Why Choose WordPress: A Guide for Businesses

Nov 1, 2024

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If you’re running a big or small business, finding the right platform for your website can feel overwhelming. So, why choose WordPress for your website? It’s trusted by millions of users worldwide (~43%) on the day to write this post, offering flexibility, customization, and powerful tools to help your business grow online. In this quick guide, we’ll explore how WordPress simplifies web building through customization, scalability, and robust SEO features, ensuring you have everything needed to create a successful digital presence.

There are many reasons why WordPress is the best CMS option today; however, I want to share eight of the most important that I consider after my almost 10 years of experience not only as a WordPress developer but also as a developer in other technologies.

1. Admin interface User-Friendly

WordPress offers one of the simplest admin dashboards, making it easy for even beginners to navigate. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the management of settings, posts, pages, users, and all essential features, providing you with the best possible experience.

Since the release of the Gutenberg editor for WordPress in December 2018 (as part of WordPress 5.0), the platform has undergone a significant transformation. The Gutenberg editor, also known as the WordPress block editor, has replaced the previous WYSIWYG code editor. This update allows users to create and edit websites using drag-and-drop blocks, making it easy to move elements without coding. As a result, WordPress has become a versatile and intuitive platform suitable for both code-savvy and non-technical users alike.

Key Features of the Block Editor:

Reusable Blocks: Create templates for frequently used elements like product descriptions.
Drag-and-Drop Functionality: Move text, images, or videos around with ease.
Preview Mode: See exactly how the page will look before publishing.

Here’s a simple example demonstrating how easy it is to create a post in WordPress using just three steps:

Creating a blog post takes minutes:

Click “Add New Post” in the dashboard.
Add your title and content blocks.
Save or publish instantly.

2. Customization options Themes & Plugins

WordPress offers thousands of themes and plugins that adapt to your business needs. Whether you’re running a local coffee shop or managing an online store, you can customize your site with powerful tools like Elementor, WooCommerce, WordFence, Yoast SEO, and WP Rocket.

As the most popular content management system in the world, WordPress boasts an extensive list of components to expand its features. With over 13,000 free themes and more than 59,000 free plugins, WordPress becomes the right tool for your business.

Customize your website to function as an eCommerce platform, blog, corporate site, or community hub. Add custom forms, improve SEO, enhance security with specialized plugins, and boost performance using cache plugins.

Additionally, you can find paid plugins and themes on the market if the current WordPress repository doesn’t meet your custom website needs. Check out the following list of some of the most popular paid WordPress plugins, which are very convenient for extending functionality:

Advanced Custom Fields: This allows extended the field creation into your website

Gravity Forms: Very convenient if you manage different forms

WPML: Make your website multilingual

Wp Rocket: It will help with the cache on your website

Yoast SEO: Your best friend for SEO

WooCommerce: If you need an eCommerce store this is the best option (100% free).

3. SEO-Friendly Features

For small businesses, appearing on search engines like Google or Bing can be a game-changer, and WordPress is designed with SEO in mind. By using WordPress, you’re setting a solid foundation for visibility in search results. Let’s explore the SEO benefits that WordPress brings to the table and how you can make the most of them.

Built-in SEO-Friendly Structure

WordPress offers a clean, readable codebase that search engines can easily crawl and index. It also supports SEO-friendly permalinks (URLs) right out of the box. You can structure URLs to include keywords, making it easier for search engines to understand your content.

How to Enable SEO-Friendly URLs:

Go to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard.
Select Post Name (e.g., yourwebsite.com/sample-post/).
Save changes to ensure all new pages and posts follow this structure.

Pro Tip: Keep URLs short and descriptive, focusing on your main keywords. Avoid adding unnecessary words like “the” or “and.”

Settings -> Permalinks

WordPress shines when it comes to SEO. Plugins like Yoast SEO guide you in optimizing meta titles, descriptions, and content readability, ensuring your site ranks higher on Google.

Best Practices for SEO:

Choose a relevant keyword with moderate search volume and low competition.
Include your focus keyword in the title, URL, first paragraph, and meta description for better visibility.
Optimize images with alt text for accessibility and SEO.
Leverage internal linking for navigation and engagement.

4. Responsive Design for All Devices

With over 60% of web traffic coming from mobile devices, a responsive website is no longer optional—it’s essential. Responsive design ensures your WordPress site looks and functions beautifully across desktops, tablets, and smartphones, creating a seamless user experience on all screen sizes. Moreover, Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily evaluates the mobile version of your site for ranking. Thus, responsive design isn’t just beneficial for users; it’s crucial for SEO.

Mobile responsiveness is essential, and most WordPress themes are designed to be mobile-friendly right out of the box. This ensures a seamless experience across all screen sizes, improving both user experience and SEO.

Responsive Themes

WordPress offers thousands of responsive themes that automatically adjust layouts for different screen sizes. Popular themes like Astra, OceanWP, and GeneratePress are built with responsive design in mind, minimizing the need for manual adjustments.

How do you check if a theme is responsive?

Visit the theme’s preview page in the WordPress Theme Directory and resize your browser window to see how it responds.

Use the Appearance > Customize tool in WordPress to view your site in mobile, tablet, and desktop previews.

Media Queries and CSS Flexibility

Responsive WordPress themes use CSS media queries to adjust the layout. Media queries detect the device’s screen size and apply specific styles. WordPress’s built-in CSS customizer lets you add custom code if you need fine-tuned control over how elements look on different devices.

