what-is-WordPress-and-why-it-is-used-by-businesses-to-scale

What is WordPress and why it is used by businesses to scale?

Author headshot - ClintN
ClintN
6 March 2023
Updated // 21 August 2023
What is WordPress and why it is used by businesses?
What is WordPress and why it is used by businesses?

As a Digital Growth Consultant based in Brisbane, a number of people have asked: What is WordPress and why it is used by businesses? WordPress is a form of open-source software known as a content management system (CMS), that allows you to build websites and funnels. WordPress contains plugin architecture and a template system, so you can customise any website to fit your business, company website, marketing funnel, blog, portfolio, or online store.

Using WordPress as a platform for scaling a business is a key component of my Digital Growth System. This is because by using WordPress a business owns the platform, as opposed to renting. Primarily because it is just not good business practice “to build on land you don’t own/control”, for more information refer: Purchase vs SaaS Licensing Software.

WordPress Basics

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems used by individuals and businesses to create a website. With its user-friendly interface, customization options, and vast range of plugins and themes, WordPress can help businesses scale up their online presence in no time. One of the main advantages of using WordPress when scaling a business is that it offers easy integration with various marketing tools such as email marketing software and social media platforms.

Another advantage is that WordPress provides excellent search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities. The platform has built-in SEO features that allow users to optimize their website's content for Google and other search engines. Additionally, there are many SEO plugins available on WordPress that can further enhance your website's visibility in search results.

Lastly, WordPress offers robust security features to protect your website from cyber threats. With regular updates and security patches, you can keep your site secure from hackers and malware attacks. Moreover, there are various security plugins available on the platform that offer additional layers of protection to safeguard your site from malicious activities. In short, if you want to scale your business online quickly while keeping your website secure and optimized for search engines, then choosing WordPress as your CMS would be an excellent decision.

WordPress is open source and being free you will save on licensing costs, even more so if you have multiple website domains.

Reduction in costs helps the strategic methodology for digital growth across those five E’s: Examine, Engineer, Evaluate, Enhance and Expand. So with WordPress you can work through the process of nailing down a viable product or service offering with minimum spend on tech. Once you are highly profitable, you may be better to scale up to enterprise CMS solutions such as SiteCore.

Easy Customization

One of the biggest advantages of using WordPress for scaling a business online is its easy customization features. WordPress offers a wide range of customizable templates, themes, and plugins that can be used to create unique designs or functionalities for websites. With just a few clicks, users can change the entire look and feel of their website without having to write any code.

Moreover, WordPress also allows users to customize their website's functionality through plugins. These plugins offer various features such as SEO optimization, social media integration, contact forms, and e-commerce capabilities that can be added or removed from the website as needed. This makes it extremely convenient for businesses to adapt their websites according to their changing needs without incurring exorbitant development costs.

The user-friendly interface of WordPress also makes customization easy for even inexperienced users. The platform offers simple drag-and-drop interfaces in addition to code editors for advanced users who want more control over their website's design and functionality. Overall, this ease of use makes WordPress an ideal choice for businesses looking to scale online quickly without compromising on customizability or quality.

Reliable Security

One of the main advantages of using WordPress when scaling a business online is its reliable security. As a business grows, it becomes more susceptible to cyber-attacks and security breaches. However, WordPress has built-in measures to protect websites from these threats.

WordPress regularly releases updates that address any security vulnerabilities in its platform. These updates are easy to install and ensure that your website is always protected against the latest threats. Additionally, WordPress has an active community of developers who constantly work on improving the platform's security features.

Moreover, there are numerous plugins available for WordPress that can enhance website security even further. These plugins provide features such as two-factor authentication, brute force protection, and malware scanning. By utilizing these plugins along with regular updates from WordPress itself, you can ensure that your website remains secure as your business continues to scale up online.

Cost Efficiency

One of the most significant advantages of using WordPress as a platform when scaling a business online is its cost efficiency. WordPress offers various pricing options, including free and paid plans, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. Additionally, WordPress's open-source nature allows for customization and flexibility that can save businesses money in the long run.

WordPress also offers a vast library of plugins and templates that can help businesses cut down on development costs. These plugins and templates allow for easy integration with other tools and services, which can increase efficiency while reducing expenses associated with custom development.

Overall, using WordPress as a platform when scaling an online business provides cost efficiencies that are hard to match by other platforms. Its affordability, flexibility, and range of features make it an attractive choice for startups or established companies looking to expand their online presence without breaking the bank.

