I might be a website designer (I know we sometimes get a bad rap), but actually, I’m a WordPress designer. Because it’s the only website platform I work with.

And there’s a very straightforward reason for that: I love WordPress!  

I’ve used other CMS and bloggings systems like MODx and Joomla in the past. I’ve also worked with clients who have previously built sites using drag-and-drop website builders like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace.

But WordPress is the one that has stood out above all others.

There are so many reasons why I love WordPress, but I’ll share a few here to give you an overview of why I always return to this powerful and user-friendly platform.

WordPress is Popular

WordPress now powers about 35% of all websites  – that’s about 455,000,000 sites worldwide.  

That’s quite an impressive statistic, and it means there is plenty of online community support and content to answer any questions that may come up when you’re working with WordPress. 

If you can’t find the answer online, there are thousands of designers and agencies that specialise in building WordPress sites and can help you out with expert advice. 

WordPress is Free

Not only is it free, the code is open source so you can modify it to whatever extent you wish. 

Some people run into confusion when getting started with WordPress, and understandably so. There is a difference between the free, self-hosted, infinitely customisable WordPress.org and the managed WordPress.com, which has plenty of free tools to help you get a site published quickly, but isn’t as customisable unless you pay for certain upgrades. 

The long and short of it is that WordPress.org gives you complete control over your website, but the tradeoff is that you will have to get your hands a bit dirty in the code. 

WordPress.com is more of a ready-made platform, but you’ll have limited access to themes and analytics, and you won’t be able to install plug-ins or have control over ads on your site unless you pay for one of their plans. 

Even if you do pay for an upgrade, you’ll have to share ad revenue with WordPress.com, and the paid plans will end up costing more than it would cost you to self-host your site and use WordPress.org.

When I refer to WordPress, I am speaking about WordPress.org. Yes, there is a learning curve to get your site up and running, but it’s worth learning to get the benefits and freedom of building a site on WordPress.org. 

With some guidance, it’s really not that difficult to learn WordPress. Once you do, you’ll have unlimited control over what you can do with your site. 

WordPress is Scalable

It’s really, really scalable. The framework is so adaptable that your WordPress website has the flexibility to grow with your company, whatever direction you choose to take it.

On WordPress.org, you’re free to monetize your site with ads, build a storefront to sell products, and even create a membership site with different levels of restricted access for paying members.

You can install any themes you like, both free and paid, and there are over 50,000 WordPress plugins you can use to customize the functionality of your site.

WordPress is so scalable, in fact, that massive organizations like The Disney Company, Sony Music, Microsoft News, and Vogue use WordPress.

Whether you’re starting your business from scratch or already have a large audience, there’s little you won’t be able to do with a WordPress site.

Search Engines Love WordPress

WordPress is written using standard compliant code and produces semantic markup which makes your site very visible to search engines. 

Why does this matter? 

Well, if the search engines can’t find and index your site, then your customers won’t be able to either! 

The more SEO friendly your site is, both in the code and the content, the easier time you’ll have ranking high on search engine results pages. The higher you rank, the more visible your site is to someone searching the web.

WordPress also has great SEO plugins, and search engine visible permalinks which all add up towards good rankings.

WordPress is Easy to use

While it can be overwhelming to a beginner, WordPress is actually quite easy to learn and to use. 

Even the most techno-phobic of my clients quickly come to grips with it and enjoy the freedom it gives them to create and update their own posts and pages. There’s also a glut of tutorials helping you get started.

I definitely recommend finding a structured course to help you get your WordPress site off the ground. Your site is the cornerstone of all your online marketing efforts, and you want to build it right, the first time around.

Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to learn WordPress. 

You can find in-person events through WordCamp, take self-guided online courses, or sign up for a guided WordPress program like my Rock That Website course where you will go through a step-by-step process to get your site online, connect with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, and have your questions answered in real time.

WordPress is Secure

Like anything on the internet, WordPress has vulnerabilities, but a team of developers audits the platform regularly for security issues and consistently releases new versions to keep the things up to date and safe from hackers. 

Even with this level of attention to security, some sites can get attacked through a vulnerability in the hosting platform, an out-of-date theme, or an insecure plugin. 

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to bolster the security of your site. These range from changing your login URL to dissuade automated attempts to guess your password, to backing things up regularly so you can restore your site should it be compromised. 

While few things online are 100% unhackable, WordPress is a platform devoted to security. If you make smart choices while setting up and maintaining your site, you’ll have a fortress of security around your digital assets!

Designers Love WordPress

There is a huge community of talented designers and programmers building WordPress themes and plugins.

If you want to revamp your site but don’t want to shell out a huge amount for a new site, you can choose a theme and hire someone in the know to customise it for you.

The popularity of WordPress means there are people working to improve and enhance what the platform can do, all the time. It also means that you will always have options to make your site unique and according to your own needs.

WordPress is Versatile

People and businesses around the world are using WordPress in lots of innovative ways. Here are just a few of the applications for it:

• Blog
• Content Management System (CMS)
• Portfolio
• Gallery of imagery
• Online shop
• Membership site
• Polling site
• Portal site to store password protected documents
• Forums

Conclusion

There are many more reasons why I love WordPress, including easy integration with Google Analytics, simple content management, and infinite options for customization using plug-ins. 

Hopefully, this gives you a solid understanding of why I recommend that my clients build with WordPress and why I teach WordPress in my signature course, Rock That Website. If you’re excited to learn more about WordPress, join the WordPress Happy community on Facebook. You’ll find answers to common WordPress questions, frequent live streams with marketing tips and website tools, and a thriving community of entrepreneurs all using WordPress to power their online presence.

See you in there!