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.