These days, having an online presence is essential for businesses and there are numerous undeniable benefits to making your business accessible to everyone online. If you don’t already have a website then this is one of the first steps to building your virtual presence. Of course, when creating a website for your business there are many different things you’ll need to consider and one of the most important being which web publishing software to use.
When searching for software you can use to make your very first website, there is a high chance you will come across WordPress. WordPress is considered to be one of the simplest and most popular ways to create your own website, so it is worthwhile looking into. To help anyone trying to get their head around what WordPress is, our team here at catalyst2 have put together an easy to understand complete guide covering all of the basics.
What is WordPress?
In simple terms, WordPress is essentially a website builder, but it is called a Content Management System (CMS) and it is used by people who want to create their own website. WordPress isn’t the only system of this kind but it is one of the most popular these days.
Often, people are drawn to WordPress because you don’t need to have any knowledge of coding to design and build a website for your business. For this reason, it is usually used by people creating a website for the first time.
How long has WordPress been around for?
WordPress was created back in 2003 by its founders’ American developer Matt Mullenweg and English developer Mike Little. It was originally created as a blog-publishing system but over the years it has evolved to support other types of web content too.
What websites can WordPress make?
Ultimately, WordPress can make everything from a small blog site to a large multi-page website. Nowadays you will find business websites, eCommerce stores, Forums, membership sites and even social networks on WordPress.
You really aren’t limited when you choose WordPress, you can easily and quickly create a website that perfectly reflects your business and that you’re proud to show off to both existing and potential customers.
Who uses WordPress?
Simply put, anyone and everyone. WordPress is used by individuals, huge businesses and everyone in between. You will probably be surprised just how many popular websites that you visit use WordPress and they all look incredibly professional.
What is the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?
When searching for WordPress on a search engine you will be greeted but two different websites; WordPress.org and WordPress.com. It is important to note that these two websites are actually different. When creating a website you can use either of these WordPress sites but you should know the differences between the two before you choose one.
- WordPress.org – this is a free open source software that you can use to create your very own website by yourself.
- WordPress.com – this is a paid service, powered by the same software, that you can use if you need some help creating the website.
Without going into too much detail, whilst opting for WordPress.com can be tempting if you’ve never made a website before, it is actually much more beneficial to use WordPress.org. Below we will explain some of the main benefits of doing so.
Why choose WordPress?
Here are some of the best reasons for why you should use WordPress to build your businesses first website;
- Free and open-source – you will never have to pay to use the WordPress software and it is a community project built by volunteers so lots of people are constantly building upon WordPress to help it grow.
- Flexible and extensible – you can create any website you’d like and you have numerous different plugins available to help you, these make it so easy to modify your website to meet your needs.
- Easy to install, use and manage – you don’t need to know anything about website design to use WordPress, the software is easy to use at every step of the process yet it still has all of the features you will need.
- Modern and stylish – you can create a modern-looking website and there are numerous themes to choose from so there’s something for everyone. WordPress also works on all screen sizes and devices too.
All in all, there is no reason why you shouldn’t use WordPress (WordPress.org) when designing a website for your business and it will allow you to do everything you need to in order to get your business online. Due to the popularity of WordPress too, if you’re unsure where to start, there are lots of guides online that can walk you through the process and get you started.
Do you need anything to create a WordPress website?
In order to get started with your businesses website, you will need two things;
- A domain name – this is the name/address of your website, for example, mybusiness.com, it is what people will put into their address bar to find your site.
- A web hosting setup – this is where your website is going to be kept/hosted, it is also known as a web server.
Whilst both of these things may seem confusing, especially if you’ve never had a website before, they’re actually very straightforward. There are a lot of different companies that can assist you with both finding and registering a domain name and they often offer web hosting services too. So, it is easy to get everything you need to start creating your WordPress website.
How can people see a WordPress website?
When you first create your website, by default WordPress sets the website to private, this means that people won’t be able to see it as you’re working on it and until you’re ready to show them. Once you have decided your website is finished you have two different options;
- Hidden – this allows people to view your website by typing in your domain name but it won’t appear on any search engines, even if they specifically search for it.
- Public – this allows absolutely everyone to view your website and also enables it to be included in search engine results too.
The majority of businesses will turn their website from private to public when they are ready to show it to people. Of course, being able to be found on search engines is essential for the majority of businesses so, by keeping your website hidden you may be limiting yourself.
Creating a website for your business
Now that you know more about WordPress and how it can help you, it may be worthwhile using this software when creating your business’ first website. There is no denying that if you’re looking for an easy way to create a website without having to spend months learning to code then WordPress is perfect. You can guarantee that when you turn to WordPress you will be able to create a website that goes on to benefit your business in many different ways.
When deciding to create a website, whether you use WordPress or not, if you’re searching for a company that can assist you with finding and registering a domain name, as we all as providing you with web-hosting packages/services, visit the catalyst2 website today. With over 20 years of experience as a hosting company, we are the perfect people to assist you in this regard and you can trust that your new website will be in safe hands with our team. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch today if you have any questions at all about domain names and web hosting or you’re looking for some advice regarding creating a website for your business. Our team is always happy to help.