Mobile-Friendly Menu Options

Many WordPress themes and Plugins come with mobile-specific navigation options. For example, large desktop menus can be replaced by hamburger menus(three horizontal lines) on smaller screens, making it easier for mobile users to navigate your site.

5. Scalability as Your Business Grows

One of WordPress’s greatest strengths is its ability to adapt and scale as your business evolves. Whether you start with a simple blog or a basic informational website, WordPress can grow alongside your business without needing to migrate to a different platform. This scalability covers everything from performance optimization and feature expansion to handling increased content and user traffic.

Adding Functionality with Plugins and Integrations

WordPress boasts over 59,000 plugins, offering endless possibilities to enhance your site’s functionality. These include advanced eCommerce features, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and SEO enhancements.

Key Plugins for Growing Businesses:

WooCommerce: Transform your site into a fully functional eCommerce store, complete with inventory management, payment processing, and product catalogs.
WPForms: Easily create custom forms for lead capture, surveys, or contact information, facilitating customer data collection as your business expands.
Easy Digital Downloads: Ideal for selling digital products such as software, eBooks, or other downloadable content.
HubSpot Plugin: Integrate HubSpot CRM to manage customer relationships and automate marketing efforts as your customer base grows.

Pro Tip: Carefully evaluate plugins, as an excess can slow down your site. Opt for plugins from reputable developers and consider premium options for advanced functionality needs.

Enlarge the limits with the WordPress REST API

The WordPress REST API enables communication between WordPress and external applications, making your website’s data accessible to any application or system. This opens up a world of possibilities for scaling, such as creating mobile apps, integrating with external tools, and building complex web applications, all while keeping WordPress as the backend.

The REST API allows you to automate workflows, saving time and reducing errors as your business scales. For instance, you can automate content updates, eCommerce transactions, and user actions based on REST API calls.

Examples of Workflow Automation with REST API:

Inventory Syncing: Automatically update product availability on your WordPress site when inventory levels change in your stock management system.
Customer Account Management: Sync user accounts and subscriptions with other platforms (like a CRM or ERP system) when users make changes on your WordPress site.
Content Publishing: Push new WordPress content to other applications, like social media platforms, to automate distribution.

6. Community Support and Resources

The WordPress community offers extensive support through forums, tutorials, and online courses. Whether you’re stuck on a technical issue or looking for inspiration, there’s always help available. The open-source nature of WordPress also means developers worldwide are constantly improving the platform.

With millions of users worldwide, WordPress has one of the largest and most active communities.

Benefits of the WordPress Community

Support Forums: Find answers to common questions in the official WordPress forums, I’m one of the volunteers in the WordPress forums 🤘, so feel free to ask if you encounter any WordPress-related issues
Meetups and Events: Attend local WordPress meetups or join WordCamp conferences to connect with other users
Tutorials and Documentation: Access thousands of free guides and tutorials online

7. Cost-Effective Solution for Businesses

WordPress itself is a free, open-source platform, meaning there’s no cost to download, install, or use it. Unlike proprietary website builders or custom-developed platforms that may have steep licensing fees, WordPress is entirely free for both personal and commercial use.

Benefits of Open-Source:

No Licensing Fees: You can run multiple WordPress sites without recurring licensing fees.
Community-Driven Development: WordPress is maintained by a global community of developers, ensuring continuous updates and improvements at no cost to the user.
Customizability: You have full access to the code, allowing you to tailor your site as needed without being locked into a paid plan.

Affordable Hosting Options

WordPress’s flexibility means it can run on a wide range of hosting services, many of which are affordable for small businesses. Basic shared hosting plans can cost as little as $3–$10 per month, making it possible to get a website up and running with minimal upfront costs.

Popular Hosting Options for WordPress:

Shared Hosting: Affordable and suitable for small websites. Popular options include Bluehost and SiteGround.
Managed WordPress Hosting: Services like Kinsta or WP Engine offer optimized environments with additional support, starting at around $30/month, for businesses needing more performance.
Cloud Hosting: Services like DigitalOcean or Amazon Web Services (AWS) allow you to pay only for the resources you use, ideal for scaling as your traffic grows.

Pro Tip: Shared hosting is often enough for startups, while managed hosting provides optimized performance as your business scales.

8. And the security?

One of the biggest strengths of WordPress is its frequent updates. The WordPress core is updated regularly to patch any identified vulnerabilities and improve its overall security.

How does the WordPress community maintain security?

Proactive Security Patches: As soon as a security risk is identified, the WordPress team releases updates, which are automatically applied for minor updates by default.
Responsive Security Team: WordPress has a dedicated Security Team of 50+ experts who monitor and address security issues.
Backward Compatibility: Even with updates, WordPress maintains backward compatibility, so sites won’t break when updated.

WordPress applies smaller updates (like security patches) automatically, so you don’t have to worry about manual updates. For larger releases, you’re notified in the dashboard, prompting you to update when ready.

Choosing the right website platform can significantly impact your business’s online success. WordPress offers a perfect blend of flexibility, ease of use, and scalability, making it the ideal choice for all businesses. Whether you’re setting up a blog, creating an eCommerce store, or just building a simple website, WordPress has the tools and community to support your journey.

Ready to build your WordPress website? Get started today and unlock the full potential of your business online!