WordPress was originally launched as a tool for bloggers but is now being used by businesses of all sizes as a Content Management System. In fact, around a quarter of the websites on the Internet have been built using WordPress. WordPress hosting for small business websites is widely available at a reasonable cost and usually comes with the WordPress platform already set up and ready to go.
There are a number of reasons that WordPress is so popular. First, it’s easy to set up and maintain a website using WordPress. Second, WordPress is customizable so although you can use WordPress to build a basic website you can also use it to build a fully-featured business website. Third, because WordPress is so popular there is a lot of support available online and a large pool of developers that can help you. Finally, WordPress is one of the least expensive ways to create an online presence for your business.
Ease of Use
Setting up a WordPress website for your business is a simple process. Most WordPress hosting services will already have WordPress installed so all you need to do is:
- Pick a theme that matches how you want your website to look
- Add your content – a description of your business, your contact details, etc.
- Click “publish”
That’s it. Your business website will be live on the Internet. Most WordPress themes are designed to work just as well on a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet as they do on a desktop or laptop computer. No matter how your visitors choose to access your website, it’ll be optimized for the device that they are using.
Once your WordPress website has been set up, using WordPress to add or update your website content is straightforward. No programming knowledge is required. The interface is similar to using a word processor.
Customization
The WordPress platform is based on open-source software so, within reason, you are free to change it as much as you like. Most people don’t actually change the underlying software, though, and instead use WordPress Plugins to add functionality to their WordPress websites.
WordPress Plugins can perform a variety of functions. The most common is adding an online store to your WordPress website. This enables you to sell your products online.
Access to Support
Because there are so many WordPress users, accessing support is easy. Often you can solve your problem via a quick Google search because it is quite likely that someone will have encountered your problem before. There are instructional videos and “how-to” guides on just about every aspect of WordPress that you can think of.
For more serious problems such as issues with incorporating a WordPress Plugin, you may need to consider using a WordPress developer to help you. The good news is that because WordPress is such a popular platform it’s easy to find one.
An Inexpensive Route to a Small Business Website
You can set up a WordPress website for your business for free. Unlike many free services, the free version of WordPress is actually quite good. It does contain some restrictions but those restrictions don’t make it totally unusable. For many small businesses, the free version will be all that they need.
The free version only has a limited number of themes that you can choose from so it is worth considering investing in a custom theme. A custom theme isn’t usually expensive but can make your website stand out in a way that using one of the free themes won’t.
If you want to add extra features to your WordPress website, that will also cost money because you will need to buy WordPress Plugins. These are relatively inexpensive and are cheaper than developing the website functionality that the WordPress Plugins provide from scratch.
It is also worth considering using a WordPress developer to help you set up your WordPress website. It is possible to set up a WordPress website on your own, but if you want anything other than the basic, free version of WordPress you might find that it is worth paying to get some assistance to make sure that your WordPress website is set up correctly.
