In the 2.0 era, WordPress (WP) Content Management System has become the go-to open source software for building websites. It dominates the CMS market with almost 40% of websites under its control at the end of 2020. Optimum Circle looks back on this success of the WordPress.org foundation and the strengths of this platform.
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WordPress, to create a website for free
It is true that you have a choice when it comes to creating your website for your company or online business. To name a few, you can find, among others, Shopify, Wix, PrestaShop and many others … But we must recognize that WordPress surpasses them by far.
In fact, the CMS market leader is used by around 40% of sites around the world. It is solid and efficient. Originally, WordPress was created for bloggers. It is therefore highly flexible and customizable. In addition, this software is naturally optimized for SEO. And, it is so important to have a good SEO tool to be naturally referenced by Google.
In practice, you don’t need to know how to code to use it. Even though it takes a bit of learning, you can do very well without knowing the php or html code. You must not forget that you are the master of your content, it belongs to you entirely. This is not always the case with some hosting platforms that can delete or even resell your data without your having a say. In addition, the WordPress community is vast, always keen on new things and very helpful. If you have a problem ? You are not alone ! You can find answers to your questions on a forum or a group specializing in your issues.
Note that WordPress is a secure CMS thanks to a community of developers, always on the bridge and specializing in cybersecurity.
Hosting and installation under wordpress content management system
Commercial CMS such as Wix, Shopify or PrestaShop support hosting but you do not own the domain name. On WordPress, it’s different. You need to find accommodation first before you can use it. You must therefore buy a domain name. For the uninitiated: accommodation: this is your land; the site is your home and the domain name is your address. You must therefore buy your land, as well as your address. WordPress will help you build your house according to your tastes, desires and especially your objectives.
If you want to install WordPress, without necessarily being an expert in the field and without taking the lead, you have several possibilities. Indeed, many hosts offer the installation of CMS number 1 from their interface. But if you prefer, you can also install WordPress from the server. So specialist or not, website installation software is a good solution.
Design and templates under wordpress content management system
Once you have successfully installed WordPress through your host, you will need to choose a theme. This step is very important. It is advisable to take your time and not to choose a theme too quickly, because it is this which will dress your site, which will set the tone of your design. You should know that each theme has its own structure and specific functionalities.
In addition, to create an e-commerce site using WordPress, you must first install a plugin, such as WooCommerce. The latter is best known for its ease of installation and customization. But the choice of the theme is sometimes quite complicated to apprehend, because there are many of them. Likewise, you have to think about your budget. Some themes are free, but not all.
In your decision-making strategy, you must therefore think, first of all, of a “responsive” theme, that is to say suitable for all screens, especially for mobile. It is strongly recommended to choose a “Responsive Design” theme. Then you need to choose a secure and certified theme from the WordPress library. Many free themes are insecure or contain “malicious” code. Caution is therefore required. You are also advised to read the comments carefully. The theme must also be optimized for natural referencing (SEO), but also be a powerful theme. Google tends to highlight pages that load faster. Remember that a theme is updated frequently. Astra and GeneratePress, to name a few, perfectly meet all of these criteria. But there are still many more that will meet your needs.
Edit your web content
The two main types of content on WordPress are articles on the one hand and pages on the other.
Articles are your dynamic content, in the sense that on your site, they appear chronologically classified. Articles, for example, represent your analysis on a specific topic. To edit or manage your articles, you must click on “Articles”. As for them, the pages are static contents. Your content stays the same over time. We can cite as an example the “Contact” page or the “Legal Notice” page. But nothing prevents you from editing them. To manage and edit the “pages”, you must click on “Pages”.
One of the advantages of WordPress is that it is quite easy to edit an article or a page. This can therefore be an advantage option so as not to complicate your life too much and to edit content easily, almost as much as in Word.
Many and varied plugins
An extension (or plugin, in English) is used to add new features to your WordPress site, without the need to code. Here again, the principle is the same as for the themes.
The official directory offers more than 57,000 free of charge. Among them is Elementor (Pagebuilder), a visual drag-and-drop page builder that facilitates the creation of websites and the pages that compose them. For added security, Wordfence (Security) is the most effective firewall for your WordPress. Yoast helps you to improve your natural referencing, your SEO. When it comes to performance, optimizing your website, and caching pages, you can choose Autoptimize. Last example, Upgraft, the most famous backup and restore extension. It then allows you to back up your files and database directly to the cloud, and restore them with just one click.
You can download the plugins from the official WordPress website, but a common mistake is to install too many extensions on its site. To avoid unnecessary burden on your WordPress site, you should download and activate only the plugins necessary for your needs.
Our web data agency is there for you
Creating your website is not necessarily easy. You should already know if you are autonomous enough to do it alone or if you will be installing and customizing it. The advantage of WordPress lies in its many specificities and its multitude of plugins that can simplify your task. With the number 1 CMS in the world, you no longer have to be an ace in building websites. So if you want to launch your site, try WordPress.
But if it is still a little unclear, you can call on Optimum Circle for the creation of your website or you can always train with our WordPress experts.
Three ideas to remember
What is the interest of WordPress Content Management System for creating your website?
WordPress is the market leader in CMS. It’s highly flexible and customizable, as well as naturally SEO optimized. It allows to create a website easily and for free. Moreover, you can get away with it very well without knowing the php or html code. And the large CMS library can offer you a better choice for your theme.
What are the types of content on WordPress?
WordPress can also edit web content. On the one hand, the articles. These are your dynamic contents, which appear chronologically classified. To edit or manage your articles, you must click on “Articles”. On the other hand, pages, which are static content. They stay the same over time. To manage and edit the “pages”, you must click on “Pages”.
What are the useful plugins for your website?
The plugins are as numerous as they are varied on WordPress. The official directory offers more than 57,000 free of charge. Among this directory, you can find Elementor (Pagebuilder), Wordfence (Security), Yoast (SEO), Autoptimize (Performance) and Upgraft, (Backup and restore extension).