WordPress is a leading content management software for creating web 2.0 websites. It first started out as a blogging tool where you can easily write and publish new articles. Images, videos and links can be easily inserted using the intuitive interface. It also comes with other features like comments, RSS feed, user logins out of the box. Best of all, it is free and easy to install. Web designers are now taking a step forward to use it for making business websites and cool online magazine websites all powered by WordPress. So what makes it is such a popular tool?
1. Easy to Use
The initial installation might be daunting to someone who just started on the web, but there are lots of useful tutorials on the web to help you get started. Alternatively, you can hire a web designer to set it up for you. Once you have it setup, the rest is easy. You can just login to WordPress and you would be greeted with a nice interface. You can add new or edit articles easily in the control panel.
2. Plugins Flexibility
You may need additional features in WordPress. For example, you might need a contact form or currency widget for your business site. This can be done with plugins. There are thousands of WordPress plugins online to extend the features of your site and the best part is most of them are free.
3. SEO Friendly
Google loves WordPress site and it tends to rank higher than typical websites. It has all the features for pinging, trackbacks and proper heading tags to get you started. The next thing you have to do is install All in One SEO Pack plugin and the rest of the SEO optimization is done.
4. Large Community Support
Lots of web designers now use WordPress and you will be able to find a large group of like-minders to help you fix any problems you might encounter. You can go to the forum to ask for some support and get some useful answers.
5. Open Source
WordPress is an open source software done using PHP. If you require any extra customization to your WordPress site, you can hire a programmer to extend its features. This flexibility gives you endless expandability for your website.
6. Themes Support
Lastly, the most powerful feature in WordPress is the ability to change WordPress theme with a click of the mouse. It is that simple! Imagine a new fresh interface for your website in a matter of seconds. No more paying high fees to get a designer to recreate a new look. Just shop around for premium wp themes that suits your business and pay a small fee to use it.
7. Membership Support
You can now turn your website into a powerful membership website by installing a membership plugin. What it does is you can have all the members logins, signups and payment features all done up for you. You can then protect exclusive content to make it available to members only. This is something you have to pay a heavy price to get it done in the past.
8. Online Gallery
Web designers are not pushing WordPress to the limit by changing it from a blog to an online gallery. Photographers can now use wordpress to showcase their photos using a gallery theme. And web agencies can take advantage by showcasing their online portfolio!