When you decide that it’s time to create a website for your business, you will realize quickly that everybody in the web design world is talking about WordPress. And you will probably think: What the heck is WordPress?!
There is no room for panic since WordPress is just a website creation tool. The reason why so many webmasters and content creators praise this platform is simple – it is the easiest and the most comprehensive web design program you can find online.
WordPress can make you a brand new website within minutes, but let us start from scratch and give you a beginner-friendly introduction to WordPress.
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The Basics of WordPress
We already mentioned the short definition of the platform, but we need to add that WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) developed for website creation.
It all started in 2003 when developers Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little launched WordPress with the goal to help digital writers launch blogs effortlessly. The platform grew enormously ever since and now you can use WordPress for building just about any website.
The most staggering fact about this CMS is that it currently powers nearly 39% of all websites on the Internet. However, its market share is even larger as it climbs to almost 61% of the entire CMS industry.
You should know there are two versions of WordPress with .com and .org extensions. This makes too many people confused and uncertain, so we need to explain the differences:
- com is a free platform, but it doesn’t give you the flexibility needed to enhance a website any way you want.
- org is a version you need to host yourself on a server, but it guarantees value for money. Serious businesses stick to this model almost exclusively and we will discuss this CMS only in the next couple of chapters.
Benefits of Building a Website with WordPress
Now that you know the basics of WordPress, it is time to focus on the benefits of this website-building platform. Bear in mind that the list of advantages is too long for a single post, so we will only concentrate on the most important pros of using WordPress for website creation. Here they are:
EASE OF USE
WordPress gives you a myriad of functions, but the system is easy to figure out and use even for beginner-level webmasters.
CUSTOMIZATION
Nothing compares to WordPress when it comes to website customization. First of all, templates make it easy to create a beautiful website and play with its visual elements until you find the right combination. Secondly, there are over 58 thousand plugins that improve the functionality of WordPress websites in terms of security, contact forms, data analytics, conversion rate optimization, and many more.
SEO
WordPress is based on SEO-friendly elements, so the system itself takes care of the main optimization tricks on your behalf. If you don’t think that’s enough, you are free to install a dedicated SEO plugin.
Affordability
Although WordPress is a free CMS, it takes time and effort to learn how to install, setup the database etc. and to customize the site. It is suitable even for low-budget organizations and individuals. For example, you can create a good-looking website and make it fully functional for around $2500.00.
TONS OF USE CASES
Another reason why webmasters love WordPress is the sheer number of use cases. You can use the platform to launch a small business website, blog, online portfolio, affiliate site, eCommerce store, or any other type of website you can think of.
DEDICATED COMMUNITY
As an open-source platform, WordPress is proud of its dedicated community of contributors who are always there to help their peers solve possible issues in website administration.
How to Launch a WordPress Website
WordPress is obviously a miraculous CMS, but how do you actually create a website with this platform? It’s a step by step process, but it’s not as difficult as it may sound. Here’s what you need to do:
- Choose a domain name
It all starts with a name and it is probably the most interesting part of the process. The obvious decision is to name the website after your brand because it instantly reveals that your company is behind the project. Such a strategy also simplifies your branding efforts.
- Sing up for hosting
The second step is very important because you need a reliable web server to host your website with all of its files and documents. This is where you need to make the first investment because hosting plans do not come for free. There are three main options to consider:
- Shared hosting is very affordable but insufficient for serious websites.
- Virtual Private Servers is a mid-range solution, but it’s not as powerful as the next one on the list.
- Dedicated hosting is built for your website alone and it can easily handle large traffic volumes.
- Install WordPress
You can now install WordPress manually, but we recommend leaving it to your hosting provider. That way, you are sure that no mistakes have been made in the process.
- Explore the dashboard
Now you have the main structure of a WordPress website, so you can get familiar with its dashboard. You can see multiple options and content creation features over there, including the current status of the site, media, posts, pages, and settings.
- Install a WordPress theme
The next step is installing a WordPress theme. There are thousands of attractive themes, so the only challenge is to pick the one that matches your branding strategy. Of course, you can always decide to customize a given template to make it suitable for your business.
- Install WordPress plugins
You should also install at least a few plugins to strengthen the functioning of the site. Our advice is to begin with the basics like security, SEO, contact forms, and CRO.
- Start publishing content
Finally, you should start publishing the first pages of content. Generally speaking, you should always begin with the homepage, about, and contact pages. After that, consider adding a product page, FAQ, and blog.
Big Site Media Creates Stunning WordPress Websites
After all is said and done, we can conclude that there are two ways to approach website creation in WordPress – you can do it alone or let professionals do it for you. The former is great if you are eager to experiment with your site, but the latter is much better for entrepreneurs looking for quick web design help.
Big Site Media will get your site up and running in no time, but the best thing is that you get a limited-time offer of only $299 for the entire website! We will craft a professional website for your business and host it on our dedicated servers, so you don’t even have to bother with maintenance and technicalities.
Give us a call and we will start working on your website today!
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