Is WordPress still relevant?
Open Source Software
WordPress is an open-source software based on PHP & MySQL. Open-source software is developed and managed by a community of developers. WordPress is a non-commercialized approach to developing software. The beauty of this is that WordPress is free. The drawback is that there is not any traditional customer support. WordPress offers support in document form, but you have to search for the answers. You will not be able to call a customer service representative and ask your questions. There are also third-party tutorials that cover beginner to advanced subjects.
Proprietary Software
In contrast, proprietary software companies hire staff. It includes developers that develop software, a sales force, etc., for profit. The company offers different services, but the main difference is support!
WordPress Before & Now
WordPress was a contact management system (CMS) and a blog manager. But, it has evolved into so much more! The community of volunteer developers continued to create new ideas. Those ideas created themes and plugins.
What Does it Do?
WordPress comes right out of the box loaded with content management software. You can add images, video, body copy, and a host of other digital assets. If you love to write, then you will love WordPress. Bloggers enjoy creating their blog, creating posts, and managing users. All this with no coding experience.
WordPress still does all the above but also includes a full-blown web page design tool. That's right, WordPress has evolved into a web design too. You can add headers, footers, navigation, sidebar, body copy, and special effects. All this without knowing a once of code. On top of all this, you can increase the functionality by adding themes and plugins.
Themes
With WordPress, you can add themes that allow for different types of functionality. Themes (there are over 11,000) will enable you to choose a look that reflects the style of your business. Many of these themes are free. But for higher quality and extra functionality, you may have to shell some cash. Third-party companies vary in the support they offer. Before you buy one, be sure you read everything. Also, check out their support, FAQ page, and documentation.
WordPress Plugins
The world of plugins is a bit more complicated. Plugins offer you more functionality. Check out the following list of possibilities.
As you can see, you have plenty of choices with over 40,000 plugins. Please note that plugins can add great functionality to your site. But, it can also add some grief. Plugins can conflict with each other and with some themes. Conflicts cause parts of your site not to work and can be frustrating. The solution is usually disabling some plugins in hopes that the broken ones work. All in all, plugins work and are a great way to increase the capabilities of your website.
Ease of Use & Popularity
Ease of use is what makes WordPress so accessible. With WordPress, there is no need to understand complex coding. You can type like a word processor. You have control over fonts, font-size, weight, spacing, and more. Themes will include headers, footers, sidebars, and navigation. All these elements are easy to control and need zero code. WordPress is very popular used in over 37% of all the websites on the internet. WordPress powers 14.7% of the top 100 sites in the world. There are thirty-seven million global Google searches for "WordPress" per month. There are around 19,500,000 websites that use WordPress.
So is it relevant? In a word, YES. I'm an avid WordPress developer/designer. If you have any questions about WordPress or you need help with your site, I would be happy to answer them. Please feel free to contact me at the following.
If you enjoyed this article please fee free to share it, we really appreciate it.
Phone: 424.488.6076
Email: george@envisionwebdesign.net
Website: https://envisionwebdesign.net