I’m in the middle of a few web design and redesign projects, so I have been singing the praises of WordPress quite a bit lately because it is my preferred site building solution. Why do I love WordPress? Well, it offers simplicity, a bunch of tools for creating websites, and a lot of design flexibility, yet it is easy enough for me to teach someone how to make posts and pages that they can update in a matter of minutes. It is probably this that I like the most about WordPress – the sense of empowerment and ownership an individual gets over their own website when they learn how to update their content. Here are a few things you should know about WordPress:
WordPress is an open source content management tool and blogging platform. A content management system allows you to easily update select content on your site easily.
- WordPress is free to use and modify.
- Because WordPress is open source, one of the greatest benefits it offers is the size of the community of WordPress developers. Many say instead of having one developer, with the WordPress community, you essentially have access to thousands. There are constant updates, improvements and a variety of plugins at your disposal. In addition active usergroups, books and blogs about WordPress are easy to find.
- WordPress allows a user access to easily make changes to their site without having to touch any code. If you can use a program like Microsoft Word, you can easily learn to post content and pictures on a site using the WordPress content management system.
- WordPress is known for its five minute installation process. Click and install! Of course there are endless customizations you can make which range from super easy to more technical. Luckily there are numerous resources online to guide you through the process. Here’s the best starting point: http://wordpress.org/
