WordPress is a powerful tool for creating blog-style websites. There are more than 75 million WordPress sites spread throughout the world and 409 million visitors every month. Between its functionality, ease of use, and diverse social media tie-ins, it’s easy to see why WordPress works for businesses.
Blogging was originally a way for people to share their thoughts, hobbies, and accomplishments. Since its inception in the late morning of the Internet, blogging has transformed into one of the most readable forms of new media. It is a proactive way for businesses to share information about their products, stay engaged with readers, and increase their online marketing strategies without spending thousands of dollars on website development.
WP for Businesses
WordPress is also versatile and powerful enough to operate as a pseudo-website for businesses. This is often an option for startups, though a well-curated WordPress page can be just as useful as a domain. Here are a few reasons this blogging platform makes for a great “staging area” before launching full websites:
- Keywords: Sure, everyone has heard about search engine optimization and keywords. It is a vastly changing word game that Google and other search engines have little patience for, though WordPress makes SEO almost automatic. When businesses post blogs, for example, they are able to fill out recommended SEO info to maximize results without risking algorithm punishments via Google.
- Support: Another reason why WordPress works for businesses is because of the platform’s support. There are countless developers, forums, support staff, and blogs that are set up to help new users figure out how to maximize their sites.
- Extensions: The best WordPress sites for businesses don’t even look like they use the platform. This is because webmasters utilize the platform’s themes, plug-ins, and other features to customize a page’s layout.
- Content: Content, of course, is why WordPress works for businesses the best. It is quick and easy to upload new blogs and edit content without having to understand HTML and other tools. Content writers don’t have to go through developers or site managers, either.
Media Support
As mentioned above, WordPress has ready-to-use tools and plug-ins that can vastly change the functionality of a business’ page. One of the best design aspects of the platform is that you can embed videos, pictures, infographics, slide shows, Google Maps, calendars, Scribd links, documents, and almost any other form of media. This is a powerful way to differentiate your WordPress page from others.
There are also social media tie-ins that help businesses keep their online assets interconnected. Businesses can easily add buttons for quick Facebook and Twitter shares underneath blogs, YouTube channels, and other easy to click links for site visitors.
Paid WordPress
WordPress has two different forms: There is the free version through WordPress.com and the paid hosting platform through WordPress.org. Each one has its pros and cons, though the free version does have a few design limitations.
Businesses should undoubtedly shoot for the paid WP option. They are essentially being charged for website hosting, but there are other options, too, such as ecommerce plug-ins (like WooCommerce) and pre-designed themes. The overall costs of running a paid WordPress site is relatively cheap compared to buying a website domain, paying designers, and dealing with technical Web-based issues.
It is definitely worth the investment for businesses wanting to do WordPress right and generate more traffic to their online assets.
Optimizing WordPress
A lot of businesses that already have full-on websites will utilize WordPress as a separate blogging platform tied into the domain. This allows businesses to have traditional pages and, once a visitor clicks on “Blog,” they are taken to the WP page. This is a win-win situation for businesses, especially considering how easy it is to upload blogs to WordPress compared to having a webmaster take care of it.
In the end, it is up to businesses what they want to do with their WP sites. If anything, they need to keep them updated, active, and stocked full of interesting blogs. Still wondering why WordPress works for businesses? Well, take a look at the millions of companies who already use the world’s most popular blogging platform.
Photo by: Toby Drysdale
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