SEO Benefits

One of the major benefits of using WordPress for your business website is its built-in SEO features. WordPress is designed to be search engine friendly, with features like clean URLs, customizable meta tags, and easy integration with Google Analytics. These features help improve your website's ranking on search engines like Google, which can ultimately lead to more traffic and sales.

Another advantage of using WordPress for SEO is the availability of various plugins that can further enhance your website's visibility. Popular plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack provide additional tools for optimizing your content, such as keyword analysis and XML sitemaps. These plugins make it easier for businesses to stay up-to-date with current SEO trends and techniques.

In addition to improving your website's visibility on search engines, WordPress also allows you to create a better user experience through faster loading times and mobile responsiveness. Since user experience is an important factor in SEO rankings, having a fast-loading and mobile-friendly website can greatly benefit your online presence. Overall, utilizing WordPress as a platform for scaling your business online can significantly improve your chances of success in the competitive digital landscape.

WordPress market share

Also, the beauty of WordPress is the cost savings across licensing, development and integration with other systems, thanks to the huge ecosystem that accompanies it.

https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_management

As of March 06, 2023, according to the W3Techs website, 63.4% of the Internet’s websites are powered by WordPress.

The nearest technology to WordPress is Shopify, an eCommerce website platform that runs 5.5% of the Intranet.

I ignore Wix & Squarespace as they are not in the professional website builder realm. Joomla and Drupal are direct competitor platforms to WordPress, as they are both built with the same open-source technology as WordPress: PHP. Joomla has a 2.7% market share and Drupal powers 1.8% of the Intranet.

The only other platform on my radar here is a product called Webflow which, out-of-the-box, actually has a superior builder interface than WordPress’ Gutenberg, which now has 0.9% of the market share.

Why is the WordPress ecosystem so significant?

The data from W3Techs tells us that WordPress has completely captured the market. As WordPress has critical mass unlike any other platform, the result is that there is a universe of developers out there that are committed to the WordPress platform and they are in it for the long 

One of the biggest advantages of WordPress is its extensive ecosystem. The platform offers an enormous range of plugins, themes, and integrations that can help users create a website that meets their unique needs. With over 50,000 plugins available in the official WordPress plugin repository alone, users can easily add features such as social media sharing buttons, e-commerce functionality or even custom post types to their site without requiring any technical expertise.

Additionally, the open-source nature of WordPress has led to a thriving community of developers who contribute code and support each other's work. This means that users have access to a wealth of resources including forums, tutorials and online courses all aimed at helping them get the most out of the platform.

Finally, because WordPress powers nearly one-third of all websites on the internet – it has become an industry standard for web design and development. This popularity means many third-party services integrate seamlessly with it. For example, Google Analytics or MailChimp are just some examples that allow businesses to take advantage of these tools more quickly than if they were using other platforms.

Plugins: Variety and Functionality

The WordPress ecosystem is known for its vast collection of plugins that offer a wide range of functionalities. With over 55,000 plugins available on the official WordPress plugin repository alone, users have access to an extensive variety of features tailored to suit their needs. From SEO optimization and security to social media integration and e-commerce solutions, there's no shortage of options when it comes to choosing the right plugin.

What makes WordPress stand apart from other platforms is not only the quantity but also the quality of plugins available. The platform has strict guidelines in place for developers creating new plugins, ensuring they meet certain standards before being approved for distribution. This ensures that users can trust in the reliability and functionality of these tools.

Overall, the abundance and diversity of plugins available within the WordPress ecosystem make it a more substantial platform compared to others. Users can easily customize their websites and add new features without having to rely on complex coding or third-party integrations - making it a popular choice for businesses and individuals alike looking for flexibility in design and functionality.

Themes: Design and Customization

When it comes to design and customization, WordPress offers a vast ecosystem that outmatches any other platform. With thousands of themes available in the official repository alone, users have an extensive range of options to choose from. These themes cater to different styles, niches, and requirements that allow site owners to personalize their websites according to their branding or identity.

Furthermore, WordPress provides flexibility in customizing these themes. Users can add or remove elements known as "blocks" in the WordPress Gutenberg editor, without having any technical knowledge in coding. WordPress Gutenberg editor provides some pre-built block templates, and drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easier for users to customize their websites quickly. 

