Whether you’re looking to redesign the website of your established business or starting a new site from scratch, there are a number of website builders and content management systems (or CMSs) that can help make the job easier. One of the most popular and oldest platforms is WordPress, and it’s the CMS behind approximately 25% of all webpages in existence. What makes it so popular is that it can provide an effective structure for every type of website, from personal blogs to business sites.
However, WordPress isn’t the only CMS game in town, and recently, platforms like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace have amped up their advertising efforts to attract new customers. It’s definitely helping them gain some ground, but as far as we’re concerned, WordPress is still the best CMS to use for your company site. Here are five reasons why we think you should choose WordPress over its competitors.
- WordPress has more design options. Sites on WordPress, sites those on many CMSs, are designed via templates and themes. And while Weebly, Wix, and Squarespace do have some themes, WordPress has lots more. There are literally thousands of them on WordPress; some are free, and some cost money, but you’ve got a lot more choices to create a look that suits your business the best. Also, WordPress has more plugins and web apps for their platform than its competitors.
- WordPress has more flexible payment options. Sure, all CMSs have tiered payment plans, all based on how many individual pages you have and how much you want to sell. However, WordPress has even more choices, including the best choice of all: free! (The free option is predominantly for personal blogs, but it’s still there.) WordPress allows you to quite literally pay only for what you use; with its competitors, you pay a flat fee for a predetermined list of services, even if you’re not using all of them.
- WordPress makes e-commerce easier. All CMSs make it possible to set up an online store, but with WordPress, it’s a process that’s more streamlined and simplified. Plus, with WordPress, you can accept more forms of payment than you can with its competitors, there are no limits on how many items you can sell in your online store, and there are loads of free plugins to make ecommerce a breeze. What’s more, not all of WordPress’s competitors allow for customer accounts and logins, but with WordPress, it’s all possible — and easy.
- With WordPress, your site is your own. While exporting your site data or migrating to another site from Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace is technically possible, it’s highly limited. If you need to move site data from WordPress (say, to a new server for hosting), it’s all very straightforward.
- The WordPress community is huge — and open source. WordPress is behind over 60 million websites, and many developers have created templates and plugins to enhance sites made on the platform. In fact, there are over 40,000 different tools available for your site. Additionally, because the user base is so large, it’s easy to find a solution to any WordPress issue you might be having; chances are good that someone else has had it, worked through it, and posted about it online.
Let Us Help You Learn WordPress
Perhaps the only real downside of WordPress is that there’s a bit of a learning curve; getting started with it is maybe a little less easy than getting started with Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace. However, the reward is greater flexibility and total control of your site. Once you know what you’re doing with WordPress, it’s quite simple, and we can help you learn the ins and outs of WordPress with our WordPress Digital Course. While many companies feel that they have to hire a WordPress designer or tech, to the tune of several thousand dollars, you can become proficient enough in this CMS to handle all of your business site’s needs for just $375. It’s designed for beginners, and it’s taught at a level that’s easy to understand; after a few helpful modules, you’ll be able to tackle WordPress and build a great business site all on your own.