6 Reasons to Use WordPress for Your Website

6 Reasons to Use WordPress for Your Website

WordPress Website with Trophy

There are many, many reasons why WordPress is the most popular website platform in the world– too many to fit in a single blog post. However, we’ve managed to narrow it down a bit and in the list below, we’re sharing with you the top six reasons why we think you should use WordPress for your website.

  1. Customizability: WordPress provides thousands of free and premium themes and plugins, allowing users to customize their websites as per their needs and preferences. You can choose from e-commerce, social networking, business, blogging, news, and many other types of themes. Moreover, the plugins can help extend your website’s functionality in virtually any way you can think of.
  2. SEO-friendly: WordPress is designed to be SEO-friendly out of the box. The code produced by WordPress is in line with the best practices of SEO. Moreover, there are numerous SEO plugins available that can give you further control over how your site interacts with search engines, improving your site’s visibility and ranking.
  3. Scalability: WordPress sites are highly scalable. This means they can grow as your business grows. Whether you want to add a blog, a shop, a news section, or a portfolio to your site, WordPress can handle it. Plus, it can handle a large volume of traffic and content without slowing down your site’s speed or performance.

WordPress is known for its strong security measures.

  1. Security: Although no platform is completely immune to security threats, WordPress is known for its strong security measures. It regularly updates its software to prevent attacks and there are numerous plugins available that help secure your website even further.
  2. Flexibility: WordPress is not just for blogging; it’s a robust system that can be used for all kinds of websites – from simple blogs to full-featured business websites, online stores, or even a network of websites. You can also integrate WordPress with a wide variety of services including social networks, mailing lists, and more.
  3. Mobile Responsiveness: WordPress themes are typically responsive, meaning they automatically adjust and look good on all devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This is crucial in a world where mobile browsing is overtaking desktop browsing. Furthermore, Google ranks mobile-friendly websites higher in search results.
How to Keep Your WordPress Website Secure

How to Keep Your WordPress Website Secure

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS (content management systems) on the internet, powering over 40% of all websites. It is easy to use, highly customizable and offers a wide range of features that make it an ideal platform for any website. However, like any other software, WordPress requires regular maintenance and updates to ensure it remains secure, functional, and up-to-date.

A Secure WP Website

Keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date

One of the most important things you can do to maintain your WordPress website is to keep everything up to date. This includes the WordPress core, themes, and plugins. Updates are released regularly to fix bugs, security issues, and add new features. Failing to update can leave your website vulnerable to security threats and can cause conflicts and errors that could affect your website’s functionality.

Back up your website regularly

Backing up your website regularly is crucial to ensure that you can restore your website if anything goes wrong during an update or if your website is hacked. There are many plugins available that allow you to automate the backup process and store your backups offsite. Or, our secure hosting service includes automated backups. It is recommended to back up your website at least once a week.

Use secure passwords and user permissions

Using strong passwords and limiting user permissions are essential steps in maintaining the security of your WordPress website. Use a password manager to generate and store secure passwords and avoid using the same password across multiple accounts. Limit the number of users who have access to your website and ensure that each user has the appropriate permissions to perform their tasks.

Using strong passwords and limiting user permissions are essential steps in maintaining the security of your WordPress website.

Optimize your website for speed and performance

Website speed and performance are essential for user experience and search engine rankings. Optimize your website by compressing images, using a content delivery network, and caching your website’s pages. Using a hosting service that is dedicated to WordPress websites can help you manage this. Minimizing the number of plugins you use and using lightweight themes can also help improve your website’s performance.

Monitor your website’s security

Regularly monitoring your website’s security can help you identify and address security issues before they become a problem. Use security plugins to scan your website for vulnerabilities, implement security measures such as SSL certificates, and monitor your website for suspicious activity.

Test updates in a staging environment.

Testing updates in a staging environment before implementing them on your live website can help you identify and fix any issues before they affect your visitors. Many web hosts offer staging environments, or you can use a plugin to create a staging site.

If this all sounds like a lot to handle while you’re also running a business, reach out to Word (re)Fresh to help you keep your WordPress Website up-to-date and secure.

