When it comes right down to it, building and maintaining a website is time consuming. It should be though, it’s a lot of work getting all of the materials together. However, just because it takes some time to do, does not mean you should have to spend all of your time maintaining the functionality of your site, when could be using that energy to update the side with content, and bringing more traffic into it. This is where WordPress comes in.

Where you should be spending a good part of your time on your website, it should not be spent trying to fix things, trying to get things to work all of the time, and updating things individually. WordPress really helps make everything about a website quicker.

WordPress LogoYou may not currently know how to use WordPress, but I promise, a couple read-ups on it and you’ll not only have it down, but be smooth sailing. There are onscreen instructions along the way that make everything about WordPress a piece of cake.

If you’re still up in the air about WP, then allow me to list a few things that might make you change your mind about it. I’m only telling you all of this because I really think WordPress is an incredible tool. By no means am I saying everything out there should be WordPress, but you can do just about anything with it anymore, so the possibilities are nearly limitless.

  • For starters, WP is FREE. I love free things - especially good-free-things.
  • Most web hosts support WP.
  • Supported by all browsers.
  • It’s easy to install.
  • Easy to use.
  • Since there are millions of users, it is upgraded frequently.
  • Easily upgraded to latest version. When there is a new version, WP informs you in the admin area.
  • Highly customizable.
  • Tons of plug-ins. I don’t encourage using a ton of plug-ins, but for some of you it will be easier than finding someone who can edit your code for you.
  • Lots of customizations. If you don’t want to use a plug-in, chances are there is a mini tutorial somewhere out there that will show you how to do it.
  • There are downloadable templates out there and it also easy to make your own.
  • It’s all done in PHP, HTML and CSS.
  • You only need WP for the website and the blog, not two separate programs.
  • Since WP runs in a blog format for updating, that makes adding content easier.
  • You can start on an article or post now, save it, and finish it later. This means you can put in a large quantity of information, adjust the dates for when you want to publish it, and then publish it later on.
  • Customize your URL for each post, to make it more search engine friendly.
  • No need to learn new code to use it.
  • One or more users with different logins, passwords and levels of moderation.
  • User pictures and bios, which will appear when the name is selected, so the author is known.
  • Spam protection. You’ll still have to delete some from time to time, but the filters really help.
  • You can use your mobile phone to update your site.
  • RSS feeds.
  • W3C compliant.

I really do encourage that you look into using WordPress if you’re thinking about starting up even the smallest site. If you don’t like it, the worst thing that will happen is you lose a little time from playing with it, and no money, since it’s free. I promise it’s worth the time!