{"id":3786,"date":"2018-03-12T19:32:30","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T19:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-397385-1251243.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3786"},"modified":"2021-01-30T12:08:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T12:08:01","slug":"wordpress-right-choice-business-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glassmountains.co.uk\/campfire\/wordpress-right-choice-business-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Is WordPress the right choice for your business website?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you start your website redesign project, chances are that someone will say to you \u201cOh!, you should use WordPress<\/em>!\u201d. And WordPress may well be the right<\/em> choice for your business; but, then again, it may not be. Here’s our opinion…<\/p>\n

Firstly a disclaimer: for nearly 8 years, we\u2019ve worked almost\u00a0exclusively<\/em> with WordPress. WordPress is a great fit for our clients needs, how we work, and our ethos. However it is certainly not right for every scenario.<\/p>\n

A few points to consider<\/h3>\n

If you are looking to create a great looking, mobile friendly website, with an easy-to-use content management system (so you can manage the website content yourself), then WordPress may well be the tool for you.<\/p>\n

Plugins<\/h3>\n

That\u2019s not to say that WordPress can\u2019t handle more technically challenging websites – it certainly can. To help, WordPress has the concept of \u201cplugins<\/em>\u201d where we can install extra functionally into your website to make it do more. There are all manner of plugins, from\u00a0event calendars<\/a>, to\u00a0ecommerce shopps<\/a>, to something as flippant as\u00a0snow falling effects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note about plugins! I always shudder at the word ‘plugin’ as I think it gives the wrong impression. It makes it sound like it’s as simple as Lego: “want an eCommerce shop? Just click in a plugin and away you go!<\/em>“. It’s rarely<\/em>\u00a0that simple – many plugins need a lot<\/strong> of configuration and customisation. However, I’m not trying to be doom & gloom here; plugins are much better than having to write everything from scratch – just don’t let the word ‘plugin<\/em>‘ mislead you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plugins only get your so far – if you have unique requirements which existing plugins do not cater for then you need to make a decision. Are you happy to tailor your needs to fit existing plugins? Or do you wish to commission (potentially expensive) bespoke programming. We can help with either case, but the choice is yours.<\/p>\n

Themes<\/h3>\n

WordPress also has the idea of \u201cthemes<\/em>\u201d. Themes control how a website actually looks. And, because WordPress is so popular, there are countless, off-the-shelf themes<\/a>\u00a0available. This means that, if you chose to, you could use a pre-built design for your business website.<\/p>\n

Word of warning though: just to let you know, on 99% of our WordPress projects we do NOT use an off the shelf theme. Why? Because we believe that your business is unique, and what makes you special, your products and services, your brand, your messaging etc is also unique to you. If you try to force that uniqueness into a pre-baked theme, something will get lost in translation – and that loss can be very costly. What we prefer to do is to work with you to create a design which is completely bespoke<\/em> to your business – a design which is built from the ground up to resonate with the exact messaging needs of your target audience – yes the level of investment is greater, but you get better results. On the other hand, sometimes budget dictates that using a theme is the way to go.<\/p>\n

Dispelling a few Myths<\/h3>\n

“Isn’t WordPress is for small\/ simple websites only?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, WordPress technology also powers huge, high traffic sites such as Time.com<\/a>, The Sun<\/a>, The Metro<\/a> and many more.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Isn’t WordPress for blogging only?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

(see above)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“WordPress is free, so it has to be cheap to design a WordPress website!”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hmm….well, the underlaying WordPress software is free to download but that doesn’t then mean that any project which uses it is free\/cheap. We are experts in developing with WordPress, and we have a tried and trusted process for delivering results for our clients. Clients can gain access to that expertise; for a certain level of investment.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Isn’t WordPress slow?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. WordPress sites can be zippy fast – we always take strides to ensure that. However, the blessing of WordPress is also a curse, it doesn’t take a degree in advanced computing to install WordPress and then install all manner of themes\/plugins – and, if this is not thought through carefully, it can have a significant negative performance\u00a0impact.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Isn’t WordPress not very secure? And easily hacked?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Same point as above really but with a few other things to mention. WordPress is open source software and is as open to hacks as any software is, however, the beauty of open source means that issues are discovered quickly (as many eyes see the website code), and fixes are released quickly. When looked after well, WordPress is a very secure platform for websites – we’ve blogged into our approach with WordPress and security<\/a> before.<\/i><\/p>\n

Closing Thoughts<\/h2>\n