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Is WordPress Right for You?

What is a Content Management System?

WordPress is a Content Management System. A CMS is software that allows a website owner to update and manage the content and look of their own site through a web browser based interface, as well as a variety of apps depending on the system – a desktop app is also available for WordPress.

WordPress – The World’s Most Popular CMS

WordPress powers a growing number of websites – at January 2018, around 29% of the entire internet. That’s a lot. It also holds a 60% market share of all CMS in use.

That’s great news for WordPress users – there’s a vast and accessible knowledge base covering everything you’d want to know about WordPress – from the basics to the technical stuff – and the momentum for continued development and improvement.

We’ve been working with WordPress since 2004 and witnessed its evolution from humble blogging platform to a mature content management system used in a wide variety of sites, large and small. It’s quality Open Source software that’s getting better all the time.

We work with WordPress on a daily basis, creating and hosting and maintaining a wide variety of sites. Here’s a brief, non-technical primer on WordPress but don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for more information.

Is WordPress the Best Option for You?

With a wide variety of options available for new websites, WordPress – great though it is – may not be the best option for you. The first step towards deciding what type of website suits you is having a careful think about your short and long term needs and goals.

The first step is deciding whether to host and maintain your own software (“self-hosted“) or take advantage of a 3rd party hosted option.

If all you require is a simple blog, you may not need to host your own site, you can use one of the growing number of free blogging services available such as Tumblr, blogger.com or wordpress.com.

Here’s a helpful article outlining some options: http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-choose-the-best-blogging-platform/

Depending on what you are actually wanting to accomplish, an account with facebook or a youtube channel might be all you need.

“The simplest solution is the best solution.”

Alongside the advantages of having someone else deal with maintenance and security, there are limitations to many 3rd party options – the main one usually being the inability to customise the look and functionality of your site in exactly the way you want. I also occasionally hear complaints about the customer service offered by some overseas platforms. Additionally, on some platforms, SEO may also be more of a challenge than self-hosted WordPress which has some powerful plugins and SEO optimised themes available.

If you want outright ownership and control of a site under your own domain name and the added power of a CMS built to your specifications, then a ‘self-hosted’ CMS may well be the best solution. Self-hosting also means that you can use servers based close to your customers and have customer service more readily avalable.

The trade off is that self-hosted WordPress requires maintenance and some technical know-how to work with plugins and keep secure. If you’re a keen tech DIYer or someone with good computer skills and some time, that won’t be a problem. If you’re a business owner with no time to acquire the new skills necessary, it may mean paying someone else to maintain and update your site.

If you’d like more information on content management systems, WordPress and whether it’s right for you feel free to get in touch.

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What our clients are saying...

Rob was great to deal with, prompt in his responses to my queries and ever willing to sort out my website problems with me, often at short notice. It was important to me that I retained some degree of control over my website and that I could learn from Rob as we went along. He was very open to this. He charged fairly and I look forward to working with him on an ongoing basis.

Ange Palmer -  Medical Herbalist

2016-11-21T09:44:35+00:00

Ange Palmer -  Medical Herbalist

logo
Rob was great to deal with, prompt in his responses to my queries and ever willing to sort out my website problems with me, often at short notice. It was important to me that I retained some degree of control over my website and that I could learn from Rob as we went along. He was very open to this. He charged fairly and I look forward to working with him on an ongoing basis.
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/ange-palmer/
Rob assisted me build my first ever business website and logo. To say I am a rookie in these sort of things would be generous. I had absolutely no idea apart from the fact that I wanted some nice photos, a certain theme and was quite clear on the logo I wanted.
I can only praise Rob in all his dealings with myself and my colleagues – he was calm, informed, insightful, had great attention to detail and was always there whenever we had any questions. The result is a website and logo that I am 100% happy with created in less than 3 weeks. I cannot recommend Rob more highly.

Susie Vokins -  Susie Vokins Associates

2016-11-21T09:48:57+00:00

Susie Vokins -  Susie Vokins Associates

Susie Vokins
Rob assisted me build my first ever business website and logo. To say I am a rookie in these sort of things would be generous. I had absolutely no idea apart from the fact that I wanted some nice photos, a certain theme and was quite clear on the logo I wanted. I can only praise Rob in all his dealings with myself and my colleagues – he was calm, informed, insightful, had great attention to detail and was always there whenever we had any questions. The result is a website and logo that I am 100% happy with created in less than 3 weeks. I cannot recommend Rob more highly.
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/susie-vokins-associates/
We use Lifeform for all our website work. Rob does a great job administering our websites, keeping them updated and optimised.

