WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world, and for good reason (In fact, 43% of all websites today are WordPress, according to W3Techs). It offers a range of advantages over a custom-made website using coding languages. So, here are some of key benefits of using WordPress for your website.
WordPress vs HTML – 10 things to consider
1. Easy to use
This has to be one of the most important on the list. WordPress is specifically designed with the user in mind, making it easy for anyone to create and manage a website. You don’t need to have any technical expertise or coding skills to use WordPress. The intuitive interface and drag-and-drop functionality make it simple to create pages, posts, and menus. Software like Elementor makes this even easier again, having been designed to be able to be used by those without coding knowledge.
2. Customisable
When something becomes popular, more people and businesses get involved to try to dominate the space, and when more do that, they drive each other to do better, woohoo, capitalism! That’s why with WordPress, there is a HUGE range of out-of-the-box themes and plugins that allow you to customise your website’s look and functionality without having to write any code (Elementor is generally considered the best for this).
The themes provide a variety of styles and layouts that you can choose from and customise to your liking, saving crazy amounts of time, while plugins allow for added functionality, such as contact forms, social media sharing buttons, and SEO optimisation tools, plus so many of them are completely free!
3. Cost-effective
Creating a custom-made website can be expensive, if you hire a professional developer or hugely time-consuming if you take the task on yourself. WordPress on the other hand, is actually completely free itself and many plugins are too. The only thing you need to consider is the cost of your domain and the hosting your website, but that would be the same no matter what you build your site with. Bluehost have plans from just £2.40 a month which includes a domain, which is crazy cheap, especially when you consider GoDaddy’s cheapest plan is £5.99 a month.
4. SEO-friendly
You might have heard of SEO before and although it may sound fancy, it’s really just making Google as happy as possible about your site and content, happy enough that they’ll show it in searches to their users. WordPress is built with search engine optimisation (SEO) in mind, making it easy to optimise your website for search engines. With plugins like RankMath SEO, you can optimise your content for keywords, add meta descriptions and tags, and analyse your website’s SEO performance. Sounds complicated, but RankMath take you through it step-by-step, plus there’s a completely free version!
5. Mobile-friendly
This is often neglected or forgotten about, some websites have the crispest layout for Desktop but then their mobile site is all over the place. With more and more people using their mobile devices to browse the web, optimising your site for mobile is as important as ever. WordPress websites are mobile-friendly by default. This means that your website will look great on any device, including smartphones and tablets. Plus, with builders like Elementor, there’s a features called “responsive mode” which allows you to view and edit a page specifically as it’ll appear on Desktop, Tablet and Mobile.
6. Scalable
WordPress is scalable, meaning you can start with a small website and gradually expand it as your business grows, without the need to contact the developer that built your site, or having to sit down and work it out yourself. You can add new pages, features, and functionality without any coding knowledge, making it easy to keep your website up to date and relevant to your target audience!
7. Community Support
As mentioned before, as WordPress has grown in popularity, the support has grown proportionately (We have a WordPress support group too, just post your questions there and we’ll answer them!). There is a huge community of users and developers who are constantly working on new themes, plugins, and features, and are there to help you, no matter the question!
8. Security
This is a serious issue with HTML site compared to WordPress. As with anything, if it lies there stagnant, it rots, and websites are no different. As security is updated, if your website doesn’t keep up, it becomes vulnerable to hackers. WordPress takes security seriously and provides regular updates to address any security vulnerabilities. Additionally, there are many security plugins available to help protect your website from threats such as malware and hacking attempts.
9. Integration
WordPress integrates seamlessly with a range of third-party applications and services, such as social media platforms and email marketing tools. For example, if you want to integrate your Facebook page posts into your site, download a Socials plugin for free, connect the page and boom, it’s there.
On a HTML site, this would involve coding to connect to Facebook’s API and that’s not to mention the coding required to style the feed on your website. WordPress makes it easy to connect your website to other platforms, reach a wider audience and streamline your marketing efforts.
10. Time-saving
Using WordPress can save you a significant amount of time when compared to building a custom-made website from scratch. With the intuitive interface and range of out-of-the-box themes/templates (like the screenshot below) and page-builder plugins available, you can create a website quickly and easily, without needing to write any code.
In conclusion, there are numerous advantages to using WordPress over a website using coding languages. It’s easy to use, customisable, cost-effective, SEO-friendly, mobile-friendly, scalable, and has a vast community of support. It also provides security, seamless integration, and huge time-saving benefits. Whether you’re a blogger, small business owner, or larger enterprise, WordPress is a powerful tool that can help you create a professional, high-quality website without needing to be a technical expert.
