There is a whole lot of planning that goes into building a new website, whether for personal branding or for your business. First, you must consider things like what the right target audience for your project would be interested in and how to attract that interest.

But you also have to make other necessary technical decisions about the project. One such decision is which content management system (CMS) to opt for.

There are a lot of CMS platforms around. WordPress takes the largest share of the market as the most popular CMS platform. For context, over 2 million websites – more than 60% of the world’s total websites – are powered by WordPress.

The other CMS platforms, including Drupal, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and Joomla, have to fight amongst themselves for the remaining 40% market share. Isn’t that huge?

You are probably wondering why WordPress is such a popular choice for website owners. You’ll learn about the reasons in this article. Let’s start by understanding what a CMS platform is all about.

What is a Content Management System?

Some people see a Content Management System as a platform used for publishing, organizing, and editing text and media on websites. While this definition is correct, it is a limited description. This is because a CMS is a lot more than that in reality.

Through a CMS, you can specifically configure what your web pages look like. Not just that, you can also determine how people interact with them. This includes the features your website will present and the result it will display after every single click.

What this implies is that a CMS provides the foundation on which you’ll build and develop your website. The type of CMS you choose is what determines the range of websites you can create. It also determines the features you can apply as well as the design layouts you can implement.

In summary, a CMS helps in building a fantastic website with a great user experience. Another thing to note is that some CMSs are pretty much easier to use than others. So you need to factor this in while making a design.

That said, you may believe that choosing the right CMS for your project will be difficult. Well, not necessarily. There are various credible reasons why WordPress has continued to dominate the CMS market for years.

In fact, if you are trying to start a new website and you ask any technical person for their advice, a large number of them would recommend WordPress as the go-to solution.

Why so?

What Benefits Does WordPress Have Over Other CMS Solutions?

It will interest you to know that WordPress was launched in 2003 as a blogging platform. The platform witnessed such exponential growth and rapidly overtook other available options at the time.

It was so popular that even the launch of Joomla in 2005 and Drupal in 2009 couldn’t affect its increasing market share. To be candid, WordPress’s popularity doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best solution for your project. This is because every project has its needs and each CMS platform has its peculiar pros and cons.

However, there are a few things that differentiate WordPress from the crowd.

It is free and self-hosted

Today, many website-building applications are sold under the Software-as-a-Service model. For instance, while platforms like Wix and Squarespace tend to attract customers with an intuitive interface, there is a downside.

If you want extra features or you need to meet high traffic demands, the monthly bills could get pretty expensive. That aside, if you want to move to a different provider someday, you can’t just leave with your files. So, you will have to start from scratch.

In contrast, the WordPress application is different as it is open-source. You can install it for free anywhere you want and for as long as you want. And if someday you decide you want a change, you can easily take your files and databases from the old server. Easy peasy!

It is easy to use

Compared to other CMS platforms, WordPress has an intuitive interface that adds to its convenience. Even if you are a novice, you’d catch on to the platform pretty quickly. Of course, as a business owner or individual, you want to have a level of familiarity with your website’s administration even if you will be outsourcing the development to a professional like Slinky Web Design.

It is versatile

Whether you’re trying to build a news site or a discussion board, WordPress can efficiently satisfy your needs. Even if you want to create an online shop, WordPress is one of the first options you’ll want to consider. The platform is suitable for literally any type of website you ever want to imagine.

It is cost-effective

You don’t need to overspend to build a website with WordPress. There are cheap shared plans you can leverage to host your new website. This way, you get excellent value for money while retaining the top performance you desire.

We understand the importance of managing tight budgets at the Slinky Web Design and that is why it forms the core of our overall business philosophy.

It is flexible

One challenge of most CMS platforms when customising websites is that, in many cases, they require some custom development to achieve the desired look. This limits your freedom to implement something unique.

This is different with WordPress. In 2018, the company introduced the Block Editor feature. This feature gives users so many options for customising web pages and integrating website functionality.

In terms of website administration, you can give contributors access to the WordPress dashboard so they can upload content themselves without touching the website’s settings. So, you don’t need any coding skills to effectively navigate some technical aspects of your website.

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As you can see, the reason for WordPress’s popularity goes beyond its intuitive interface. It lies in its distinctive features which make it an excellent option for a diverse range of website needs.

At Slinky Web Design, our cost-effective web designs have become solid foundations for many online entities. Our designs not only help in generating traffic but converting it as well.

Contact us today to discuss the specifics of your project needs.