Please note, we are using self-hosted WordPress.org, not the WordPress.com option. You can read this article to see what’s the difference between these two.
Many of my clients ask what is the best platform to use for their websites. So I decided to share why most of the time I suggest using WordPress in our projects.
Popularity of WordPress
30% of all the websites on this world run on WordPress. That can tell you something. It’s a trusted CMS by many. Even Reuters, The Rolling Stones, and TechCrunch are using it.
Ecosystem
What would the iPhone be without the App Store?
WordPress has its own store of sorts — where we can select plugins to add features quickly (without writing the feature from complete scratch).
Also, there’s an army of wordpress developers who are familiar with the way to do things the “wordpress way”, so your website/webapp can be maintained easily in the future.
Finally, with many eyes on the underlying codebase of WordPress, anyone who selects WordPress for their website/webapp gets free security updates in the future.
You’re in good company if you choose WordPress.
Versatility
It used to be a blog platform, but WordPress is way more than that nowadays. We can build ecommerce stores, member areas, booking systems with customizing the given framework. The possibility seems to be endless.
Ownership
With a self-hosted WordPress you have total control and ownership over your website and files, and can host it anywhere you like.
When you use other platforms, such as Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, etc., there are major downsides.
- Required to agree their terms and policy — they can just turn off your website with no prior communication to you. Actually you can see that reading their Terms of Service.
- Granting these platforms a royalty-free license to use your content.
- Beholden to their servers/infrastructure.
With WordPress, you are in control.
Cost friendly
Let’s see what’s the cost to have your own website when you’re using WordPress.
Domain: This is your url, when you open your website in your browser, for ex.: mybrand.com. Commonly costs $10 per year.
Hosting/Server: where your actual website files reside. There are providers at all cost levels, which you would select based upon the popularity of your site. You can even host multiple websites. Commonly costs as little $30-60 per year.
Which hosting should I use for my website?
We suggest our clients using Siteground or A2 Hosting. They both have excellent customer service, offer fast servers, and you’ll also get free SSL certificate, which is pretty much essential these days.
They seem to provide quick responses, and are happy to answer questions.
Easy to use
It definitely has its learning curve, but you can easily learn how to write articles, publish them, or change any content on your site.
For us, it’s essential to give you tools to use your own website! So you feel comfortable to change things around.
Let’s wrap it up!
WordPress is a great solution to use when you want to keep ownership over your site, want to change content yourself, maybe even write articles regularly. It’s awesome even considering cost, speed, optimizations, and SEO best practices.
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