4 Reasons why you need a Responsive WordPress Website

4 Reasons why you need a Responsive WordPress Website

Responsive design refers to the practice of designing websites to be easily viewed on any device, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. In today’s world, where 58.43% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, having a responsive design for your WordPress website is more important than ever before.

 

Here are four reasons why a responsive WordPress website is not just a good idea but an essential feature:

Phone, Tablet, Computer show responsive design

  1. Better User Experience: if your WordPress Website is not responsive it will be difficult for users to navigate and they may have to zoom in and out to view content. They may have a hard time clicking buttons or accessing menus. A responsive design ensures that your website is user-friendly, regardless of device, leading to a better user experience and increased engagement.
  2. Improved SEO: Google has stated that responsive design is a ranking factor in search results, meaning that responsive WordPress websites will rank higher in search results.
  3. Increased Conversions: A responsive design can lead to increased conversions on your website. Users who land on your website using their phone are more likely to stay on your website and take action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, if the website is easy to use and navigate.
  4. Cost-Effective: When mobile phones first became a factor, companies used to spend time and money creating a separate, dedicated mobile site. Nowadays, a responsive design allows you to create one website that can be viewed on any device. This is a much more cost-effective solution for businesses, as they don’t need to maintain separate websites for different devices.

As more and more people use mobile devices to access the internet, businesses must ensure that their websites are optimized for all devices to stay competitive in the digital world.

WordPress Websites – Pros & Cons

WordPress Websites – Pros & Cons

weighing the pros and const of WordPress

By many measurements, WordPress is the most popular website platform. 810 Million websites use WordPress, which accounts for 43% of all websites and 64% of all CMS (content management system) sites. Whether you’re building a new website, or converting an existing one to WordPress, you should consider both the positives and negatives of a WordPress website.

  1. PRO: WordPress is infinitely customizable. WordPress provides a wide range of themes and plugins, allowing users to customize their websites to meet their needs. Whether it’s adding a contact form, installing an SEO plugin, or changing the design of a website, WordPress makes it easy to customize your site.
  2. CON: While WordPress offers many customization options, there may be limitations in what you can do without coding knowledge. Some website owners may find it hard to design a website with full functionality without hiring a developer.
  3. PRO: WordPress is incredibly user-friendly, even for those without experience with web design.
  4. CON: A WordPress website still requires a certain level of technical knowledge in order to use it effectively. This can be challenging for individuals new to web design and development.
  5. PRO: WordPress takes security seriously and is continuously updating its software to ensure that websites are protected from security threats. Additionally, there are several plugins available for WordPress that can help keep your website secure.
  6. CON: Failing to update your WordPress site can leave it vulnerable to security risks and technical issues.
  7. PRO: WordPress is highly scalable, which means that you can start with a small website and add more features and functionality as your business grows. Whether you need to add new pages, create an online store, or add a membership section to your site, WordPress can handle it all.
  8. CON: Plugins can add valuable features and functionality to a WordPress website, but installing too many can lead to conflicts between them, which can cause the website to break. This risk can be mitigated by only installing essential plugins and keeping them up to date.
  9. PRO: With the increasing use of mobile devices, websites need to have a responsive design. WordPress themes are designed to be responsive, ensuring that your website looks great on all devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
  10. CON: Depending on the hosting provider and the number of plugins used, WordPress websites can be slow to load and may experience performance issues. This can impact the user experience and search engine rankings. This is why it’s essential to choose a hosting provider that specializes in WordPress websites
  11. PRO: WordPress is designed with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind. The platform is built to help websites rank higher on search engines, which can improve visibility and drive more traffic to your site. Additionally, there are several SEO plugins available for WordPress that make it easy to optimize your content for search engines.
  12. PRO: WordPress is a cost-effective way to create a professional-looking website. The platform is free, and many of the themes and plugins are free or available at a low cost. This makes it an ideal choice for small businesses and startups with limited budgets.

A WordPress website offers many benefits, including ease of use, customization, SEO-friendliness, responsive design, scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness. There are some drawbacks, but these are easily mitigated by taking proper precautions and regularly maintaining your WordPress site. Whether you’re a blogger, small business owner, or entrepreneur, WordPress is an excellent choice for creating a professional-looking website.