Should Small Business Websites Be Built with WordPress?
By Sheila on Apr 1, 2010 in Online Marketing
I have been MIA for the past week because I have been slammed helping my husband set up his new “brick and mortar” business. He has been a Computer Consultant for the past 25 years and has seen a consistent drop in the amount of contracts in the past year or two. He got caught in the “send all you work overseas” phenomenon that has happened over the last decade. Now if you need to get your gas turned on here in Norfolk, VA you call a number in India and talk to someone you can’t understand and who can’t understand you. But they’re cheap and that is all the company cares about. This is the same company that would rather pay a fine of millions of dollars instead of fixing the problem that caused them to be fined in the first place – they make little sense. But, I’m getting way off track here. My husband started his own business, 21st Century Advantage. It is a computer service and supply store. He’s rented an office and paid for a year. He’s gotten phones and internet installed and modular furniture put in. For the past week he has been dismantling his monster computer that took up half our bedroom and is putting it back together in his office. I will be helping out with marketing, accounting and scrubbing floors. There’s just so much to do. Today I started a blog, 21stcadvantage.com, once it gets set-up and going it will help to advertise the new business. My husband has been questioning the idea of using a blog instead of a website. I sent him this list I ran across and it convinced him it might be the smart way to go. I don’t think I would ever start a website over a blog -
I’ll tell you the same thing I tell every one of my new web marketing clients, “WordPress is incredible – and you should be using it for your website.” It can save you both time and money, while making it far easier to build a beautiful and limitless website that you can manage and control yourself. Once you learn more about WordPress, you’ll understand why over 80 MILLION websites are built on WordPress, and why now is the time for you to learn what WordPress is all about, and how it can provide immense value to your small business.
Here are my Top 10 Reasons for why you should strongly consider WordPress for your website:
1. Incredible Power Straight Out of the Box
Immediately upon installing WordPress, you’ll have power features that make it easy to manage your website. You’ll have a Content Management System that allows you to add/edit/delete your content, including images and videos, a User Access system that controls who can access your Admin Center and what level of access they have, powerful Blogging software, and a central location to manage virtually all aspects of your website.
2. Quickly Build Beautiful Websites with Existing Themes
Forget spending $1,000′s on a custom website design when there are hundreds of highly professional themes for under $100. Simply find the theme that projects the right image for your business, install it in WordPress, and badda-bing, your new website has a top-quality look and feel to it. Any aspect of any theme can also be customized to suit your needs.
3. Add Powerful Features with Thousands of Plugins
Forget spending $1,000′s on custom website features when there are thousands of Plugins that can easily be installed and utilized instantly. Need a Calendar, there are plugins for that. A shopping cart? A Contact Us form? An Image Gallery? Yep. If it’s a common feature, chances are you can find a plugin to use and most of them for free. If not, you can have custom features developed.
4. It’s Completely Open Source
Is WordPress starting to sound like a website builder that you can buy for $5/month? In some ways it is, but here is where the similarities stop. WordPress is 100% Open Source and is written in an industry standard web-programming language. This means that your designer/developer is able to work directly in the code of the software to make ANY changes to the system and your website.
For instance, you may have a theme in mind, but the colors don’t match your logo. Your designer can easily go into the code of the system and change the colors, or the layout, or the images used, or anything. Perhaps you are using a Plugin, but it lacks an option that you’d really like to have. No problem, your developer can adapt it for you to any specification. With WordPress, anything is possible.
5. Focus on Proper Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
WordPress gives you a big head start in the SEO race by providing the core features for you to implement your keyword strategy. You can use search-engine friendly URL’s, edit the META tags for each page and include Header Tags and Alt Tags directly in the Content Management System. In addition, most theme designers take SEO very seriously and code their themes to strict SEO best practices.
6. Constant Development and Enhancement
Technology is progressing faster and faster, and WordPress more than keeps up. New versions are constantly being developed and released to take advantage of new technologies, to enhance existing features and security and to develop new, cutting-edge features that make managing your website easier.
7. A Strong and Active Community
In addition to the team that develops the core of WordPress, there are millions of active WordPress users that can help you in many ways. These users develop new plugins, new themes, provide professional services and happily answer questions for you in WordPress forums worldwide.
8. Keep Your Website Safe and Secure
You invest a lot of time and resources in your website and you need to know it’s safe and secure. In addition to security being hardened in every release, there are also tools that make it easy to keep backups of all your website files and data, allowing you to restore your website in the worse of circumstances.
