We’re often asked, “Why do you use WordPress?” With so many options out there, why was WordPress the content management system (CMS) we chose as the framework for our sites?
WordPress is the most widely used content management system
Studies show that WordPress powers about 35% of all websites. The system many sites use is unknown, so for sites that have a known CMS, that number is much higher — over 60%. Large companies like CNN, The New York Times, Mercedes-Benz, and Vogue use WordPress. And many small businesses use it too! Because it’s so widely used, tens of thousands of themes and plugins are available. This means that if you want your site to look a certain way or do something specific, a theme or plugin probably already exists to fulfill your need.
WordPress reduces development costs
Hand-coding can be time-consuming, so WordPress’s wide usage makes life easier for everyone. Because WordPress provides a great starting point for a website, we don’t have to do nearly as much work to set up a site as we would if the site were completely coded from scratch, and because so many plugins and themes already exist for the platform, the need for a custom-created plugin or theme is significantly diminished. In the event that you need custom WordPress work, we’re up to the task, but there’s a good chance that what you need already exists.
WordPress is SEO-friendly
WordPress is designed to help your site perform well in searches. It plays well with the parsers search engines use to determine how to rank your pages, and plugins like Yoast SEO give you even more control over how search engines view your site. It’s also telling that Matt Cutts — the head of Google’s webspam team who has worked on Google search quality for years — uses WordPress for his personal blog.
WordPress is secure
Even though WordPress is designed with security in mind out of the box, the vast array of WordPress plugins comes in handy here as well. Security plugins can require two-factor authentication or a CAPTCHA to log into your site and scan it for malware. We’ve previously written about several common security plugins, including WordFence and iThemes Security and provide several additional tips to keep your site safe.
WordPress is mobile-friendly — in more ways than one
WordPress works well with mobile devices in two major ways. First, the WordPress framework makes it easy to make a site mobile-friendly. Many themes have a responsive design, changing the site’s layout to fit the screen size. This means that the site works well on mobile, desktop, and tablet devices. Second, WordPress has a great mobile app for updating your site on the go. The WordPress app is a free download for iOS or Android, and both platforms allow mobile and tablet editing so you don’t have to be sitting at a computer to create great content. The mobile app also allows you to check your site’s stats, get push notifications when someone comments on your site, and more.
WordPress is infinitely extendable
In the event that you can’t find a plugin or theme to suit your needs, the design of the WordPress framework makes it possible to do almost anything. WordPress plugins and themes are based on an advanced on PHP, an advanced web coding language that is extremely feature-rich. Almost everything a hand-coded PHP site can do is possible with WordPress. If you find yourself in need of a customized theme or a custom-created plugin, be sure to contact us!
