This is more a post for my current and potential clients than anyone else….
A while back, maybe 3 or 4 months ago, I converted this entire site to run on WordPress. There were a lot of reasons for me to do it but since the primary content on this site is the blog (which I admittedly don’t add to enough!), it made sense.
Since then, I’ve been telling folks who approach me about putting together a website that they should go with WordPress, with a custom WordPress theme (more about that in a moment). Almost invariably folks cringe at this because WordPress is thought of (and rightfully so) as a great blog tool. But it does the small website thing really well.
I’ve found that many other sites out there go with WordPress instead of Drupal, Joomla, CMSMadeSimple, and the many other CMS systems out there. Check some of these sites out, all done in WordPress:
So what is a Content Management System? From your perspective, think of it as a web-based editor for you to login from your PC via the web, and then edit your content or add to it. Spot a typo? Just login and fix it yourself. Takes 2 minutes. Want all the text and images on your homepage (or any page) changed? Login and change it yourself.
Not that I don’t want to do it for you. I need all the money I can earn. But I cringe when I get contracted to work on a non-CMS site.
So the next time I recommend WordPress for a site, realize that it’s not just a blogging platform. It can be hacked into just about anything you want. That said, if you need something full-blown with forums, ecommerce (beyond just paypal integration) then it may not be the right way to go. Conversely, if you just need a simple site that isn’t going to be updated very often then the time it takes to develop a custom WordPress theme is probably not worth the trouble. It takes time to develop one of those things, unless all you’re trying to do is make small changes to an existing theme.
But if you want a website in which, once developed, is something you can maintain yourself with an easy to use and learn content editor, then consider WordPress.
One Comment
For about the last year or so Wordpress has really come into its own. The SEO advantages alone are worth doing just about any website with it. I pretty much only do sites in WP now, mainly because of the ease of use and the unbelievable amount of plugins that can make your site function in just about any way you want. Unless you need a huge backend database ecommerce type of site, go with Wordpress!