Understanding the jargon, what exactly is a WordPress website, and what part will it play in your business?
In this blog, we’re talking about WordPress. You’ve probably heard it mentioned countless times, but you may not fully understand what it is and why it’s used. So let’s break it down, talk about what a WordPress website is and, most importantly, how WordPress can benefit your business.
We know the difficulty of getting your head around those complex and seemingly never-ending agency meetings. We consistently encourage our clients to talk to us if there’s anything they haven’t heard of or don’t understand in the digital world.
You often see that look creep across clients faces as we throw in a few abbreviations, we didn’t invent the terms, but we will apologise for them.
With any Create8 web design package, we want our customers to understand each step of the journey. To immerse themselves in what is possible and to share their thoughts and ideas along the way. There are no closed doors here, so let us open our knowledge to you too; it’s part of the service.
So, What is it?
Ok, the most straightforward way to describe WordPress is that it’s the most popular way to build a website or blog.
If you break it down to a popularity contest, an estimate of 35% of the world’s websites are powered by WordPress, even though countless other companies offer similar capabilities; it’s much more than a one or two-horse race!
If you are a little more technologically geared, WordPress is an open-source content management system. This means that the software WordPress offers can be openly used and modified by anyone.
The end product is a user-friendly interface where anyone can build and maintain a website regardless of their level of expertise.
What kind of websites can I build on WordPress? ️
Once upon a time, WordPress was known as the place where blogs lived. However, that hasn’t been the case for almost as long as we can remember.
Nowadays, because of its vast network of additional plug-ins and add-ons, you can build anything on WordPress! There are built-in themes for everything from blogs to eCommerce websites, portfolios and plenty more.
Here’s a quick list of some of the brilliant options.
- Blogs
- Business websites
- eCommerce
- Social networks
- Portfolios
- Membership sites
- Forums
- So much more
If you want to know more about how WordPress website themes work or whether a custom-built WordPress site is the best option for your business, follow the link below.
The history of WordPress
If you look back at the origin of WordPress in 2003, you’ll find that the blog-based creator space was a spin-off from another project. Although its contributors are great in number, Mike Mullenweg and Mike Little (who is from Stockport! Where our offices reside) are the names that appear first.
Since 2003, it’s fair to say it’s been a long and winding road for WordPress. The platform has consistently been driven forwards, mainly by the contribution of its audience.
The beauty of WordPress is that as a company, it continues to evolve and grow as developers add more and more custom themes and plug-ins, making it more capable every year.
The future will always be bright for WordPress, which is just one of the many reasons you should be on board for the ride.
What businesses use WordPress?
This is a question we are frequently asked. It’s a brilliant one to answer as some of the most prominent and recognisable businesses in the world utilise WordPress for their websites, shops and blogs.
The most common myth is that because WordPress is open-source, it isn’t big or fancy enough for the most prominent companies. Well, here are a few that prove that idea very wrong.
MTV News – The music scene is all about what’s fresh and new; that’s why they chose WordPress to build and maintain their site on.
Microsoft – Microsoft uses WordPress to power its official blog, as well as the blogs for other subsidiary companies like Windows. If it’s good enough for the tech giant, it’s good enough for you and us.
And even Beyonce – Drumroll for Queen B, because even Beyonce’s official website is powered by WordPress, surely that’s enough proof now? If it isn’t, you’ll be able to find tonnes of other brands, businesses and individuals who are powered by WordPress alone, have a look!
Why you should be using WordPress?
So here’s the really juicy stuff, why should your business be using WordPress? Have we got all night? We’ll try to be as succinct as possible as we explain why your website should join the other 40% of the world’s websites and choose WordPress.
Cost
WordPress is free and open-source; meaning you won’t need to pay anything to use the actual software. You will need to pay a fee for hosting, but other than that you’re ready to go and explore the basic version for free. Which can’t be said for most of its competitors.
Flexibility
We’ve definitely mentioned it plenty of times, but WordPress is incredibly flexible. You can build pretty much any type of website on WordPress, and what’s even better, you can add additional functions to the website you’ve already built by adding plug-ins along the way.
This means if you suddenly want to add something completely different to your existing site, you can utilise plug-ins to enhance the functionality of your existing site.
Expandable
Due to the number of plug-ins available, WordPress is very expandable by nature. You can build additional opportunities for your business to flourish by simply installing specific plug-ins that run independently in the background.
As we write this, there are over 50,000 different plug-ins available for your WordPress site, as well as countless variations on free WordPress themes.
The truth of the matter is that building a site really isn’t that easy, especially if you want yours to stand out from the crowd. At Create8, we have years of expertise, knowledge and know-how, and we aim to support every one of our clients each step of the way. Below are some of the WordPress sites we have recently created; check them out and if you think you could do with a little bit of help along the way, get in touch!
How can we help you on your WordPress journey?
There are countless reasons why WordPress powers such a large chunk of the internet. Truth be told, we haven’t even scratched the surface with this blog. It is easily the most popular choice amongst business owners and web developers too.
We have explained to you what WordPress is and how the free version of WordPress can give you a taste of web development. But… is building a business website on a theme that is used millions of times across the web going to help you stand out?
It will, of course, give your business a starting point, and if that’s what you’re looking for, we are all for it. But sometimes looking like your competition because you’re using the same theme is not a great idea.
If you genuinely want to get the most from WordPress, you should be using their premium themes. These do come at a cost and are often more challenging to construct and maintain.
If you are really targeting the stars, you may wish to develop a bespoke website, in which case you will likely need to bring in an expert.
This is where we come in.
At Create8, we have been building unforgettable websites for incredible businesses for as long as we can remember, and we have the portfolio to show for it.
The real advantages which come with hiring a graphic design agency are endless. We often stress to our clients that the time it takes to build a website is time that eats into all the other jobs you are currently doing for your business. This often means longer hours, fewer sales and less spare time. It’s a business equation that only you can answer…
When it comes to packages, we don’t have a one-size-fits-all option because we know that’s not how websites work, they’re all different with their own needs and specifics.
Every project is bespoke and special to us, we take that into account when pricing up jobs, so why not reach out, let’s have a chat, and we will see what we can do for you today.
Take a look at some more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks and advice:
