WordPress powers 25% of all websites – but is it the right option for you?

WordPress powers 25% of all websites – but is it the right option for you?

If you’re new to the world of web design but you’re looking to create a gorgeous new website in 2015, a quick internet search is likely to point you in one place – WordPress.

The international content management system (CMS) has exploded in popularity in recent years, and it was recently revealed that 1 in 4 websites throughout the world now use it. The user-friendly CMS beat out competition from Joomla, Drupal, Magento and Blogger to claim the top spot, with W3Techs claiming that:

“Every 74 seconds a site within the top 10 million starts using WordPress. Compare this with Shopify, the second-fastest growing CMS, which is gaining a new site every 22 minutes.”

Is WordPress the right choice for you?

One of the main benefits of using WordPress, and undoubtedly why it is so popular, is that it allows even web design novices to create professional looking, functional websites relatively quickly and easily. You don’t need to know lots about coding, nor do you need to spend years training as a web designer, to create a reasonable looking website over the course of a few days. It’s cheap, quick and easy, and also has the following benefits:

• It’s easy to update and manage
• There are thousands of professionally designed themes to choose from, many available for free and many are optimised for mobile
• You can add complex business features using WordPress plugins
• It’s SEO-friendly
• It has so many users that there is plenty of support and opportunities to exchange ideas
• It’s open-source

It all sounds great, but before you get started – there’s another option to consider…

The benefits of using a professional web designer and developer

Getting your website right is important, so you need to consider all approaches. Many brands prefer to use a professional web designer and developer (some of whom do make use of CMS platforms like WordPress). Here’s why:

• Bug fixing and maintenance. As user-friendly and functional as WordPress is, there are always things that can go wrong (i.e. conflicting plugins, content not displaying properly). A developer is able to fix these bugs quickly, as well as maintaining and updating your website properly, without you having to spend hours trawling through support forums looking for the answer.
• Completely unique, cutting-edge design. WordPress may have thousands of customisable themes, but brands wanting something truly different and memorable (and perhaps award-winning) will always opt for the expertise of a professional web designer.
• Enhanced user experience. A home-designed WordPress site may do the job to a reasonable standard, but it will never offer the unique and enhanced user experience of a site designed by a professional who has years of training and artistic talent under their belt.

Which approach did you use to create your website, and do you wish you’d done it differently? What tips would you give to someone creating a website for the very first time? Please feel free to share your thoughts.