Choosing what platform, or CMS (Content Management System) to build your website on is one of the first steps when thinking about designing (or redesigning) your website. WordPress is one of many, many options out there, and it can get confusing trying to pick one.
To begin the decision process, nail down the requirements for the website you want. Then, find a CMS that fits those requirements. Here are three great things about WordPress to help you get started.
- WordPress websites are easy to edit and maintain
- WordPress is completely customizable
- WordPress is secure
1. WordPress websites are easy to edit and maintain
Does looking at code make you run away in fear? Don’t worry, as a well-built WordPress website/theme will be easily editable without writing any code. Editing a WordPress page is a simple as choosing it from the list in the admin area, and then making your changes in a Microsoft Word-like editor. Check out a screenshot of this blog in the WordPress page editor below:
Custom fields make editing even easier. If you get a theme built specifically for your company, pages often include special fields that allow you to input complex data in an intuitive way. For example, “Meet the Team” pages often include the name of a person, their title, and a photo, which is then organized into a grid or other layout. See how the custom field pictured below makes it easy to enter in the needed information – which, when published, turns into a nice grid layout. No code required!
2. WordPress is completely customizable
WordPress gives developers full access to edit any and every part of the software. Since the project is open-source, developers are improving this CMS daily. Using WordPress allows you to create a completely custom theme – so you can create your website to work with your content, rather than trying to fill your content into a pre-designed template on SquareSpace or another similar drag-and-drop website builder.
Perks of a custom WordPress theme include:
- Unique, customized layouts
- Use of your brand colors
- Custom fields for easy editing
- High quality, clean, and valid website code
3. WordPress is secure
Wait what?
WordPress websites are secure? Yes. WordPress sometimes has a bad reputation for being unsafe and unsecure. It’s true. In the early days of the CMS platform, WordPress had several security holes.
Thankfully, this is no longer the case. WordPress, now 15 years old, has grown to be widely used and trusted. The CMS powers 28.5% of all websites on the internet*. That means, if you visit 4 websites today, one of them is likely to be built in WordPress.
How can I secure my WordPress website?
The truth about WordPress security is that your website is as safe as it can be if it follows basic website security practices. A few of these practices include:
- Keeping themes, plugins, and WordPress Core up-to-date
- Installing a secure certificate (HTTPS)
- Choosing reputable themes and plugins
- Using high-quality hosting
- Requiring strong passwords for user accounts (weak passwords account for 8% of WordPress security breaches* alone)
Good luck choosing a platform for your new website. Let us know if you have any WordPress related questions. We work with WordPress websites every day, and we’d love to answer them!
*Statistics from WPMU DEV