Lastly, WordPress allows users to create custom themes from scratch by utilizing its robust framework and documentation resources. This feature enables developers or advanced users who want more specific control over their designs to build unique sites tailored precisely to their needs while maintaining the optimal performance of their websites. Overall, WordPress's ecosystem provides a versatile space for creating personalized websites with ease and flexibility that sets it apart from other platforms in terms of design and customization capabilities.

Server Options: Hosting Flexibility

Server options are one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a hosting provider. WordPress, being one of the largest and most popular content management systems, offers unparalleled hosting flexibility. With WordPress, users have access to a variety of server options that allow them to customize their hosting experience based on their needs. Some examples of different server options include shared hosting, virtual private servers (VPS), dedicated servers and cloud-based hosting.

Shared hosting is ideal for small websites with low traffic volume as it allows multiple sites to share resources on a single server. VPS provides more control over the server environment and is perfect for businesses that require more power or need dedicated resources for specific tasks. Dedicated servers offer complete control over hardware and software configuration, making them ideal for large enterprise-level websites with high traffic volume. Finally, cloud-based hosting allows for easy scalability and redundancy which makes it perfect for businesses that expect their website's traffic volume to fluctuate.

In conclusion, WordPress has an ecosystem that supports numerous server options which offer unparalleled flexibility allowing users to choose what best aligns with their business requirements. This makes WordPress stand out from other platforms as its ecosystem serves every user’s unique needs while providing unparalleled flexibility in terms of security and performance optimization among others.

Security Features: Safety & Protection

One of the primary reasons WordPress is considered a more substantial platform than any other is its security features. WordPress takes safety and protection seriously, which is evident from the array of built-in security features in its core software. It includes user roles and permissions, secure authentication protocols, login limits, and password enforcement measures.

WordPress also has an active community that consistently monitors and audits the code for possible vulnerabilities. This community's vigilance ensures that any potential issues are addressed quickly through regular updates and patches. Additionally, WordPress offers users access to a variety of reliable security plugins that can further enhance website safety.

Overall, with its robust built-in security features, ongoing community support and active plugin development ecosystem - WordPress provides an unparalleled level of safety & protection for its users' websites.

Community Support: Helpful & Informative

One of the key features that set WordPress apart from other website builders is its thriving community support. With over 40,000 plugins and countless themes available, it’s no wonder why WordPress is the most widely used CMS on the web. This vast collection of resources has been created and maintained by a community of developers who are passionate about making WordPress accessible for everyone.

Not only does this community provide users with helpful tools to enhance their websites, but they also offer informative documentation and support forums. Whether you’re an experienced developer or just starting out with your first site, there’s always someone in the WordPress community ready to help answer your questions or troubleshoot issues.

In addition, the open-source nature of WordPress allows for constant updates and improvements to be made by its users. This ensures that the platform remains relevant and secure in an ever-changing online landscape. Overall, WordPress’ strong sense of community support makes it a valuable asset for anyone looking to create a successful website.

Advantages of the WordPress Ecosystem

The advantages of using WordPress are numerous. One of the most significant advantages is its vast ecosystem. The sheer number of plugins and themes available on this platform far surpass any other content management system. This means that there is no limit to what you can do with your website.

Moreover, WordPress is an open-source platform, which means that it is constantly evolving and improving through contributions from developers all over the world. With regular updates and improvements to its core functionality, WordPress remains a top choice for bloggers, businesses, and organizations.

Finally, WordPress has a supportive community that provides resources for users at every level. Whether you are just starting out or have been using WordPress for years, there are forums and online communities dedicated to helping users solve problems and get the most out of their websites. In summary, choosing to use WordPress gives users access to endless possibilities for customization and growth as an online presence.

Conclusion: What is WordPress and why it is used by businesses?

In conclusion, growing your business online can be a daunting task. However, using the WordPress platform can make it easier to scale your operations effectively. With its customizable themes and plugins, businesses can create unique websites that suit their brand identity while also offering an excellent user experience.

Moreover, WordPress is designed to support search engine optimization (SEO), which is crucial for businesses looking to increase their online visibility. The platform's SEO-friendly features ensure that websites created on it rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), driving more traffic and generating leads.

Finally, WordPress offers flexibility and scalability as businesses grow. Since the platform supports multiple users and integrates with various external tools and services, businesses can add new functionalities quickly without having to switch platforms or rebuild their websites from scratch. Overall, using WordPress when scaling a business online is a smart move that pays off in the long run.

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