One of the first questions we get during a Consult Call is, “Which website platform should we use, WordPress?”
Our clients often suggest using WordPress alongside other platforms like Shopify, Squarespace, or HubSpot. But they almost always suggest WordPress because it’s the most popular Content Management System (CMS).
There’s a reason The New York Times, Forbes, eBay, The Walt Disney Company, and Best Buy (among others) are powered by WordPress.
However, when planning a website revamp, many decisions can feel crushing. An abundance of free resources is available to assist you with optimizing your site’s design and copywriting. However, choosing a suitable CMS can still be a tough decision.
At Structure, we specialize in designing and developing custom WordPress websites. That’s the bulk of what we do. We also help our clients with web strategy, website management, and digital marketing. But most projects start with a custom WordPress website.
Why a Custom WordPress Website is Valuable
Most marketing starts with a custom WordPress website or landing page. This is because your website is at the heart of all your marketing effortsâdigital and traditional.
In our free webinar How to Build an Attractive, High-Converting Website That Makes You Proud, we discuss your website as a flywheel. Let me explain.
A flywheel is a mechanical device that conserves angular momentum to store rotational energy. That may sound not very easy, but it’s straightforward.
A flywheel is a circular device used on trains, tractors, trucks, and any large machine with a big job to increase horsepower and create explosive momentum.
Your website is like a flywheel. It’s intended to create momentum and be a force multiplier for your marketing and business efforts. And when it’s designed and built to accomplish that objective, more often than not, it succeeds!
The Glaring Problem with Website Builders, Templates, and Themes
Need help with a Squarespace or Wix website? We can’t help you (other than help you move your website away from them).
Those website builders (like Wix, Squarespace, Duda, GoDaddy, Weebly, etc.) don’t help you create a flywheel that multiplies force for your business.
Instead, they help you create a clusterfuck (pardon my French) of a website. It makes you want to throw your laptop out of your office window.
Those are not my words, by the way. They came from a recent client who desperately needed help migrating his website from Squarespace to WordPress because Squarespace drove him mad!
Website builders do this by requiring you to start the entire process by picking a template. Then, jumping right into the building without giving the nod to your goals or unique needs as a business. They skip the entire planning process, assuming you did or will never do it.
Skipping website planning is a fatal mistake.
WordPress templates or themes readily available have many of the same issues. It can work if you buy a template or theme that fits your plan. It will fail if you pick a template or theme as your plan.
WordPress Website Facts
Here are a handful of encouraging facts.
- WordPress is used by 42.8% of the top 10 million websites
- There are over 455 Million WordPress websites, accounting for more than 39% of all websites
- 62% of Inc. 5,000 websites run on WordPress
- The New York Times, Forbes, eBay, The Walt Disney Company, and Best Buy are powered by WordPress
- WordPress has been around since May 27, 2003
- There are over 58,000 plugins (integrations) available for WordPress
- WordPress is the web’s most widely used CMS (content management system)
We all know that facts tell and stories sell. So why does Structure use WordPress, and why do we recommend you use it for your project? Here are the reasons.
Why Structure Uses WordPress (and You Should Use Too)
1. WordPress is widely adopted
As you can see from the facts above, WordPress dominates the website market. This means somebody will always be available to help you with troubleshooting or customization needs.
I frequently mention this assurance to my clients. If an unfortunate event renders Structure unable to continue working with them, they would have no difficulty locating a developer replacement who could work on their WordPress websites.
For the record, Structure isn’t going anywhere. However, knowing you’re not choosing an obscure platform only specialists can use is peace of mind.
We recently migrated a client’s website from a platform called Higher Logic to WordPress. The client is so much happier after the transition. I share this story because Higher Logic is one of those obscure platforms. While some use it, it’s highly specialized and requires paying a high-rate developer to make almost any update.
2. It is easy-to-use
There’s a myth that WordPress offers a user-friendly interface that does not require coding knowledge or experience. It does provide a user-friendly interface. But we have to be realistic with setting expectations to ensure that we know not everyone understands it.
“WordPress does not require coding knowledge or experience” is also misleading. It may not require knowing a coding language like CSS or Javascript. But a basic understanding of HTML and development principles will take a long way.
If you do not have a basic understanding, you will struggle. That’s precisely why folks hire Structure to help. You value the system WordPress offers, but you don’t know how to manage the technical details of the platform yourself.
You can easily add pages and posts to your site, customize layouts, create menus and links, upload images and videos, and more. This still makes WordPress an excellent choice for small businesses and large teams.
WordPress has the potential to provide you with a simple-to-navigate backend CMS. Alas, that doesn’t always seem to be the case. I have conversations with numerous customers apprehensive about using WordPress due to their prior negative experiences while trying cumbersome interfaces.
WordPress Training & Support
Our website development packages at Structure include an optional 1-hour recorded training and support video call. In this call, we train you to use your website and navigate WordPress. Furthermore, we include two additional support hours within 30 days of launch. That way, you have no reservations about contacting us for questions, big or small.
