Looking to build your first website? WordPress is definitely the first name that must have crossed your mind. Fueling about 40 percent of websites around the globe, WordPress is one of the most effective yet simple web-building tools available today. Though it is mainly used to empower blogs, WordPress is a free content management system that caters to a wide array of websites, including portfolios, information portals, and eCommerce stores.
WordPress is suitable for webmasters trying to improve their web traffic. Since there is a choice of hosting resources in WordPress, it allows you to filter out the most efficient hosting type for your site and scale the same when required. Apart from these, there are other reasons why use WordPress. Let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons to opt for WordPress for your website this year.
1. Free and Open-source
WordPress.org is a self-hosted version that allows the user to take complete control of the site and use various advanced plugins. It is suitable for complete beginners and you can easily understand their workings and use them.
Another important factor is that it is free for download. WordPress was developed in 2003 by a group of contributors and as a result, it is an open-source project. Typically such projects are free to use and are armed with enormous communities.
The best part is the users are also allowed to contribute here as beta testers. It’s worth noting that though we say that WordPress is free, you will have to shell out some money for using it. The project is self-hosted implying that hosting is needed for which you have to pay around 3 USD every month.
2. Highly Adaptable And Allows Building All Kinds Of Website
There is a common misconception that WordPress is primarily used for building blogs. Though this was true at one point in time, it has evolved over time. And today, the software has drastically changed with numerous new releases every year.
Moreover, WordPress has an added advantage owing to its roots in blogging. WordPress is a no-hassle and fast way to present blog posts. In some cases, website development tools prioritize the design and application first and the blogging interface comes later. However, this is not true in the case of WordPress. You can carve out a highly responsive eCommerce site while keeping blogs as a critical aspect of the development process.
- Related reading: The Game Changing Benefits of Full Site Editing WordPress Themes
3. Highly supportive of several kinds of media
There is a long list of file types that work with WordPress although, in essence, the major categories accepted include audio, video, images, and documents. Most users opine that WordPress has never denied access to any file type. And this is true even when you are trying to work with obscure file types such as .ogg, .odt, .key, and .3gp.
Though WordPress supports all kinds of media, it’s important to make sure that you adhere to all the rules. You should always use media that’s free for download, usable, or legally owned by you. Some zones where you can find safe media files are StockSnap, Unsplash, Visual Hunt, and Pexels.
4. Comes With a Large Community
When you are wondering why to use WordPress, then you should know that it can be used by anyone around the world. This userbase isn’t limited to pricing, premium consumer support, or the user’s skill level. While there are adequate things to understand about WordPress, anybody can try their hands with the dashboard and start understanding how the interface works.
As practically there is no hurdle to gain access to this software, most users have created blogs, online courses, forums, webinars, and e-books to outline various aspects of this software. Alongside there is also additional consumer support from them. You have the choice of either paying an extra fee for dedicated support or working across numerous forums.
With WordPress, you can access incredible resources for learning about the software. For instance, you can follow a good blog and subscribe to their newsletter to receive consistent tips and tricks to using WordPress.
5. Level Up Your Site With Innumerable Themes
It goes without saying that WordPress themes and plugins are effortless to integrate with your website. Also, these elements are highly essential to scale up. To build a standard blog, you just need to install a theme, then opt for a design and finally start blogging. This simple process also applies to a business portfolio or website.
The themes of a site pose to be its foundation. Right after that, you will be left with minimal design work, color alterations, logo additions, and of course, adding blog posts and content. But at a certain time, you might feel that your site lacks something. And for all such issues, a plugin can address the issue.
6. Plugins serve as the best friend for your site
Quite similar to themes, you can bring custom functionality to your site through WordPress plugins. And this is one of the primary reasons why use WordPress. These plugins work like applications for the website that can be used for incorporating advanced features including contact forms, membership, analytics, and a lot more.
Besides, some of these plugins are dedicated to transforming your site into an entirely new platform. While there are thousands of plugins to select from, the fundamentals like analytics plugin, contact form plugin, and an SEO plugin should be there on your site.
7. SEO friendly
One of the most crucial contributing factors to WordPress’s popularity is that it has SEO built into the software. It can auto-generate meta descriptions and title tags for all posts and pages on a website. As a result, the search engines become aware of the content therein. And the index for your website is also chosen based on it.
Some of the favorite SEO plugins of WordPress users include Broken Link Checker, Schema, and Rel Nofollow Checkbox among others. Another popular SEO plugin is Yoast which asks the website for a focused keyword. As it targets the keyword, it monitors the current page and determines how effectively it has targeted the keyword.
8. Have The Website Under Your Control
A quick Google search for ‘best website builders’ will invariably land you on WordPress along with a host of other options. But with WordPress, you can have an edge in keeping your site under your control. For instance, the eCommerce functionality of most sites is in-built. As a result, there is nothing much one can do regarding the expansion of plugins.
Also, in most cases, you will have to be satisfied with the hosting that’s provided. You won’t be able to test many hosts for choosing the best-performing plugin. Adjustment of codes is restricted to all that the company chooses to share with the audience. And the best part is that with WordPress, you can easily mitigate these issues.
9. The Best When It Comes To Blogging
WordPress came into being as a blogging platform. Though it had numerous contenders since its inception, nothing can be compared to the strength, features, and advanced tools that WordPress offers. A wonderful set of brilliant tools is also present within the WordPress editor.
It also gives an option to design a completely online magazine by scheduling blog posts in advance and setting up numerous user types for editors and contributors. Besides, there is an option to preview, edit, and keep dedicated codes for your blog posts.
10. WordPress Will Continue to Grow Forever
Website building software may come and go and even the most popular ones in the past have disappeared today. On the contrary, those that are open-sourced are here to stay for long. As mentioned, this is because such software is not owned by a company or an individual. Therefore, even if WordPress becomes obsolete, anybody can just fork the code and re-launch it with some other name within a few minutes.
Another stark factor about this software is that it doesn’t have any CEO. And this itself answers why to use WordPress. The name of the software is secured by the WordPress foundation which ensures that it continues to grow. As a community, WordPress is striving to work for its long haul.
Final Thoughts
Since WordPress is a free and open-source platform, it is highly accessible and effortless to modify. The only expense that you will have to bear is a registration fee for hosting and domain name. Moreover, it lets save money with the use of free themes and plugins.
From the perspective of additional features and functionality, WordPress is suitable for website builders who opt for flexibility in place of simplicity. The abundance of functions and features make it a great choice for various types of projects, no matter if it’s an eCommerce site or a personal blog.
Most importantly, if you think about why to use WordPress, then it is for people who wish to explore innovation. With that being said, it’s worth mentioning that WordPress comes with a steep learning curve. WordPress undergoes constant evolution and thus, you will also get a scope to keep yourself updated with the changing dynamics of WordPress.