9. Not Outgrowing Your Website
Your data, settings, and design files are completely separate from the core of WordPress. This makes it easy to upgrade any area of your site – whenever you want. And, since it’s open source, you can build features as complex as necessary. Once you build your website with WordPress, you’ll be able to grow your website to keep pace with your business, no matter how big your business grows.
10. It’s Free
Perhaps best of all, WordPress is completely free. Zip, zilch, nada. Just download it, install it on your server and start using it – without spending a dime on the software.
I hope this article has helped you get an idea of how powerful and valuable WordPress can be to your business. It will take some time and effort on your part to really understand how it works and operates, but it will be extremely well worth the effort in the long run. - Philip Light is the founder of the WordPress WebKit, a collection of WordPress Video Tutorials, Resources, and Support Options, making it quick and easy to learn and use WordPress for your blog or website.
Related posts:
32 Comment(s)
By Ben on Apr 2, 2010 | Reply
A blog is still a website. It’s possible to run a blog as part of a website, using the same software, with the same theme throughout. There’s a common misconception that a website means an “old-fashioned”, static site with no online editing. There’s also this belief from some people that businesses only need a blog, not even a website. This is absurd. Sure, a blog would be a nice inclusion, but it shouldn’t be the only thing on the site.
I’ve built several large, complex sites as well as some smaller sites. I never use WordPress except for the simplest site that only requires a blog. It’s a case of knowing which tool is right for the job.
WordPress is great for blogging, but pretty much anything else is a stretch. Just because you can install a dozen plugins, doesn’t make it the most elegant solution.
As always, just my view.
By Miss Virtual Reality on Apr 2, 2010 | Reply
I think that people forget to realize the blogs ARE websites and WordPress is a CMS. You can also use plugins to make it more like a website and less like a blog. It is a great system to have and can be used for more than just a blog.
By Jen on Apr 2, 2010 | Reply
I’ve built a few websites back in the day and WordPress is so much easier to use. I love WordPress, I wish I had started using it when I first started blogging. I used Blogger and don’t regret it, it was easy to use too, but it didn’t do what I eventually needed it to do. I love open source.
Good luck to you and your husband on your new venture, I’m sure it will be a huge success!
By Sheila on Apr 3, 2010 | Reply
Ben – If I could build anything I want I might see it the same way you do. My husband is a geek and has built tons of websites also and when I try to convince him he only needs a blog he respond the same way you do. But, I am also speaking from a customers viewpoint – websites are BORING – if you have a business that doesn’t sell anything online I personally think a blog is the only way to go – you can update it, keep it fresh and relevent daily, weekly, monthly.
Miss Virtual Reality – I always forget that blogs are websites –
Jen – thanks – I love wordpress too – wouldn’t use anything else!
By Lisa - Alterity on Apr 3, 2010 | Reply
You can build a website from a blog? Translation: WordPress is for blogging, but you mean you can turn it into a website? Hmmm. I had actually thought of moving my blog over to wordpress, but I have no idea on how to do it, and I’m not sure I want to lose all my followers and go through all that trouble again to find them. Oh, darn it…you opened a can of worms I have been trying to avoid!!!! I want to make the switch, but have no clue how to do it!
By Sheila on Apr 3, 2010 | Reply
Lisa – the easiest way to do it is to marry a geek.
But really, although my husband does this for a living I don’t like asking him to set my stuff up for me unless I absolutely have to. When I bought this theme I paid a little extra for the services of the guy who wrote it (that sound naughty) – he set everything up for me and has continued to update the theme since. Just recently he did a bunch of changes to the theme like adding the glider and customizable headers. I won’t even try to do this stuff on my own, I’d probably break it beyond repair.
By waterrose on Apr 3, 2010 | Reply
Thanks for this post and the discussion. I began my blogs on blogger and have begun taking a peek at WordPress…especially for our business. I’m still wavering because I just redesigned my blog…oh the decisions…
By Sheila on Apr 5, 2010 | Reply
waterrose – I know blogger is easy, but they can just shut you down anytime they want. That’s enough for me to never even consider using their platform. Hosting fees are minimum and there are tons of free and premium templates to choose from.
By Michelle | LargeFormatPosters.com on Apr 5, 2010 | Reply
I think wordpress is good for handling all kinds of businesses, big or small. I hear other platforms such as joomla can be a bit hard, and there are not enough tutorials by regular people.
