If you are a client of Accentweb, you have probably heard the term “WordPress”, since we develop exclusively on the PHP content management system. Accentweb started building WordPress websites ages ago along with an estimated 74.6 Million website creators currently using the system across the information highway.
Full disclosure: we still host one website and have done for the past 15 years for “uncle Bill” Harrison http://www.vavavoomgarage.com. Bill sells salvage vintage cars – thus no fancy new website for Uncle Bill, but other than that, all of our developing has been done with WordPress.
According to Wikipedia, WordPress was first released in 2003 as part of an open-source content management system. WordPress is a content-management system that originated as a blogging tool. It runs on PHP and a MySQL database. Design elements are packaged as “themes”; since content and design are separate, one need only install a new theme to get a whole new design without affecting the content.
As of June 2019, WordPress is used by 60.8% of all the websites whose content management system is known. This is 27.5% of the top
Source: Wikipedia
10 million websites.
For more statistics on WordPress, visit this link https://digital.com/blog/wordpress-stats/
Advantages of WordPress
User – Friendly Content Managment System (CMS)
Using a CMS like WordPress allows the site’s admin to edit pages, navigate through the back-end of the website, and upload the new content.
Without any technical knowledge like website management and coding skills, the website owners or bloggers can edit & maintain their sites using easy-to-use features like drag and drop.
Advantages of WordPress: Plugins
Plugins are software additions that work hand-in-hand with WordPress and allow for customization and specific functionality to your website. No matter whether you need a PDF reader or a estimate request form, Accentweb will find a plugin that is best suited to your website out of the estimated 45,000 plugins compatible with WordPress.
Advantages of WordPress: SEO friendly
WordPress have basic, built-in SEO tools, and offer apps or plugins that give you access to more advanced SEO features.
WordPress started out as a blog and still has that built in feature. Content is king when it comes to being found on the search engines. WordPress helps you to identify the most used phrases and words in your blog that can be used as keywords to make your page more SEO user friendly.
Advantages of WordPress: Responsive Websites
When it comes to WordPress themes, most are mobile responsive therefore you don’t have to develop two sites since alot of browsing is done on mobile these days.
We wouldn’t be honest if we only showed you the advantages and not point out some disadvantages of using WordPress for your website.
Disadvantages of WordPress: Customization
Although WordPress is free and available to anyone who has a hosting account, and for some tech-savvy folks with tons of patience, you may be able to navigate the designing or customizing a WordPress theme.
However if you are a busy entrepreneur or business manager, my guess is that you have other things to do like running your business and in that case you can trust Accentweb to handle the themes, plugins and other moving parts of a WordPress website.
Disadvantages of WordPress: Security
Like all things on the web, your website is susceptible of getting spammed or hacked.
Due to the popularity of WordPress, it is the main target for hackers and spammers. Leaving the comments open can generate spammers and going through the comments can be time consuming.
It is important to have a security plugin, a SSL Certificate and a secure server. Accentweb is aware that there are risks and will always be there to watch out of potential issues and problems.
Disadvantages of WordPress: Frequent Updates
Installing WordPress is not enough. In order to make sure that it works properly, you have to install several plugins and themes. The more plugins you use, the more you’re going to encounter compatibility challenges.
Besides, updating your site frequently might also hinder its functionality like plugins might stop working. Before updating your website, make sure you have a backup of your data.
In Conclusion
WordPress is a solid content system and is not going away. For our customers, you need an internet connection and you are good to go for updating your website. It offers the flexibility to have the functionality you need and the responsiveness for today’s customers. Call Marilyn at 204-745-0680 to discuss your needs or fill out our contact form.