Nowadays, every creative business owner and entrepreneur needs a website and a blog. This will not only make it easier for clients to find you, but you will also open your door to an international audience and new business opportunities.
When it comes to choosing the best platform for your website, there are many options out there. You can use WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify or even create a website from scratch. While I love Shopify for e-commerce websites and I think Squarespace is a great solution for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time managing their websites, I think WordPress is the best choice for a business website.
Here are ten reasons why you should use WordPress for your business website:
It’s easy to use
WordPress is easy to install and most hosting companies offer one-click installs. You don’t have to download anything and you can access all your content from your dashboard.
While you might need to learn a bit of CSS and PHP if you want to make changes to your theme, you can always use a premium theme or hire a web designer to take care of the dirty work. All you have left to do is create content and promote your website.
It’s flexible
One of my favorite things about WordPress is that you can create any kind of website you want and it’s easy to change it as your business grows. You can easily integrate a blog, add a shopping cart, create a membership website or a portfolio website.
It’s easy to manage
I know a lot of people that spent a huge amount of money on a custom built website, only to realize that they can’t update the content or make changes without the help of a developer. You don’t have to worry about that if you choose WordPress for your business website.
You can easily create new pages and publish blog posts with the click of a button or make changes to your site using plugins.
It’s customizable
Because there are so many themes and plugins to choose from, you can easily create a website that looks and functions as you want it to. And you can do this all on your own.
It’s easy to integrate with any service
WordPress integrates with some of the most popular platforms to help you grow your business. If you want a contact form, you can use a plugin. Want to grow your email list? Integrate MailChimp, ConvertKit or your favorite newsletter provider. Do you have an Etsy shop? There are many ways to add it to your website.
It’s search engine friendly
WordPress is easy to crawl by Google’s search bots and you have better chances of ranking high in searches. You can also tag all your content, optimize images, create content-rich URLs and allow trackbacks and pingbacks to help people find your website. Seo plugins also help you specify SEO for each post and give you feedback so you can improve it.
It’s safe and secure
I know you’ve heard the horror stories about people losing their sites, but such a popular CMS will always be a target for hackers.
WordPress is actually secure if you update it and don’t use themes and plugins from shady sites. In fact, one of the reasons there are so many updates is that WordPress and the creators of its themes and plugins always work to update their software and prevent attacks.
It comes with a great community
If you are having trouble with your website, you won’t be able to call WordPress, but you can get help from many developers and users. No matter what questions you have, you can always find someone to help on the WordPress Forums. You can also find users in your favorite Facebook groups or hire a developer to update your site.
It’s affordable
While WordPress is a free software, you will still need to purchase a domain name and hosting. There are hosting companies for every budget and you can upgrade or change hosts when your business grows. You might also need to spend money on a premium theme, to hire a designer, or for purchasing premium plugins.
It’s future-proof
Because WordPress is an open-source platform there are many people contributing to the development and growth of the CMS and you can be certain that it will always get better with each update.
WordPress might come with more responsibility than Squarespace or Wix, but in return, you will have endless options and you will be in full control of your website.
Do you use WordPress? If you are thinking about switching your business website, do you have any questions?