By Warren Contreras on Apr 6, 2010 | Reply
One thing often overlooked with Blogger.com is the built in traffic it comes with. Being owned by Google is in your favor along with the automatic links back to your blog when you comment on other Blogger sites. So I use Blogger to generate traffic and WordPress to have a nicer presentation with more features.
By Sheila on Apr 6, 2010 | Reply
Warren Contreras – You’re right, I didn’t think about that. I just don’t think it’s worth the trade off. i want my blog to be mine. I can sell it. I can write what I want.
By Harriet on Apr 7, 2010 | Reply
I’ve been doing sites with DW for years and I gotta tell you, WP is the way to go! All of my new clients will surely be going WP. You can easily ‘disguise’ WP to look like a DW constructed website and the plug-ins are the cherry on the sundae. The trend is also to get away from Flash sites especially with the new iPad.
Good luck to you and hubby!
By The Twitterer on Apr 8, 2010 | Reply
Hi Sheila, first of all I want to thank you for the kind and encouraging words you’ve left in my latest post about my first blogger blog disappearing into thin air after Blogger deleted it.
Your post seems timely for me, considering the predicament I was in. It has convinced me to switch to WordPress.
Problem is, I don’t know where to start. I had just checked and learned that there’s WordPress.Org and WordPress.Com. I don’t even know the difference. Add to that the hassle of learning new terms such as domain name, web hosting and other computer lingo – it will probably take me a long time before I can switch….
unless I get help.
Will someone help me please?!!!
By Jacqueline on Apr 8, 2010 | Reply
Excellent! I’m putting the finishing touches on my brother’s site and so far, it is already AMAZING. You can’t beat the performance of WordPress.
By David on Apr 8, 2010 | Reply
I just started a blog for a swimwear company in addition to their website. I think the blog will do way better in the long run. I agree 100% that wordpress is flat out better than a regular fixed and hard to update website. The points you make are well put.
By Silvergirl on Apr 9, 2010 | Reply
OMG! I need to back up all my articles and transfer to WP. I just scared of my account will be deleted.. I have read many articles about what happen to their blog that just vanish..
Thanks for this post.
Anyway good luck to you and your hubby..
By Michelle on Apr 19, 2010 | Reply
I’ve built a few websites back in the day and WordPress is so much easier to use. I love WordPress, I wish I had started using it when I first started blogging. I used Blogger and don’t regret it, it was easy to use too, but it didn’t do what I eventually needed it to do. I love open source.
Good luck to you and your husband on your new venture, I’m sure it will be a huge success!
By Business Journey on Apr 20, 2010 | Reply
I absolutely agree. WordPress is very powerfull. I build my blog network with wordpress. Even sometimes I wrote in blogger or others, I feel WP is still number one. I also could optimize my keyword target for SEO purpose….now I am dropping my entrecard here….like usual..:)
By Dan on Apr 20, 2010 | Reply
I’m gonna have to disagree with the people that think WordPress is only for small blogs.
Maybe we should tell that to CNN, Ford, Rolling Stone, TechCrunch, About.com, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, countless universities, and others who run their entire websites on WordPress.
WordPress is just a starting place for building a website. How robust you want to make it is up to your time and budget. Any developer that has worked with WordPress for any amount of time that has learned the ins and outs will tell you that WordPress is just as easy, if not easier, to extend and customize than other popular CMS’s and frameworks.
And no you don’t have to install 30 plugins to get the job done either. Whenever we build a large website for a client using WordPress, we always build any custom functionality into a single, custom plugin for their site.
By Sheila on Apr 20, 2010 | Reply
Dan – No where in this post does it say that wordpress should only be used for small blogs – that doesn’t even make any sense.
Here is a quote from my post: “It can save you both time and money, while making it far easier to build a beautiful and limitless website that you can manage and control yourself. Once you learn more about WordPress, you’ll understand why over 80 MILLION websites are built on WordPress, and why now is the time for you to learn what WordPress is all about, and how it can provide immense value to your small business.
Maybe you should read a whole post before leaving a comment that doesn’t make any sense it doesn’t make you look very good.
By Dan on Apr 21, 2010 | Reply
I said “the people that think that”, I never said your post. I was actually addressing the first comment:
“I’ve built several large, complex sites as well as some smaller sites. I never use WordPress except for the simplest site that only requires a blog. It’s a case of knowing which tool is right for the job.
