WordPress is one of the most popular website content management systems (CMS) used today. In fact, a recent report shows that 39.5% of all websites use WordPress. Going a step further, WordPress has a market share of 64.1%, as well as a respectable lead over Shopify as a platform for e-commerce. Not only is it a popular choice for e-commerce sites, but it has been a longstanding favorite for sites dedicated to blogging as these stats show:

  • 400 million people view 24 billion pages hosted by WordPress monthly.
  • 70 million new posts and 47 million comments are made every month
  • WP blogs are written in more than 120 languages

So, what is it about WordPress that makes it so popular? One must first consider its longstanding track record. It has been around nearly 20 years. Perhaps, it’s the flexibility that comes with an open source architecture – definitely all reasons to opt for WordPress as a content management system (CMS). In fact, WP is the platform of choice for well-known companies and organizations like The White House, BBC America, Sony Music, Variety, and The Walt Disney Company. With so many entities choosing to use WordPress, it bears the asking- Why is WordPress so popular?

12 Reasons to Use WordPress

  1. WordPress Hosting

    Ease of Use – WordPress is focused on the user experience. WP has hundreds of easy-to-use themes, and many with user-friendly interfaces such as Divi, that make it simple for anyone- no matter their WP skill level- to add, update or design their website. As a result, your site guests have a better experience and stay on your site longer, thus reducing your bounce rate.

  2. Up to date – It is vital that your website stay with the times, WP makes this doable by staying up to date with the latest in trends, technology, and user needs. This ensures that your problems are easily resolved and that new features are added often.
  3. The software is free and open-source – When you use it, you own your own site, unlike Wix, Squarespace, or Weebly which you cannot ever move your site off of their platform. With WordPress, you have access to all the files and can choose where you want to host it. Better yet, it doesn’t cost anything to use WP- though you should anticipate spending money on plugins and hosting costs.
  4. Many developers to choose from – Because of its ease of use and versatility, there are many web developers who specialize in building WordPress sites.
  5. WordPress is secure – While nothing is 100% hack-proof, the WordPress team stays on top of any security issues and quickly release patches to make sure that your site is safe.
  6. Plenty of support – Should you decide to take on the updating and management of your WP site for yourself, you can be sure that you are not alone in your endeavors. Rather there is a large community of WordPress pros and many forums where you can ask your questions and get plenty of feedback.
  7. WordPress is perfect for SEO– We all know the value of search engine optimization and WP is designed to make it easier to create a website that is optimized for search engines. Thanks to permalinks, metadata titles, SEO plugins such as Yoast, meta descriptions, ensuring your website is fully optimized is quite simple.
  8. Plugins – Perhaps one of the greatest features of WP is that there are thousands of 3rd party plugins available allowing you to create a site that is exactly like you want it to be. One of the most popular plugins is WooCommerce which is especially popular for e-commerce sites. There are also plugins that allow for scheduling events, having a calendar, adding a registration form, and numerous other tasks that you might need to design a website that suits all your company’s needs. The only concern to be aware of with using plugins is to be sure that the plugin(s) you are considering has a good track record so you don’t run into any issues. If you are uncertain as to the validity or history of a particular plugin, check with some of the WP forums or contact the team here at Page Progressive.
  9. Customization – If you look at the many themes and options on the WordPress platform and find that you need something you aren’t seeing, no worries. WordPress is easy for developers to customize using PHP if you need something out of the box.
  10. It supports a wide range of media types – Chances are, no matter what type of media you wish to post on your WP site, it can be done. All the standard categories – images, documents, audio, video- can be added to a WP site, whether it be .jpg, .png, .gif, .doc,. mp3, .mp4, .m4a, .mov, .wmv or .avi. Moreso, WP also supports lesser-known file formats like .odt, key, and .3gp. That stated, do keep in mind that you must follow the rules and only legally use media that is owned by you, available for free downloads, or useable in the event that credit is given.
  11. Blogging – WordPress was crafted as a blogging platform and as such, it is still one of the leading platforms for bloggers today Whether you choose to have a simple blog where just you are posting or a multi-writer blog where everyone has different levels of access, WP is the ideal setup for all your writing needs.
  12. Speed and Scalability – If your initial goal in having a website was merely to have a place to showcase a few products or services, or express your thoughts then things like scalability or speed may not have mattered. However, a great feature of WP is that as your business or followers grow so can your website.

WordPress is a longstanding favorite for many good reasons. From its ease of customization to its client support, SEO features, and scalability, WP is a great choice for all your website needs.

If you are considering setting up a new website or making changes to an existing website, our Page Progressive team in Raleigh or Charlotte is happy to help you.