There are many content management systems (CMS) available. Several are suitable for community organisations and in time I may post about most of them. Today I’ll make a start with the pros and cons of using WordPress for your website.
WordPress is possibly the most common CMS, with about 20% of websites worldwide using it. This means it is a reliable system, its issues well-known and unlikely to disappear. Here is a list of the advantages you might like to consider.
- WordPress is open source, which means anyone can view the code and program the CMS. Whilst this is not something likely to interest a beginner, it does mean there are a lot of people who can help when things go wrong. You’re not tied to a single designer or a single company.
- There’s no charge for WordPress. There are some issues about free stuff online but the big advantage for community organisations is that WordPress is accessible on a small budget.
- Because so many websites use WordPress the issues are well-known. So, if you encounter a problem (and there are always problems!) the chances are there is already a solution.
- A huge community supports WordPress and so it is hard to see how it could vanish overnight. Support for a smaller CMS that belongs to a single company might vanish should the company fold.
- It is usually less work than designing a site in flat html and css. Whilst you still might need help from a designer, the chances are it will be a lot cheaper to put the site together.
- It is easy to work alongside your designer. As soon as you set up the site, you can log in and make changes. So, design can be about walking alongside and not leaving it all to a designer to deliver a finished product.
- There are a many plug-ins and widgets that make the site customisable. You can do almost anything with relatively little effort. Many plug-ins are free and the ones you pay for are usually reasonably priced.
- Similarly there are many themes and frameworks that can help you design the look of the site as well as its functionality.
- WordPress started as a blogging platform and so any WordPress site can include a blog. This is more flexible than it sounds because you can use blogs in many ways.
- Apparently WordPress is search engine friendly. What this means is you can structure your pages and blog posts so that search engines can find them with relative ease.
Next time I’ll look at six disadvantages of using WordPress.
What has been your experience?
