There are a lot of people who wonder why I use WordPress for small business websites, and why they should base their local business website on WordPress. When “because I told you so” doesn’t satisfy the listener, I then have to explain why WordPress is such a great platform for any small business looking to create an online presence that not only looks great, but is interactive and search engine friendly. So, here goes…
- WordPress is FREE. That bears repeating. WordPress is FREE! If you have the time and energy to set up a WordPress blog (and it’s not all that difficult), you don’t need to pay a thing. And, there are 100s (or possibly 1,000s) of free themes that will allow you to take the basic WordPress software and “dress it up” to make your site look even better. Throw in the 100s of wonderful themes (like the Thesis theme I use for this site) that cost just a few dollars ($85 for Thesis), and you have access to some of the most professional-looking websites available.
- WordPress is extensible. Extensible is just a fancy way of saying that there are tons of people developing these wonderful little plugins for WordPress that allow you to add functionality to your website. There are plugins for adding picture galleries, subscription forms, analytics, improving search engine rankings, integrating with social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and checking the security on your WordPress site.
- WordPress is easy-to-use. Once your WordPress site is set up, adding new content to your site is as easy as logging into your admin dashboard and entering text and graphics (or audio and video) in a new Post or Page. The content is entered into an edit window that will look familiar to anyone who has used a computer in the last 20 years, and there are even plugins that make it easy to add tables and other formatting to the editing window.
- WordPress is interactive. On today’s internet, interactivity is king. WordPress is designed to let your site visitors (who will become your community) interact with you and help drive the conversation. With the commenting feature, your community can let you know what they think about your latest post, and also share insights into how they view you and your business. And, new content with lots of comments is great for your search engine rankings.
There are hundreds of other reasons why WordPress is a great choice for your local business website (and I’ll be sharing these reasons over the coming months). If you would like to find out more about WordPress, visit their website and check it out.
