WordPress has been around since 2003 and has grown to be the largest content management system online. It’s used to power more than 24% of the world wide web and serves millions of websites every day.
WordPress is free and can be used for anything from a small blog to a large multi page website. It has hundreds of people from all over the world that are constantly improving it to extend its flexibility and ease of use.
You can download and install WordPress from WordPress.org. To get a WordPress website up and running online you just need a web host, a domain name and a little time. You can customise WordPress to meet your needs or you can use a service like WordPress.com to get up and running with a WordPress-based blog in seconds although it is way less flexible than one you download and install yourself.
It’s easy to ask for help and to find out about WordPress online which can also be a great way to get involved with the WordPress community. A great thing about the WordPress community is the events they put on, you can attend or volunteer at a WordCamp, which are some of the best conferences for little to no money and they take place all over the world.
Here are some of the best reasons for why you should use WordPress to build your business whether you want to use it to power your personal blog, company website or utilise it to build websites to help others.
1. WordPress is free
WordPress is a finely tuned content management system, it’s extensible and completely free for you to use and build upon. This gives your business a lower margin which allows you to offer a great product or service whilst keeping your prices low.
2. WordPress is simple
WordPress makes it easy to get your website online. The process takes less than five minutes so you can quickly launch and start publishing your content.
3. WordPress is flexible
With WordPress you can create all types of websites such a blog, a portfolio, an online community, an e-commerce store and you can even create a network of many individual websites from one main install. You can make your website look amazing with themes and easily extend it’s functionality with plugins.
4. It’s easy to publish
Creating a Post or Page is easy as writing a document in MS Word. You can format, insert media and publish your work with a click of a button. You can also create drafts, schedule publications, revert to previous saved versions and secure your posts and pages with a password.
6. Users are easy to manage
You can set access levels for different users by assigning them to a role. Administrators have access to everything, Editors work with content, Authors and Contributors write content, and subscribers have a profile they can manage.
7. WordPress has an awesome media manager
With the built in Media Manager you can quickly and easily upload images, documents and other media for use in your content. You can drag and drop your media into the uploader and you can set it’s alt text, caption and title after uploading. You also have the ability to add a number of images as a gallery.
8. WordPress conforms to W3C standards
WordPress out of the box is fully compliant with W3C standards making it fully interoperable with the latest web browsers. This gives your viewers a more consistent and robust viewing experience now and into the future when new browser versions are released.
9. WordPress has amazing themes
WordPress comes with some default themes or you can install one of thousands from the theme directory which will allow you to create your dream website at the click of a button. You can also create your own themes from scratch allowing you to have a unique designs should you need them.
10. WordPress has many plugins
Choose from over 40,000 plugins to extend your websites functionality. You can add enhanced search engine optimisation features, make automatic backups, improve your websites load time, add contact forms, social media buttons and much more. For a list of recommended plugins see 15 plugins to install on every WordPress blog.
11. WordPress has a commenting system
WordPress’ built-in commenting system allows you to start conversations and engage with your audience. Want to approve comments before they go live? No problem, want to delete certain comments? You can do that too.. WordPress allows you to fine tune your moderation preferences and it gives you the control to manage what your visitors see.
12. WordPress is search engine optimised
Search engines love WordPress websites as they make it easy to get your content found. For more control on how the search engines see your site and to improve your rankings further you can install various SEO plugins, we recommend Yoast SEO.
13. WordPress is Multilingual
WordPress is available in more than 70 languages which enables you to use WordPress in whichever language you prefer and it’s constantly being worked on by the community to reach as many languages as possible. Using a plugin like Weglot allows you to get in better touch with your global audience.
Related: To learn more about Weglot, check out our interview with Weglot CEO Augustin Prot.
14. WordPress is easy to install
At the most basic level you just need to be able to create a database via your web host and have access to an FTP program. You can then upload the files to your server and run the WordPress installer. Alternatively you can use the one-click installation method that’s usually offered by any modern web host provider, this enables you to click a button with absolutely no technical knowledge required.
15. WordPress can import
WordPress allows you to import your website content from another hosted service such as blogger and Tumblr. You can then use WordPress to get more our of your website.
16. You own your data
When a hosted service suddenly shuts down it can be traumatising to lose all your hard work and it can also be annoying when some services place adverts in-between your content. With WordPress you own your data and you choose who has access to it.
17. You are free to do what you want with WordPress
WordPress has a General Public License which means that you can use it in any way you like. You can install, use, modify and distribute it until your hearts content.
18. The WordPress community is thriving
As the most popular open source Content Management System WordPress has a huge community. You can ask questions in the support forums, attend WordCamps and Meetups, read/watch various tutorials and find answers to your problems on various websites and blogs.
19. You can give back
To get involved and give back to the WordPress community you can answer questions in the support forums, write documentation, review themes, speak at a WordCamps or write about WordPress on your blog.
20. You can create your own WordPress themes
You can create simple or complex themes using the WordPress API and you can even submit it to the Theme Repository for review. Once approved it will be made available to others for download.
21. You can create your own WordPress plugins
You can create plugins to extend WordPress which allows you to switch themes and keep your custom functionality intact. You can even submit your plugin to the WordPress plugin repository which allows other WordPress users to use and feedback on your work.
22. You can use WordPress as a framework for an app
You can take advantage of WordPress and use it’s features to build an application. Things like translations and users will help you get you app up and running a lot sooner than if you were to build it from scratch.
23. You can create your own custom content types
WordPress comes with content types such as Posts and Pages but it also allows you to extend that functionality by adding your own post types. This is ideal for any recurring bits of information that you want to create as a feature for placing across your site.
24. WordPress uses the latest libraries
WordPress keeps up to date with the latest scripts such as jQuery. This enables you to use the latest technology and ensure compatibility across browsers and devices which creates a better experience for your users.
WordPress is a great place to get started for new and experienced bloggers and website owners. WordPress is free to download and easy to setup, it has an amazing community and is easily extendable. WordPress being such a low barrier to entry enables you to dive in and play around, which allows you to quickly get online and reach an audience. So why not give it a go and if you need any extra help along the way rest easy knowing that theres companies like Newt Labs that can offer support to help you get the most out of your WordPress journey.