Many business owners struggle to decide on the right system/platform for their business website. Do you go for a hosted solution with the likes of Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy builder, or do you venture into the unknown of having something flexible like a WordPress business website?
I’d go with WordPress every single time.
Your business website is no longer a brochure website that sits there collecting dust. It’s a sales hub, a lead generator that’s working 24/7, and shows off the identity of your brand to the world.
And, there’s something to be noted when over 43% of all the websites on the internet use WordPress as the system to manage the content and design.
What Makes WordPress Different?
WordPress is open source, which means anyone can use it and adapt the code for their own use. Most people don’t touch the code directly and rely on the wordpress.org foundation to make updates to the core CMS (Content Management System) of WordPress.
The platform is widely supported through the many thousands of themes and plugins that you can use to change, adapt and optimise your website to the world. You can even use WordPress as an eCommerce store to sell items and services online.
It’s also not tied to a single company. So, if the likes of Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy Builder make any changes to their pricing or code, or anything else, then you’re tied to them and you can’t just up sticks and move to another provider like you can with WordPress.
WordPress offers the most flexibility.
Benefits of Using WordPress for Businesses
There are many different benefits to using the WordPress CMS for your business website. A few are set out below.
Felxibility & Scalability
Your website can grow with your business. As you transition from a one- or two-person business to contracting out extra work or hiring for positions as you grow, your business website grows with you.
Cost Effective
The base of the CMS is open source and free. If you then wanted to use a builder theme and plugin to develop your own website, then you could do that for under £500. If you wanted a more “signing and dancing” version, then it’s inexpensive to hire a designer or developer to design your business website to how you want it to look and feel.
Professional Design Options
If you want something that aligns with your brand strategy, then WordPress can be easily adapted, with lots of different parts being able to be changed with different colours, tones and emphasis to showcase your brand as you intended.
SEO Friendly
Out of the box, WordPress isn’t that well optimised for SEO. It’s clean and SEO friendly, but adding and properly configuring an SEO plugin (like Yoast, SEOPress or RankMath) can result in your website being the most optimised it can be. The result? Higher rankings in Google and better click-through rates from search engines.
Security & Control
You choose what level of security you want to have on your website, and if you’re going to block traffic from different countries (if you don’t serve a global audience, then there’s little point showing your website to server farms in Bangladesh, for example). You also have control over hosting your website, so if your current hosting service turns out to be poor or the support lacking, you can backup the site and move it to a different hosting company fairly easily.
Integration Ready
As a significant amount of the world’s websites are on WordPress, there are numerous integrations available for systems outside of the WordPress environment. These integrations include those with Zapier, CRMs, email marketing systems, email tools, transactional email delivery systems, analytics, eCommerce, bookings, and much more.
WordPress vs. Alternatives
How does WordPress compare with the alternatives out there?
Wix & Squarespace – are some alternatives, but the former’s SEO is still bad (has been for years with little improvement), and the latter is mainly for hobby sites. They’re not really built for serious businesses or brands.
GoDaddy Builder – is a popular choice mainly due to GoDaddy’s introductory pricing strategy. It’s a little dated, a bit clunky, and isn’t great for optimisation and ranking on Google.
Shopify – an excellent service for eCommerce stores that sell physical items (see how we compared Shopify to WordPress/WooCommerce).
Custom build – you can be locked into one developer or agency, it’s usually on the high side of pricing, and it’s harder and more expensive to update.
WordPress makes sense as it’s cost-effective and packs quite a punch when it comes to making your business stand out online.
Common Misconceptions
Lots of people have some misconceptions about WordPress and what it is/does. Here are a few misconceptions or myths debunked.
It’s just for blogging – WordPress has been used as a CMS for some time now. It’s true, it did start as a blogging platform, but for over 15 years, it’s been used as a CMS by a lot of websites (this website is built on WordPress).
It’s hard to use – if you have a good setup, it’s not so hard to navigate the admin area. If you want to make some HTML or CSS changes in the code, then it can become a little challenging if you’re not familiar with it all, but for a business to make changes, it’s simple enough to do. If you’re on one of our monthly website care plans, then we take care of all updates.
It’s not secure – yes, WP has received a bit of bad press over the years because people were using simple login usernames and passwords for their websites (or were using the same password for multiple logins online; see our cybersecurity post for why that’s a bad idea). But, there have always been ways to secure the admin dashboard through code for nearly twenty years, and mainstream security plugins have been around for 12-15 years, so it isn’t the case anymore.
There are lots of misconceptions around WordPress, but with so many millions of sites around the world using it there’s bound to be some negative stories.
A note on WordPress being hacked
With its growing popularity, there has been a growth in hackers. Individuals who get a kick out of hacking into your WordPress website and either (most commonly) putting links or malware on your site or inserting a “we support terrorists” page on your business website.
Truly annoying, right?
However, there are good things about websites that have WordPress as a CMS. The security of the software improves, and there is a whole host of plugins available for you to use to secure your web presence.
Yes, I have had WordPress sites hacked in the past. And yes, it was down to them not being very secure in the first place. Today, thankfully, I take security and backups very seriously for all the WordPress websites I either manage or consult on. Security is the first thing I look at regarding a website.
What Kind of Businesses Use WordPress?
Lots of different types, but many small and medium businesses use WordPress as a CMS for their business website.
- Many local service providers and trades companies (like plumbers, electricians, landscapers, etc)
- Management consultants and coaches
- Smaller online stores selling services and digital products
- Fitness professionals and personal trainers
- Societies and non-profits
- Schools and universities
- News sites
- SaaS companies
- Famous sites: Metro UK (news site), Vogue, Network Rail, Mercedes-Benz, The White House (yes, in the USA), Walt Disney Company, Rolling Stones, and Sony Music
Concluding Thoughts
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites across the globe for good reason: it’s a powerhouse that can be adapted, shaped and added to for any type of business site.
It’s flexible by adding plugins so that you can do several things to showcase your brand and business at your central hub in the digital world.
Want help with designing and developing a WordPress business website? Enter your details on our Discovery page, and we’ll be in touch to talk about the vision you have.
