Business Tips for Web Sites, Blogs, Social Media and Online Marketing

20 Reasons Why I Recommend WordPress Blogs

Tweet

 

I have been helping my clients with their blogs for a few years now, and I have to say that the more I work with blogs, the more I love WordPress! (Clarification: In this post, when I mention “WordPress,” I am referring to the self-hosted version of WordPress, available for free at wordpress.org – not blogs available from wordpress.com.)

Here are 20 reasons why I love – and recommend - WordPress blogs for business:

1. It’s easy to setup. WordPress.org offers step-by-step instructions for installing WordPress blogs on your own domain. If the idea of doing this frightens you, I"ll install it for you for free with the purchase of one of my web hosting plans!
    
2. Design options are endless! There are thousands of free themes (blog designs) available online. There are also plenty of premium themes available for purchase as well. And most themes can be customized even further… allowing you to add your own logo, change the colors, change the layout, etc.
    
3. Functionality options are endless too! Need some special features on your blog? Plugins can extend WordPress to do all sorts of things, from adding a photo gallery on your blog, to blocking spammers from commenting on your blog, to adding RSS feeds, and more.
    
4. It’s easy to use. You don’t have to learn HTML or a programming language to use your blog – and the WordPress Admin area is very user-friendly. You can quickly add or edit your pages or posts, add images, add links, and more. (I also provide my clients with step-by-step instructions on how to get started.)
    
5. It’s available for free. There is no license fee. You just have to pay for your domain name registration (website address) and web hosting. Many times these costs are less expensive than the hosted solutions. For example, to have “total design customization” in a Typepad blog, you need to signup for the “Unlimited” plan, which is $14.95/month. And Typepad’s “Priority Support” is only available with their “Business Class” plan at $89.95/month.
    
6. You gain credibility when your blog is hosted on your own domain. Take a look at most reputable professional business blogs. Very few of them are using a free blogging service like Typepad or Blogger. It just looks more professional to have your OWN blog — and people will think you are serious about your work.
    
7. You OWN  your blog. When you have a blog on a hosted platform such as Blogger or Typepad, you’re at the mercy of that site; you don’t own your blog. They can shut down your blog at any time and for any reason. And what happens to your blog if they shut down their service?
    
8. There is a large WordPress community. Since WordPress is so popular, it’s easy to find answers to most any WordPress question you may have.
    
9. You’re in control of advertising. With a self-hosted blog, you can include ads if you want to — and any revenue generated from those ads is yours to keep. OR… you may choose NOT include ads on your blog. Either way, the choice is yours to make. With a hosted blogging platform, you are at the mercy of their advertising policies. Some include ads as well as links to other sites or blogs.
    
10. Built-in user registration is available.  You can choose to allow people to register, maintain profiles and leave comments on your blog. You can optionally close comments for non-registered users too.
     
11. You can schedule your posts for a later date. Start writing now while the thoughts are fresh in your mind… and save it as a draft until it’s proof-read and ready for press!
     
12. WordPress blogs are loaded with built-in features! Read more on wordpress.org.
     
13. Visitors to your blog can leave comments on your posts. You can also enable or disable comments on a per-post basis.
     
14. It has excellent spam protection. I recommend using the free Akismet plugin.
     
15. You can password-protect your posts. Give passwords to individual posts to hide them from the public. I have also setup password-protection for an entire category!
     
16. WordPress blogs are SEO-friendly. There are built-in SEO tools as well as numerous SEO plugins available.
     
17. Your SEO efforts will direct traffic to YOUR site — not to typepad.com or blogger.com.
     
18. WordPress is easy for a developer to customize. The code is made easily available to make changes to.
     
19. You can incorporate a WordPress blog into your current website, if you have one. For example, if your website is: www.yourwebsite.com — your blog address can be  www.yourwebsite.com/blog.
     
20. When your blog is hosted on your own website, you have the option of installing other programs outside the blog. (For example, you can install an online store on your website that may not be available as a WordPress plugin.)
     

Have a question about WordPress – or a comment about my reasons? Contact me directly or leave a comment below!

(Photo Credit: adactio.)