Why You Should Have A WordPress Website [And Why Not]
A WordPress website can be a wonderful thing. But sometimes it’s quite the opposite. The difference lies in how it’s designed, developed and maintained. I’m an advocate for WordPress.org websites, but it’s not always the right tool for client websites.
In this post, I’ll share reasons why you should have a WordPress website and why not. It’s a broad overview of features that benefit WordPress users and the ones that hinder them. You’ll end up with a fuller picture of WordPress and whether it’s right or not for your website.
Why You Should Have A WordPress Website
WordPress websites are known for being SEO friendly, expandable, and free (.org variety). These are great features that give website owners a leg up at the start of their website project.
WordPress Is SEO Friendly
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps to connect your website’s content to interested people. And WordPress supports this in a few ways.
The code is high quality and mark up is semantic. So it will play well with Google and other search engines. This is important for SEO because your website will rank higher in relevant searches. There is a lot more to it than this, but the inherent system complements a solid SEO strategy.
SEO plugins are available to improve and track how SEO friendly your website is. When used properly, they can help you optimize your site’s content. One popular option is Yoast SEO. It helps you write better content, shows on page analysis, and helps with meta and link elements.
WordPress Is Expandable
WordPress is expandable with tons of themes, plugins, and custom coding tweaks if you like. Themes are templates that have a set design/layout and plugins expand functionality. Both offer an incredible amount of options to create a unique WordPress website.
All WordPress websites exist on a theme of some sort. Sometimes it’s developed from scratch and other times it’s based on a theme. There are several free and paid themes to expand the look and function. Some popular providers are ThemeForest, Elegant Themes and Mojo Marketplace.
Plugins add functionality based on the needs of a WordPress website. Some common uses for them are security, e-commerce, and SEO. I recommend you check out Wordfence, WooCommerce, and All in One SEO Pack.
WordPress Is Free
Most of the time, free is a good thing. Except when it’s cheap or low quality. WordPress is free in a good way because it’s open source and has demonstrated high quality. It’s an ongoing community project that releases updates often. Volunteers contribute to its development and the software remains freely available to use.
There is sort of a catch though to WordPress being free. Many developers offer free themes and plugins. But their premium options require a purchase. It’s not so much a bad thing, but sometimes the cost adds up with several theme and plugin purchases.
Why You Should Not Have A WordPress Website
Understanding the good and bad of something is a wise step to take. For all the positives of WordPress, there are some reasons not to use it for your website.
WordPress Security Issues
Like all websites, a WordPress website is vulnerable to security threats. It’s unfortunately been the target of spammers, hackers and brute force attacks. Other options exist that may provide a better defense against security issues.
But there are things you can do to secure your WordPress website. I share 3 steps you can take in this post. Once installed, you should work on securing it to prevent threats from becoming a reality.
WordPress Default Settings
A fresh install of WordPress is like a blank slate with some things filled in. But it can be a lot of work to get your WordPress website looking and functioning like you want. I recommend hiring a web designer, but if you do it yourself you’ll need to move beyond the default settings.
As mentioned before, there are plenty of ways to do this with themes and plugins. And there are awesome websites that offer free or paid resources to get you started. Some include WP101, WPMUDEV and of course WordPress.org.
WordPress Update Issues
The updates necessary for WordPress are important. But having to update the core software, themes and plugins can sometimes be a pain. The upkeep may become a source of frustration. And in some cases, an update may conflict with existing software.
One helpful habit is to make regular backups between the times that you make updates. That way, if something goes wrong, you can revert to the backup. It’s also important to be selective about the plugins you use. Use ones that are well supported and compatible with your current WordPress version.
Summary
When it comes down to it, the benefits of WordPress outweigh the negatives. I’m sure other designers and developers will disagree. But what’s important is to decide what works best for your website.
The expandable nature for WordPress websites is one of my favorite features. Being able to customize websites with plugins and themes makes it work for me. I’ve used it for nearly a decade and continue to use it for my websites and for clients.
Thanks for reading my words! In addition to web design posts, I write about life design and topics I find interesting. If you’re curious, check out my three-part Medium story It’s 2018 And All I’m Doing Is Standing Around. I also wrote a short and sweet post entitled 3 Habits To Become Incredibly Successful.
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Note: This content was first posted on December 9th, 2017 at ScottOstrander.com.