Sue F, Nelson

2016-11-21T09:54:01+00:00

Sue F, Nelson

WordPress Logo
We use Lifeform for all our website work. Rob does a great job administering our websites, keeping them updated and optimised.
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/wordpress-website-maintenance/
I needed a clean looking site that I could maintain and style myself – Lifeform Labs did an awesome job!

Jessie Leov - Musician

2016-11-21T09:55:23+00:00

Jessie Leov - Musician

Jessie Leov
I needed a clean looking site that I could maintain and style myself – Lifeform Labs did an awesome job!
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/jessie-leov-musician/
Rob’s technical WordPress know-how has got my site up and running, but it’s his knowledge of the web that I’ve found especially useful. His advice on search engines and social media trends has helped me to develop an overall strategy – I know what I need to be doing next. Cheers Bob!

Lee Woodman - Artist & Designer

2016-11-21T10:05:57+00:00

Lee Woodman - Artist & Designer

Lee Woodman
Rob’s technical WordPress know-how has got my site up and running, but it’s his knowledge of the web that I’ve found especially useful. His advice on search engines and social media trends has helped me to develop an overall strategy – I know what I need to be doing next. Cheers Bob!
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/lee-woodman-artist-designer/
I can’t recommend Lifeform Labs enough. Rob has been extremely good to work with. His approach is professional, prompt, and above all helpful. He offered, and delivered, a very affordable product geared to my specific needs. Never once did I feel overawed by all the IT stuff, yet he did encourage me to grapple with some aspects of the web, which has improved my understanding immensely. If you need a web guy Rob at Lifeform Labs is your man.

Deborah Bower - SoulScape

2016-11-21T10:19:43+00:00

Deborah Bower - SoulScape

Soulscape logo
I can’t recommend Lifeform Labs enough. Rob has been extremely good to work with. His approach is professional, prompt, and above all helpful. He offered, and delivered, a very affordable product geared to my specific needs. Never once did I feel overawed by all the IT stuff, yet he did encourage me to grapple with some aspects of the web, which has improved my understanding immensely. If you need a web guy Rob at Lifeform Labs is your man.
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/deborah-bower-soulscape/
Awesome job on the website Rob, your patience, problem solving and technical expertise have been invaluable in producing just what we needed. There is a collective sigh of relief from the Pataka team that we now have a clean, user-friendly site to showcase what we have to offer, or as one of Pataka’s staff put it… 'Super bloody marvellous'!

Stu Forsyth, Senior Graphic Designer - Pataka Art Museum

2016-11-21T10:21:59+00:00

Stu Forsyth, Senior Graphic Designer - Pataka Art Museum

Awesome job on the website Rob, your patience, problem solving and technical expertise have been invaluable in producing just what we needed. There is a collective sigh of relief from the Pataka team that we now have a clean, user-friendly site to showcase what we have to offer, or as one of Pataka’s staff put it… 'Super bloody marvellous'!
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/pataka-art-museum/
When I needed a new website one of my prime interests was to have a user friendly simple and straight forward site that was a pleasure to visit. Simple, Honest, and Effective. It was a pleasure to work with Rob, he interpreted well and built exactly what I imagined, plus kept me well informed throughout the process. And it works! I’m really pleased with the whole process, and look forward to working with Rob to develop the site further as the business evolves.

Bob Gilkison Publisher, The Twisting Trail

2016-11-21T10:26:23+00:00

Bob Gilkison Publisher, The Twisting Trail

a horse of course
When I needed a new website one of my prime interests was to have a user friendly simple and straight forward site that was a pleasure to visit. Simple, Honest, and Effective. It was a pleasure to work with Rob, he interpreted well and built exactly what I imagined, plus kept me well informed throughout the process. And it works! I’m really pleased with the whole process, and look forward to working with Rob to develop the site further as the business evolves.
https://lifeform.co.nz/testimonials/the-twisting-trail/

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