WordPress used to be a development tool that was set aside for the professional bloggers. Created in 2003 it has competed with the likes of Drupal, Blogger, Joomla and WordPress.com as one of the myriad of blogging platform.
So why choose WordPress?
Well, we have been using it here at Sattom Media for a couple of years now and we thought it was time to write a few short pointers on why you should be using WordPress.
- Open Source. WordPress is Open Source meaning you are not tied in with software licenses and agreements in order to use it. It also means that the wider WordPress community will be pushing new developments - so we tend to get functionality that users actually want.
- Ease of use. It has got to be said that using WordPress couldn’t be simpler. Over the last couple of years web designers have woken up to the fact that it is an extremely flexible tool - particularly for those that have had limited experience of using a content management systems. From installation to customising themes, adding new functionality with plugins - or simply justing writing copy, WordPress is very easy to use by comparison to other platforms. The downside is that you might not get the same functionality as say Joomla - but hey, this is all the functionality that is needed for powering that majority of websites out there.
- Theme Design. If you lift the bonnet on a standard WordPress design you will notice that it has one main area called Themes that manages the look and feel of your website. Change the theme and you can effectively give your website a new skin. With hundreds of themes available, you don’t have to look far to create a reasonable looking website. Creating a customised look that fits with your own design requires a bit more expertise - so we alsways suggest talking to teh professionals.
- New Feature, new Plugin. Plugins are WordPress’ way of adding extra functionality to a blog or website with a very simple install. You normally don’t need any particular PHP experience, just simply download and install. Plugins can be a godsend when you are stuck for adding a specific bit of functionality - but they can also be extremely annoying when they don’t perform as they should. Check out the WordPress plugin repository where you will find over 4,00o plugins ready to use.
- Developer Community. Many Open Source programs such as OSCommerce and Joomla have their own developer communities and WordPress has one too. If you decide to use WordPress to power your website you will find lots of great forums and user groups to bounce ideas off and discuss and coding problems you might have. And you will also never be too far from a developer team like ours that you can always get in touch with.
- Not just for Small Websites. You may be surprised how many corporates have jumped on the WordPress train and are now using it to maintain their websites. Number10.gov.uk is probably one of the most high profile sites to be using it - good on you Gordon Brown!
- WordPress is SEO friendly. If you are looking to take that first place away from your competition on Google then WordPress can certaiinly give you a good head starts. With its built-in auto-ping, the Google Sitemaps plug-in and the ability to easily create search engine friendly URLS you will be well on your way to first page search engine results.
- Create Multiple Users. Need to delegate content writing between several members of staff. Well, with WordPress you can. Simply create an additional user, assign the appropriate admin restrictions and away they go. They can even have their own Adin dashboard that they can customize and work from.
- Schedule Page and Post Going live. Not all of us have the luxury of a full team of content writers behind us, so creating copy and launching it on time can be extremely stressful. The Schedule feature within WordPress allows you to write you post and schedule it to live some time in the future. A great feature to use when you are away on holiday or business or when you don’t have time to post regularly.
- WordPress is compatible with most hosting environments. The only server requirements for hosting are a server that runs PHP 4.3+ and MySQL 4+. Although Apache or Litespeed are recommended they are not required.
If you are looking for a website that not only looks good, is effective and is also easy to manage then give one of the Sattom team a call on 01962 670155 or email info@sattom.co.uk. We can show you some great examples of website design and why we choose WordPress to power the websites we build.