WordPress is great for blogging, but pretty much anything else is a stretch. Just because you can install a dozen plugins, doesn’t make it the most elegant solution.”
By Chinaren on Apr 27, 2010 | Reply
You can certainly use WordPress for as a ‘website’ software. Of course, you’re not really using the correct terminology here, but I get what you mean.
I use WordPress for one of my static websites and it works just fine.
However, I think the point you may be ‘missing’ here is that for small businesses, unless you’re going to sell things online, a website isn’t actually much use.
I had a Computer consulting business before, and I had a website for it simply because people expect it. However, when it came to advertising it was fairly pointless, as my catchment area was only local, and not all that many people used the internet to look up small businesses.
That said, that was a few years ago, and things have moved on a bit since then.
You need to concentrate on advertising for your target segment first, rather than worrying about a web presence too much.
Hope the business takes off!
By Man Over Board on Apr 29, 2010 | Reply
I completely agree. I used to build websites for businesses and about 8 months ago I decided to develop a blog, in particular about mens clothing. I sold off any websites I had in my inventory and after the first two weeks with WordPress, I knew then it was the way to go.
Your points are right on spot, but by far the biggest plus in using a blog instead of a static website, is the word static. A blog adds an interactivity that is so important in todays retail environment.
I also notice that blogs take on a life of their own and while you might decide to go one way at the beginning, after a few months the interactivity, if you pay attention to it, will direct the blogs essence into new areas that you would have never thought about.
To add an eStore to your blog is so easy and yes the amount of plugins are incredible, with new ones being developed daily and the existing ones being upgraded constantly.
Blogs while at first were basically a personal online journal are now at the forefront of what people are coming to expect of their favorite stores online. I might also add even the large corporations, while not exactly incorporating a blog per se, are making sure all merchandise that is being sold has consumer ratings, where customers are able to tell a potential buyer the good and bad of that particular item from their personal experiences. Something that is vital in making an informed buying decision but also giving the online merchant a virtual free salesmen while also giving them a great tool in what products are doing well and those that should be pulled, via the ratings that are exchanged.
I think when you look at the largest online giant Amazon and see the comments and ratings of all the merchandise they offer, businesses cannot afford not to follow suit. To me it actually started with the feedback that sellers got from Ebay transactions and tailored it to fit new online virtual stores.
A brick and mortar can no longer stick their head in the sand in regards to not having a web presence, it is a must for those who want to grow and be in business for the long run.
By Ben on May 1, 2010 | Reply
Dan – if you’ve built a single plugin with well-organised code, then I can see how that would significantly improve your experience in building WordPress sites. Few people do this however, with many so-called web developers actually doing little more than installing the system, applying a theme, and installing a stack of plugins. These people are then unable to do much about potential problems that come up, except resorting to the lowest common denominator – i.e. throwing another plugin into the mix. In some cases this works (SuperCache is a good example), but in others it can cause many issues. Some plugins do not work well together, others are poorly written.
From a coder’s point of view, WordPress is not much fun to work on. Everything seems to require a really long function name instead of neatly organised classes with appropriately named methods. This can turn an otherwise elegant solution into a myriad of incredibly lengthy function names. It may not seem like a huge issue but it could get pretty frustrating once you’ve hunted for a function name for the nth time. Have you found a solution to this?
By Inspirations Unlimited on May 9, 2010 | Reply
I agree!
Wordpress has been a real help for me!
It has been so convenient blogging.
By curiousEngine on May 23, 2010 | Reply
WordPress Rocks!!
looking forward for an improved version of the CMS in WordPress 3.0
By Hayden Bennett on Oct 6, 2010 | Reply
small business are great for start-up ventures to know if the market is good-~:
By Basin Taps on Oct 20, 2010 | Reply
small business are great for trying out new markets’`-
By INGAAS : on Oct 31, 2010 | Reply
building websites is a money maker for me sine it is the way i primarily earn dollars *
By scottshamp on Nov 8, 2010 | Reply
I just want to thank you. This is a great artical. I found myself taking about an hour to read and re-read it. I have a website that provides free internet advertising I am going to refer all my site visitors to this artical.
Thanks
By Deck Lighting on Nov 24, 2010 | Reply
building websites is not only fun, but it can also generate an income for yourself ,”`
By Johnny Optimo on Jun 24, 2011 | Reply
I agree, wordpress is an excellent platform for small businesses, I use it all the time for SB clients