Last but not least, our WordPress websites are designed especially for user convenience. Content can easily and quickly be edited or updated with little technical expertise. We accomplish this by using Custom Fields. You can edit copy or media in the back end without breaking your website on the front end.
3. It is excellent with SEO
WordPress’s most powerful benefit is its impact on your SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Some powerful plugins like YoastSEO for WordPress and LinkWhisper can significantly enhance how your website is tagged to rank for Google. It also makes it brain-dead simple to optimize your content for search.
It’s worth noting that SEO is not automatic, and WordPress doesn’t do all the work for you. However, the data structure allows you to input and optimize data without jerry-rigging anything.
In short, think of WordPress SEO like T-ball. The baseball is just sitting on the teeâyou need to hit it. Same thing with SEO on WordPress. It tees you up, and you have a swing if you know how to hit a ball.
4. WordPress is owned
This might be one of the most significant selling points of WordPress. It’s what’s called an ‘open source’ platform. It is accessible worldwide, and you don’t have to pay for a license.
With a WordPress site, you own the code base and don’t have to pay a license fee to anyone to keep your website. You also can modify and change the code as needed.
That said, you still have to pay for infrastructure costs like domain and website hosting, which often come all-inclusive with other platforms like Squarespace, Shopify, and Wix.
5. WordPress is secure
Website security has always been a concern but is becoming increasingly so as time goes on. As the internet becomes more widely adopted, cybercriminals and hackers (that’s what they’re called!) are getting more innovative and savvier, while website managers are getting more relaxed and trusting.
If youâre worried about the safety and security of your website, you should be at ease because it’s a secure platform as long as you keep it up to date.
WordPress security vulnerabilities commonly come from outdated plugins and themes, weak passwords, and other preventable issues. So you’ll need to ensure your WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins are current. We recommend doing this monthly at a minimum. If you’re particularly concerned, weekly updates are sufficient.
Managing Security Vulnerabilities
Most of Structure’s clients don’t want to manage their security, let alone update their website monthly and ensure it is still in perfect working condition. We offer WordPress Website Management packages after completing a website project. We find that most of our clients beg for help in this area!
All Structure WordPress Website Management packages include these features:
- Plugin and WordPress Core Updates (monthly)
- Dedicated Account Manager
- 24-hour Response Time (during the workweek)
- Detailed Website Report (monthly)
- Cloud Backups (daily)
- Advanced Security (Malware Scans, Firewall, Bot & Login Protection)
- Activity Log
- Uptime Monitoring
The benefit of hiring Structure for WordPress Website Management is ensuring your site is safe, secure, always running 24/7, and working as expected to grow your business.
6. WordPress is scalable
WordPress is renowned for its scalability, as it can create a single-page website or an enterprise solution with tens of thousands of pages. The scope of your imagination and budget only limits you. Structure has built websites ranging from one page to hundreds of pages.
WordPress is incredibly versatile, and you can use it to create any website:
- eCommerce website
- Business website
- Blog website
- Portfolio website
- Event website
- Personal website
- Membership website
- Nonprofit website
- Informational website
- Online forum
WordPress is widely used for eCommerce, as well as blogs, news sites, membership sites, auction sites, and more. You can also choose from thousands of plugins and themes, so you’re never limited in design or functionality.
Integrations
As we mentioned in the facts above, there are over 58,000 plugins available. That means there are 58,000+ ways you can integrate your business systemsâno matter what they may beâwith your WordPress website.
A few popular plugin integrations we’ve configured are:
- LearnDash
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- MailChimp
- Intercom
- Zapier
- Convert Kit
- Slack
- Square
- Authorize.net
- Stripe
- ShipStation
- Airtable
WordPress is not limited by space or bandwidth. Your website can grow as large as needed without any performance issues. Particularly those that might occur if you used a platform like Squarespace or Wix.
Website Hosting
For example, website Hosting is highly flexible and scalable. You’re not trapped by the quality of hosting that Squarespace or Shopify has chosen.
If you’re a small business start, you can buy cheaper hosting. It will integrate with WordPress.
Or maybe you’re a growing business with tens or hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors. You can plug in a quality host like WP Engine (our recommendation), which will integrate well.
The scalable nature of WordPress makes it the ideal CMS for startups and growing businesses.
7. WordPress is stable
There’s a big problem with content management systems. Can you tie your business to something new if it won’t be around next year?
If you’re evaluating some of the website builders out there, you should. be concernedâmainly those created and managed in other countries.
However, WordPress has been around since May 27, 2003. It is so widely adopted you have the comfort of knowing that, in all likelihood, it’s not going anywhere.
The platform is continually updated and improved, keeping current with the ever-changing technology landscape. And because it’s open source, developers are constantly working on significant updates, new features, and security patches. This means your website will stay up-to-date and secure.
