Business Opportunities - 7 Reasons to Use WordPress

Which would you prefer to take advantage of your business opportunities?:

 

a) A website which costs thousands of dollars, uses a programming language you don't understand so you can't update content on the site yourself, and requires starting from scratch if you ever want to change its design? Or;

 

b) A website that is built on free software, allows you to easily update content yourself and you can select from thousands of clean, professional looking designs that can be added to the site in a matter of minutes?

 

No brainer, right?

 

If you aren't familiar with it, an introduction to WordPress is in order.

 

WordPress, originally used solely for blogs, has morphed into an incredibly powerful Content Management System you can use to easily and inexpensively create a very professional and functional website for your business opportunities.

 

Here are 7 benefits to using WordPress for your business opportunities:

 

1. Cost How about free? Yes! Just go to WordPress.org and download the software at no charge (heck, you don't even have to provide an email address!). You will need to find a web hosting company to host your WordPress website. Hosting should only set you back between $5 - $10 per month and there are a number of quality hosting companies to choose from. A lot of these hosting companies include software called Fantastico with your hosting plan which allows you to install WordPress with just a few clicks - no software download necessary.

 

 

2. Ease of Use. Besides being easy to install, WordPress is very easy to use. Sure, if you're technically challenged, there will be a learning curve in using WordPress. But there are plenty of tutorials around on the web to help you. And once you get the hang of things it's quite easy to add or update content - it's basically like using a word processing program like Microsoft Word. You don't need to have a programming bone in your body to successfully maintain a WordPress site.

 

3. Themes. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of themes available for WordPress. A theme is basically a template that changes the look and feel of your WordPress site (a theme can also alter the behind-the-scenes options to make WordPress even easier to customize and use). Some of these themes are free, others you have to pay for. You can also have a custom theme designed so your site meets your exact specifications.

 

 

Themes make it easy to get a clean, professional looking site without having to pay for a lot of custom design work. And they're easy to install and change. If you wake up one morning and decide your site needs a facelift - no problem! Find a theme you like better, activate it and you've got a brand new look to your site - without having to touch the content of your pages or blog posts.

 

4. Plugins. A plugin is a piece of software you can add to your WordPress site that enhances the functionality of WordPress. There are plugins that help with your site's search engine optimization, improve site security, fight spam, design a contact form, add e-commerce functionality, etc. And the best part is most of these plugins are free!

 

5. Search Engine Love. Google (and the other search engines) love WordPress. Using WordPress can give your search engine optimization efforts a big boost. And if you take advantage of some of the SEO-related plugins available for WordPress, the searc engines will really think your site is the bee's knees.

 

6. Technical Support. WordPress does not offer tech support for you to email or call with your questions. However, have no fear, there are still a ton of options for you if you have an issue you need addressed. You can turn to the forum on WordPress.org, which is a very active community of WordPress users who are always willing to help those having problems with the software. In addition, there are a bunch of other websites, message boards and blogs that you can turn to for advice. There are also plenty of wordPress experts for hire to assist you. Whatever issue you may encounter, help is always close at hand.

 

7. Control. When you host your own WordPress website, you are in the driver's seat. You can easily update content, add new pages or posts, give the site a facelift and much more without being at the mercy of a web programmer. And if you did want to hire someone to assist you in updating your website, there are plenty of qualified people around who can help.

 

So there are seven strong benefits to using WordPress for your business opportunities. Without a doubt there are reasons why you may WordPress may not work for your situation and hiring a programmer to develop a custom site is the best option.

 

But for the majority of online business owners that I come across, a basic, professional looking site, maybe with a blog, maybe not will do the trick. If that's you, I'd check out WordPress. With it's combination of flexiblity, functionality and cost, it's tough to match. combination of price, flexibility and functionality.

 

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