Why I Use WordPress

After posting an instructional, step-by-step guide to building a website, I have had several people ask me why exactly it is that I use WordPress and why I recommend it to others. WordPress, for those that don’t know, is ‘a free and open-source content management system (CMS) based on PHP and MySQL.’ In simpler terms – terms that I understand – WordPress is an easy way to make and host a blog or website. Plus it is free, and as it is open source, anyone can make it better. I used WordPress to make this site (originally just for my family) and at the start of 2015, WP was used for nearly one quarter of the top ten-million websites in the world. With good reason.

Why do I use WordPress for this blog? Simply put, it’s simple. My computer knowledge is limited and WP allows me to make a relatively clean looking site very easily. If I was to code the website myself, I would spend months or years learning how to build a website and chances are, it wouldn’t look that great. Then there would be endless little kinks to iron out. Think of WordPress as a ready built, functional engine that is ready to go. You plug it in and start playing. For decoration, you download a pretty theme that has been designed by an experienced creative – typically these cost about $50 although you can get basic themes for free – and then you start adding content. If you need a certain element of functionality, you can download a plugin – again made by an experienced programmer. And your site is immediately search engine friendly – I know almost nothing of SEO, but rank high on Google for several search terms. Years of coding experience are magically no longer needed to make a functional website. Why do the hard work if you don’t have to?

Of course, there are purists who say that coding your website is the only way to go – but that, to me, is like saying that a house isn’t truly yours unless you grow the timber and cast the pipes. If I was to spend all my time learning how to make a website from the ground up, I wouldn’t have anything to write about because all my time would be spent. Using my very basic skills, I have built websites for several other people and they now operate the sites themselves. That’s how easy it is. Being free and open source (anyone can change it and make it better), but most importantly, being simple, WordPress truly is revolutionary and I love it.

If you have limited computer knowledge and wish to make your own site, I highly recommend WordPress. You might also want to read this post about how to build a website.

By | 2015-08-11T12:19:49+00:00 August 11th, 2015|Thoughts and Inspiration|2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. I just created this site using WordPress a few months ago. I like using it because I feel like I’m learning a valuable skill that I can take with me to any future project. If I become good enough at it, I can hopefully leverage it into a future job.

  2. Josh 01/09/2015 at 22:51 - Reply

    Couldn’t agree more. Blogger is even simpler 🙂

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