WordPress is simply dominating the internet when it comes to content management systems (CMS). With a 64.2% market share, Wordpress is leaps and bounds ahead of its next closest competitor, powering more than 43% of websites worldwide. But what is it that makes WordPress the go-to platform of choice for everyone, from large multination corporations like Sony Music to small, locally owned and operated businesses?

So, Who’s Using WordPress?

With some 445 million WordPress websites online today, there are more than a few recognizable names on the list of WordPress-powered websites, including respected media outlets like Times Magazine and celebrity musician Katy Perry. WordPress also counts big-name brands such as The Walt Disney Company, TechCrunch, CNN, and Microsoft among its users, in addition to The White House and the country of Finland.

What Distinguishes WordPress from The Rest

There are numerous reasons businesses of all sizes opt to build their websites on WordPress, however, there are a few areas where it truly shines.

1. Easy Enough for Anyone to Use

First and foremost, WordPress is exceedingly user-friendly. Its intuitive interface and powerful content management system make it easy for even non-technical users to create, edit, and manage content on their website without significant onboarding or training, which can be a major benefit for enterprises with large teams and multiple contributors.

2. Limitless Growth Potential

Website limitations should not constrain your business’s growth, which is another reason enterprises of all sizes appreciate WordPress. Not only is the WordPress platform extremely robust, but it also provides businesses with unmatched flexibility and scalability. Building a new website is a huge undertaking and not something anyone wants to repeat necessarily. As an open-source platform, WordPress will grow with your businesses because these websites can be easily customized to include additional functionality and extended to accommodate increases in traffic without significant downtime or major expense.

3. Enterprise-Level Content Management for Everyone

While WordPress first became known for its ability to create highly engaging blogging websites, it has evolved into a full-blown CMS capable of powering everything from e-commerce shops to big-name corporate websites. However, WordPress maintains its content creation roots. With help from its built-in drag-and-drop editor, WordPress makes it simple to create engaging, visually appealing webpages and blog posts complete with images, videos, columns, social media integration, and more. Managing permissions and content is easy through the WordPress dashboard to quickly add or modify user roles, edit posts, reply to comments, or create a blog schedule all from one location.

4. Countless Opportunities for Customization

Thanks to a vast library of themes and plug-ins, getting the right look and feel for your website is easy. Adapt or customize any 60,000-plus options available in the official WordPress directory to tie in with your brand or add additional functionality. Can’t find exactly what you are looking for from the existing library? Customizable code means developers can easily modify the code to create the custom features or functionality your business needs.

5. WordPress Comes SEO Ready

WordPress has a range of built-in SEO features that make it easy for website owners to gain visibility and optimize their content for search engines. WordPress themes are designed with SEO in mind, including features such as clean code, fast loading times, and responsive design. And if that wasn’t enough, there are a variety of free and premium plug-ins you can add to enhance the SEO performance of your website by making it easier for search engines to crawl and understand your content.

Getting Started with Your Own WordPress Website

Now that you understand the benefits of using WordPress as your CMS platform let’s explore what it takes to build your WordPress website.

Working with a WordPress developer is one way to build a WordPress website. While the WordPress platform was designed to be highly user-friendly and doesn’t explicitly require extensive coding or programming experience, businesses lacking technical expertise or requiring high degrees of customization often choose to hire a professional developer to help build their website.

If you have the time and patience, you can still build a highly functional WordPress website without professional help. Here’s how:

• Pick a host
• Choose a domain name
• Select and customize your theme
• Install plug-ins
• Create content
• Launch your website

Choosing a hosting provider is the first step to budling a WordPress website. This service provider will host your website and make it accessible on the internet. There are many hosting providers to choose from, so do your research and find one that fits your needs and budget. You’ll also need to choose a domain name for your business; this is the web address people will use to find your business online.

Once you have selected a host and a domain name, you’ll need to install WordPress. Most hosting providers offer one-click installations of WordPress, which makes the process pretty straightforward. Next, you can begin working on the aesthetics of your website. WordPress automatically applies a rather generic default theme, but there are thousands of other free and premium themes available to choose from; pick the one that’s right for you and get to work customizing it with your branding, choice of fonts, colours, layouts, and formatting styles. You can further enhance the functionality of your website by installing some of the more than 55,000 available WordPress plug-ins. Popular options include WooCommerce for e-commerce websites, Jetpack for security, backup, and speed, and Yoast to help improve your WordPress SEO.

After completing your website’s foundation, you can work on creating content. Depending on your website, this might include writing blog posts, creating product pages, or adding visuals like images and video clips. Your last step after creating your content and testing your website is to officially launch by taking your website to go live!

A WordPress Website for Any Business

Whether you decide to build your own WordPress website or enlist the help of a developer, the WordPress platform has something for everyone. With an easy-to-use interface and an extensive range of customizable themes and plug-ins, anyone can have a high-functioning, enterprise-level website in no time.

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