This is the first in a series of articles on web site builders and development platforms for small businesses and nonprofits.
Creating a website no longer means that you need to hire a website coder to build a website. The technologies and companies that develop website platforms have come a long way in the last decade. Ten years ago, a person needed to know the difference between CSS and HTML, as well as how to use the code to build a website. Today’s technologies enable non-technical creators to use drag-and-drop interfaces to create simple sites and online stores. Even more complex sites and application have a head-start, based on available open-source (free to use) code.
From Wix, to Weebly, to Squarespace, GoDaddy and other site-builder applications, you have many choices. But how do you choose the right one for your business, nonprofit, or passionate endeavor? This article will help you understand the trade-offs you make with each of the options we considered. If you find you have more questions than we provide answers for here, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help guide you in the right direction.
The main trade-off you’ll find is with regard to “ease of use.” Ease of use comes with limitations. The type of limitations depends on the service provider. Choosing a higher monthly package can remove certain limitations. Other limitations do not lift with any monthly price.
As we break down the features, benefits, and cost of each platform, keep in mind what you need right now for yourself, business, and brand. Also, be aware what you might need in six months or year from now. At the end of the article, we’ll compare all the platforms. It is a matter of find the right one for you and your website goals.
WordPress
WordPress began as a blogging platform and has become one of the most flexible website builders due to being open source. With full access to the platform, designers and developers have created tools specifically for the platform.
There are two WordPress websites. WordPress.com, which is a hosted free blogging and website builder site and WordPress.org, which offers a free download of the latest version of WordPress for your use on your own website hosting service.
Type – Custom Building With a Head-Start
WordPress is unique from Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace in that you have full access and own your website and content. The downside to owning is you need to decide how to build your home and maintenance. There are limitless options. BGAmedia specializes in creating customized sites in WordPress that address the specific needs of each client.
Features of WordPress.org
WordPress includes basic themes and plugins making it ready for blogging. However, it is not a drag and drop platform out of the box. There are a few different plugin options that can turn WordPress into a drag and drop type of platform. If you want to manage updating the site yourself, we’ll install one of these editors for you.
Themes
Several website designers and developers have created themes for WordPress over the years. There are entire websites dedicated to giving the themes away and selling them. WordPress also offers a marketplace for free themes, which are vetted before appearing in the market.
Mobile-Ready
Most themes are mobile-ready, however, you need to verify that a website will be responsive and how it is mobile-ready. There are several frameworks used to display a desktop website on mobile phones and tablets. When selecting a theme also view the mobile version before uploading or purchasing it.
Plugins
Plugins are similar to apps that added features to your WordPress website. There are numerous categories for plugins
that range from free to premium. The range of free plugins are endless
and most premium plugins offer limited access through a free version.
Slideshows
There are over 600 slideshow plugins available for free in the WordPress marketplace. Any type of slideshow you desire can most likely be found.
Images
The media library in WordPress keeps your content organized. You can also edit your images and add SEO data to the content directly in the media library.
Video Integration
Similarly to slideshows there are plugins that will allow you to add self-hosted or 3rd party videos from sources like YouTube and Vimeo to your website. Some of the video plugins can also make your videos responsive for better viewing on mobile devices.
Forms
You can integrate any type of form into your website with a plugin for interactivity. The form options vary from drag-and-drop to added features like PayPal payments.
Blogging
WordPress started as a blogging platform, so it is already built-in and ready to go.
Advanced Editor
Every element of your theme and plugins can be edited. When we do extensive customization, we create a “Child” theme allowing us to maintain the losing the customizations made to the theme and plugins.
eCommerce
There are a several eCommerce platforms available as plugins that will turn your site into an e-Store. The two most popular platforms are WooCommerce and MarketPress. These free plugins also have paid add-ons further customize the options like payment plans and payment gateways.
Marketing
Because WordPress is open source most email marketing platforms offer a free plugin to automatically connect your email marketing to WordPress.
Benefits Of WordPress
WordPress does what you design it to do and we can code it to do nearly anything. The biggest drawback is being overwhelmed and not knowing what you need to get started. We can help with that too! Below are our favorite plugins for any type of website.
Use – Advanced
Setting up a WordPress website can take time depending on the theme and plugins you add. But, once the platform is setup and you know your way around, WordPress is fairly easy to use. It takes time to learn it, but the access you have might outweigh the time to learn it. We are always here to help.
Full Ownership
You do not own the WordPress platform, but you obtain a license to every plugin and theme you acquire. All the customizations we do can move with you wherever you go (for web hosting).
Backup
Use the WordPress Backup to Dropbox plugin to automatically save your database. You can adjust how often your website saves in the settings. Keeping your data separate is crucial to easily re-upload after a crash. Websites crash. It happens. Be ready for when (not if) it does.
Security
Most website owners will only experience a brute force attack once in awhile, but when you do, the bandwidth used can shut-down your website even if it is not successful. If the attackers try long enough, they will be successful. Plugins like WordFence Security Plugin automatically block attacks and report on vulnerabilities we can remedy for you.
SEO
WordPress can be a marketing powerhouse and being high in search results can be key to that result. We begin by installing Yoast SEO or All-in-One WordPress SEO, and have access within your post editor to add keywords and easily view the effectiveness of your keyword saturation. Our sites rapidly rise in search results and bring you moire business.
Cost Of WordPress
Free. WordPress.org is an open source platform and does not charge for you to use it. Your costs depend on your hosting package. You will need to find, pay for, and set-up your own web hosting, but this choice can save you a lot of money in the long-term. Website hosting from BGAmedia includes everything you need for a great WordPress site, including unlimited email accounts and high performance. Learn more here.
The secondary cost may be a website developer, a person or company that can code customizations to your theme or a website designer to design an original theme for your business. With WordPress, you can pay as little as $4 per month or as much as $200,000+ if you hire high-end website designers and website developers. BGAmedia specializes in finding the most cost-efficient path for site creation, giving you the best possible design elements at the least cost. The beauty of WordPress is that you can decide every element and cost associated with each element.
This was the first in a series of articles on web site builders and development platforms for small businesses and nonprofits. Next week, we will look at the costs and benefits of Wix.