Insights

Is WordPress right for you?

Many users know it because it offers effective blog software, or they may have used it to build a website.

Have you heard of WordPress?

Most people have heard of WordPress, which despite being a content management system that most people would have no need to access, has become a household name due to its prevalence in the CMS market. Many users know it because it offers effective blog software, or they may have used it to build a website.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a free, open-source content management system. Users can create blogs and websites on the CMS software. The beauty of WordPress is that users can create aesthetically pleasing, functional and polished websites without having a lot of coding or other technical knowledge.

What are the benefits of WordPress?

  • It’s free
  • You can DIY – replace images or text quickly and easily with little to no coding knowledge
  • Access low-cost or no-cost extras, such as Twitter feeds or online store functionality
  • It’s a great blogging tool, so you get access to this functionality as part of the package
  • It’s popular, so there’s a huge amount of information and assistance out there
  • It’s SEO-friendly
  • Great themes mean you can have a basic site without a designer

Is WordPress for me?

WordPress works best with particular types of websites. For super-simple websites, where you have one static page, WordPress is like driving a truck to drop your kids off at school. On the other hand, when it comes to creating complex websites, WordPress won’t have the power to bend, stretch and tweak the way a site that you build from scratch using JavaScript and back-end programming languages like Ruby or PHP will. Also, because WordPress is so popular, it’s easy to spot. If you go for WordPress without customising a theme, your website will look just like someone else’s website. If you want original content, you might want to consider at least customising the given themes, or going for a different content management framework.

Using WordPress

Once you begin customising themes, you will have to start to learn a little coding. HTML, CSS and PHP will be required to customise a theme in order to make your website unique. If you are capable of doing this, you shouldn’t run into too much trouble using WordPress.

A word of caution

WordPress is easy to use, but it can’t replace the insights of a professional web designer. While many of the themes work great, if you are going to customise them so they are not commonplace, you should consider engaging a professional.

Verdict

WordPress is an excellent tool for simple sites that are looking to convey information without doing anything overly complex or different. iFactory are experienced with WordPress, as well as many other content management systems. Call us to discuss whether WordPress is the right CMS for you.

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