CMS |
Market Share |
WordPress |
62% |
Joomla |
15% |
Drupal |
7% |
TYPO3 |
2% |
DotNetNuke |
1% |
It’s obvious that WordPress is king – it has the biggest market share by far. But what is it about WordPress that makes it so popular? Here are 5 reasons….
- WordPress is very easy to use, especially when compared to some other not-so-user-friendly CMS options. We always tell our clients that if they are capable of using the basic functions of programs like Microsoft Word and Excel, using WordPress will be a snap. The learning curve isn’t steep, and most folks become comfortable after using WordPress just a few times. With very little time investment, learning how to add content, upload images, and even getting familiar with widgets and plugins is a snap.
- It’s free! WordPress is open source, which means that in addition to the software itself being completely free, a dedicated community of developers continuously works on software updates, improvements, and new features. Along with updates to WordPress itself, there are an insane amount of third-party plugins available (some free, some paid) that can make a WordPress website even more powerful.
- Search engine optimization (or lack thereof) can make or break a website. WordPress is programmed so that a lot of the SEO dirty work is automatic. Keyword-rich file names, folder names, and directory structures are easily created, via WordPress’s various admin options. The result is time saved, and more importantly, search engines being able to easily find and index your website’s content. Great keywords and a properly indexed website often yields higher search engine rankings.
- WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform. While WordPress’s features and functionality has exploded well beyond blogging in the past several years, it is still a quite powerful blogging solution. If you are interested in implementing a CMS for your website, why not select a CMS that has terrific blogging features already built-in?
- Not only is WordPress extremely user-friendly for non-technical folks, who simply want to update their site’s content, but WordPress is also very user-friendly for designers and developers as well. From the designer’s and developer’s point-of-view, WordPress is set up in a modular way that makes “under the hood” stylistic and programming updates quick and painless. Quicker updates translate to less billable hours, and less billable hours translate to happier clients.
Even though WordPress currently reigns over all other website content management systems, it may or may not be the right fit for your website. Every CMS has its pros and its cons, and doing just a little bit of research before jumping in can prevent some headaches in the long run. Additionally, WordPress and other off-the-shelf CMSs might not be the right tool for the job, especially if your website is incredibly complex, or if your business has very unique business requirements.
We can help you select the CMS that is right for your business. If you have questions about WordPress, other CMSs, or even completely custom content management solutions, we’d love to chat! Give us a call at 804.577.8679 or contact us below.