WordPress was released on May 27, 2003, and WordPress has become the world’s most used CMS (content management system, or “website builder”).
Over 74 million websites of all types and sizes use WordPress to post new content each second. Did you know that WordPress powers 26% of all websites (yes ALL websites on the Internet). This content management system has quickly become a favorite among both web-savvy users and web-novices alike because of how simple-yet-powerful it is. If you are thinking of creating a website then you really should start a small business website using WordPress (use our free step-by-step guide). If you are still sitting on the fence. Consider the following 28 reasons why WordPress is worth switching over to, if you haven’t already.
1. It doesn’t cost anything to use
It doesn’t matter if it’s a commercial website or a personal blog, the fact that WordPress doesn’t charge a penny is a major incentive to use it. They don’t charge extra if your site starts to get more traffic than you anticipated, either. In addition to being free, WordPress is also open source, meaning that you can alter or improve its source code how you like to customize your website’s functionality or look!
2. It reigns supreme on the CMS market
WordPress is not just the most popular CMS, it actually blows the competition out of the water. Usage statistics from W3Techs WordPress is used by 59.5% of all the websites that use a content management system (CMS). The second most used CMS, Joomla has a 5.9% market share. Closely followed by Drupal, with a 4.9% market share and Magento’s 2.8%.
3. Ready to use
You can start using WordPress as soon as you install it. There is no configuration required, aside from the customization you give your theme, as well as the plug-ins that suit your interest. Most of the things you are looking for come with the installation, such as the integration of social media feeds, comments, etc.
4. Search engine friendly
Out of the box WordPress is SEO friendly. Popular search engines, like Google and Bing, tend to rank websites that use WordPress higher than those that don’t. This is because the CMS’ framework makes it easy for the search engines’ spiders to crawl. In fact, Matt Cutts of Google personally endorsed WordPress in 2009.
5. Adaptability
The fact that WordPress is so adaptable cannot be taken for granted. WordPress is flexible enough to accommodate all needs through its extensions and plugins, whether you’re using the CMS for a small business website, personal blog or an ecommerce website.
6. Secure and safe
With the popularity of WordPress comes the interest of would-be hackers. Another reason why WordPress is so beloved is the security measures the developers take to preserve the trust of its users. The WordPress staff constantly update the CMS, along with the plugs-ins that integrate with it. Of course, users should use caution and only download plugins from trusted sources, preferably while directly logged into WordPress itself.
7. Customizable
You can make your WordPress theme look any way you want with a customized theme. You can use one of the many it provides, or buy one of the various premium themes developed by third parties. You can also add and extend certain features to make the website function and perform just the way you want.
8. Mobile friendly
Google is penalizing sites that aren’t mobile-friendly by ranking them lower on their result pages. With WordPress, you don’t have to overhaul your entire site to make it accessible on tablets and smartphones, since most themes are automatically responsive. WordPress also has an option for websites to be viewed in “mobile view” for themes that aren’t responsive.
9. Simple to use
Another reason people love to use WordPress is because of its simplicity. The CMS is as user-friendly as it gets, and very easy for newbies to learn. Not only that, the platform is very intuitive.
10. Sources of support
There is loads of help to be found online, a simple Google search for wordpress + the the problem you’re facing is likely to pull up guides and tutorials to help you solve your problem. Even better, the forums they provide allow users to help each other out, creating a very interactive community.
11. Big name brands use it too
WordPress powers some of the world’s most well-known brands with millions of pageviews per day, for example Mashable, Nasa, Mozilla, Coca Cola, Wall Street Journal and many more. Meaning, WordPress should be considered as a serious business website solution.
12. Multimedia support
The websites that get the lowest bounce rates are the ones with plenty of multimedia. WordPress lets you easily integrate video either by uploading your own, or by adding embeddable code through the HTML areas. You can also add audio files, imagery, and other forms of media to keep people interested and browsing your site.
13. Integration
WordPress integrates with many popular 3rd-party platforms to make your website more modern. There are plenty of plugins that let you easily send out email campaigns and newsletters. There are plugins that allow you to accept credit card payments for an ecommerce site. There are plugins for just about every kind of function you want to add to your site.
14. Simple to manage
As alluded to earlier, WordPress is integrated with an automatic updater for security purposes. The CMS also notifies you when new updates are available for plug-ins. As such, you’ll always have the latest and safest platforms to keep your site safe.
15. More than just a blog
WordPress started out as an ideal platform to blog, but today, most people and businesses use WordPress as an outright website. Since WordPress features both post and page structure, you can post regular blog articles without affecting your static pages (such as “about us” or “contact us” pages).
16. Social media integration
People can easily post comments on your site using their own social network accounts. WordPress makes it simple for people on social media to find and interact with you using accounts they already have established.
17. Saves you money
WordPress is expense-free, and not just because it’s a free CMS. Since WordPress is user-friendly and operates as open source software, you bypass the need to hire web technicians and designers.
18. Numerous ecommerce solutions
If you’re using WordPress to run a commercial website, you’ll be well taken care of with the abundance of ecommerce solutions available. You can convert your website into an online store using popular plugins like WP Ecommerce and WooCommerce.
19. You’re not committed to one hosting provider
There is little to no downtime on WordPress should you decide to switch hosting providers. Just about every web host offers WordPress as a CMS, so it’s not complex to move from one server to another.
20. Keeps your site looking fresh
You can change up the look of your site on a whim via any of the free or premium themes available, either through WordPress or on third-party sites. Giving your website a refreshing appearance keeps your company fresh in the eyes and minds of your customers.
21. Can be used as a membership service
If your website is providing a non-tangible service, WordPress offers plugins you can use to sell memberships on your website. This way, you can earn revenue by charging people to see exclusive content on your website.
22. Schedule posts
WordPress makes it easy for you schedule the things you publish. This way, you can write all your content at once, and have it published at specific times of the day, throughout many days. This is most convenient if a majority of your traffic tends to visit during a particular block of time.
23. Multi-user capability
In case you are not the only individual running your website, WordPress makes it simple to assign different access roles for different people. Here are some of the roles the plugin, “WordPress Codex”, provides:
- Super Admin – has total access to website features.
- Administrator – has access to administration features.
- Editor – can publish their own posts and approve or remove the posts of others users.
- Author – can manage and publish their own posts.
- Contributor – can manage and write their own posts but must rely on administrator to approve them.
- Subscriber – can view and edit their own profile (essentially, a user with their own account).
24. Add testimonials
Having testimonials on your website about products or services is a great selling tactic. There are several plugins available that make it easy to publish customer testimonials and reviews. Some of them offer widgets that show reviews about your business on a scroll.
25. Publish content immediately
If you lack patience, nothing is stopping you from publishing each and every post with a click of your mouse! And best of all, if you have the WordPress app on your smartphone or tablet, you can publish your post from anywhere, anytime!
26. No need to learn HTML code
Unless you want to that is. You can create content using WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get), meaning you can easily create pages and posts without having to know HTML.
27. Universal dashboard
Because the WordPress dashboard looks the same on every platform, confusion is eliminated. You can add things to your dashboard, like daily stats, lists of new posts, recent comments and news updates.
28. WordPress keeps improving
Thanks to its open source coding and innovative developers, WordPress keeps improving as the years go by. Whether the WordPress staff are adding new features, developers are creating new plugins, or coders have programmed new features to customize your site, the CMS keeps evolving for the better.
Summary
As you can see, you can use WordPress for a personal or commercial website, and there’s very little you can’t do with this powerful content management system. If you aren’t using WordPress, the 28 suggestions above should have given you enough incentive to make the switch to WordPress.