5 Reasons to Consider WordPress for Your CMS

Nearly 19% of the web runs on WordPress because it is a fantastic content management system (CMS), which is fully customizable and adaptable to the needs of almost any type of professional. Here are five reasons why you should consider using WordPress as your CMS for your website:

1) YOU DON’T NEED ANY CODING SKILLS TO MANAGE YOUR CONTENT
If you don’t know your HTML from your CSS, you don’t need to worry about that with WordPress. You will be able to write and edit content, add web pages, create blog posts and respond to comments, add images and much more, all without learning even the most basic coding.

2) YOUR WEBSITE WILL LOOK FANTASTIC
Unlike many ‘build your own website’ or other business website services which offer overpriced, tired templates that look like something from 10 years ago, WordPress can look great. There are thousands upon thousands of different themes that have been pre-designed by professional web developers. You can easily choose from any of these themes to make your website look professional and up to date.

3) NO-COST LICENSING
WordPress is open source, which means that the code is free to use and improve upon, unlike many other Content Management Systems. While some of our clients do prefer enterprise-level content management systems such as Ektron and Sitefinity, many of our clients place a higher value on the open-source GPL licensing by which WordPress is offered.

4) IT HAS GREAT SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an important aspect of building a website if your site is going to bring any revenue. Everyone wants their site to have every advantage to achieve one of the top 3 results in Google and Bing. WordPress is coded in a manner which is extremely Google friendly, meaning that a website built on WordPress lends an advantage if you also apply some SEO tactics. See our other posts on Optimizing your Website for Search Engines.

5) HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE
One fantastic part of WordPress is that it has a large number of plug-ins that allow you to customize your website. Essentially, plugins are add-ons that you can choose to include or exclude in the design of your webpages. For example, if you want an email newsletter sign up form, you can simply install a plug-in that will add one for you.

You can even get plugins to guide you through proper SEO when writing your pages or posts. You can select a group of target keywords, and the plugin will help you optimize your written content for those keywords.

WordPress is a high quality CMS which was built by some of the most knowledgeable programmers available. It is highly customizable and is designed to meet a wide array of user’s needs. WordPress has quickly become one of the most used blogging platforms, and for good reason.

If you are in need of a CMS for your business or even personal uses, WordPress definitely warrants serious consideration. Just keep in mind that the most effective websites usually require investment for maximum return and benefit for your business.

Additionally, if you do not have the time to invest in learning your way around WordPress on your own, YourDesignOnline does this day in and day out. We can build your site for you, based on your specifications and business objectives.

Do you use WordPress? Love it or hate it? Let us know in the comments below.

Optimize Your Website For Mobile Devices to Get Ahead of Your Competition

It’s more important now than ever before for business owners to optimize their websites for mobile users. According to Inc. Magazine, more than 50 percent of all Internet access was done via some sort of mobile device back in 2010. Projections indicate mobile Internet users will overtake PC users by the end of 2013.

How Do People Use Their Smartphones?

You might think the most common use for a smartphone is to make calls, but you’d be wrong. People looking at T-mobile’s smartphones, whether it is an iPhone 5s or a Sony Xperia Z, may not be as interested in its calling features. Of the two hours an average smartphone owner spends using their device each day, 25 minutes are used up browsing the Internet, 17 minutes on social networking, 13 minutes playing games and 16 minutes listening to music. Only 12 minutes are actually spent on phone calls. Users are spending a majority of their time on activities like texting, social media, taking photos and email, according to The Telegraph.

Reach Customers Where They Are

Since the primary use of mobile devices is Internet browsing, they are an excellent way for companies to reach their customers. Forbes reports FrangranceNet.com had a 40 percent increase in sales after creating a mobile site.

Be Conscious of Your Layout

Use a responsive template. Creating a website that automatically scales to fit all screen sizes is essential and makes navigation easier for the user. Sixty-one percent of users will click away to another site if the one they’re on isn’t mobile-friendly, even if it is a business they enjoy shopping with, according to market research firms Sterling Research and SmithGeiger.

Use One URL

 People using their laptop to visit a website hate pop-ups and redirects, but they are even more annoyed on a mobile device. Have one URL that works on all platforms and on all desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Search engines, like Google, frown upon the practice of creating different URLs for different devices and then redirecting customers accordingly.

Improve Load Time and Functionality

Using fewer or smaller images can improve your load time by decreasing the size of your site, according to customerexperienceinsight.com. Your site will be easier for mobile users to see and it won’t use up their data.

You can improve the functionality of your mobile site by keeping your touch-screen buttons easily accessible and placed far apart. Stick to minimum clicks to get to another page and play attention to your font size. Keep the size at a minimum of 12 to 14 pixels, according to getelastic.com.

Access Your Site Regularly

This is a simple way of optimizing your site for mobile. Regularly access and navigate through your entire site using various mobile devices, noting when you encounter issues. Correcting those issues will make your site more user-friendly and cause your rankings to go up.