coder, you can still change most of the appearance of your website right inside the WordPress dashboard. Most themes are very customizable and allow the designer to shape the site exactly how they’d like.
Reason #5: WordPress is and always will be open source
Without getting too nerdy, this just means that WordPress is written and coded by volunteers and a strong community of web developers. No one owns WordPress.org, it belongs to everyone. You can download the software online, change whatever you want, and call the website your own. Also, all of the content on your site is hosted on your web hosting, meaning WordPress doesn’t own any of the content you publish. This is different from other website builders such as Squarespace, Wix, WordPress.com, and GoDaddy’s website builder.
Another advantage of open source software is that it will continue to be improved and developed as time goes on.
Reason #6: WordPress works great for SEO
As a digital marketing company, we utilize WordPress to make sure our clients’ sites are SEO ready. We utilize different plugins and optimize keywords – among other practices – to make sure each site we build ranks well in search rankings. Combining a responsive site with our SEO expertise is a sure way to put your site at the top of the rankings.
Conclusion: WordPress wins
To wrap it all up, we love WordPress. Here at Kite Media, we specialize in building custom WordPress sites to fit our clients’ needs. We understand WordPress inside and out – and we’re still learning new things everyday – to make sure we can meet any request for a website.
Get in touch today to see how we can make a WordPress website that will boost your business online! While you’re getting to know us, make sure you check out our web design gallery to see some of the awesome websites we’ve built with WordPress.
We’ll be writing more WordPress and web design related blog posts for our readers. Make sure to follow our blog so you don’t miss out on the action!