Although originally used as a platform for bloggers, WordPress has come a long way since its debut in 2003.
The content management system (CMS) is now used for an ever growing range of e-commerce sites, publishers and businesses globally. In fact, as of 2022, research by W3Techs suggests that over 40% of all websites online today use the platform in some form.
But just why is the platform so successful? And why is it the best choice for hosting your new SME website? Below, we run through some of the reasons why we think WordPress is the superior choice for setting up a new business website.
Affordable to set-up and maintain
One of the main draws of WordPress to SMEs is its low set-up cost. Anyone can set up an account and experiment with a basic version of the CMS for free, in contrast to some other platforms which will make you pay to use the service after a brief trial period.
As a growing business, at some point you’ll likely need to pay for one of the platform’s higher tiers to make the most use of its services, but luckily these come at an accessible price point.
The “Pro” versions can include services such as claiming a domain name, setting up a company email or gaining access to the site’s many customisable themes, templates and plug-ins, which can all be controlled easily from one central portal.
As of 2023, basic access to WordPress is free and business plans cost just £20 a month – making it accessible to pretty much any growing business.
Widely customisable with plug-ins and themes
WordPress is a popular choice for business due to its easily customisable nature. Whether you need an e-commerce function, a plug-in for SEO or the option to use custom design, WordPress can offer it.
This versatility means you’re not confined by a series of clunky templates that don’t suit exactly what you need. Instead, you’re able to fully customise your web presence to make your site stand out from your competitors.
Due to the platform’s popularity, it’s also widely used by designers and web developers, meaning you can easily hand over your site to another professional like us at Nebula Design without fear that they won’t know what they’re doing.
Simple self-management
The platform is very user friendly and doesn’t require any complicated coding or tech knowledge to operate, so it is possible to make a basic site yourself as a beginner; although for a growing business you will want to use a professional developer so that things look more sleek and less DIY.
You should still have access to it afterwards to tweak your site, publish some company news or update a blog post. You don’t need to rely on someone else to do it just because they built it. The platform’s easy-to-use CMS makes it simple to update things yourself.
Easy to provide access to multiple users
If you’ve got a growing team, you might want to give team members access to your site, while still retaining ultimate control.
With WordPress, this is simple. You can invite a user and then give them access to your site based on various user permission levels – starting with “administrator” at the top and going down to “subscriber” at the bottom.
This means you’ll always retain the most control over your website presence as a business owner, regardless of any staff or external contributors who might need to access your CMS.
Nebula Design – Your first choice for a WordPress website developer
At Nebula Design, we can build you a sleek and effective website using WordPress, which you’ll then be able to easily update yourself (we can still host and maintain it). To find out more about our web design packages, head here or book a discovery call.