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mall Business Websites are becoming a “must have” component to a successful small business internet marketing strategy. As a small business just getting started, it may seem overwhelming to realize that there are many companies trying to get your hard earned dollars by offering “simple to set up” websites. Sometimes their offers are tempting, until you realize that any changes you’d like to make or features you’d like to add are always an extra fee.
WordPress to the rescue! WordPress is built on free software that lets you update content yourself, make changes with a few clicks and has a wide variety of professional designs and applications that you can add in a few minutes. While WordPress was originally designed for use as a blogging tool, it has morphed into an incredible Content Management System (CMS) that allows small business owners to create their own professional websites quickly without a lot of technical knowhow.
Let’s take a look at 7 benefits to creating your small business website using WordPress:
- Save yourself some cash. Did you know that you can use the WordPress software for free? What you will need to pay for is hosting, but you can find hosting for around $5-$10 per month. Many hosting companies also have specials for the first month or discounts for paying for several months up front. Otherwise, you can build your site using WordPress for free.
- Easy set-up. No more headaches trying to set up your site. WordPress is easy to install as many hosting companies have Fantastico. This software lets you click a button, and WordPress is installed. Often, the hosting companies also offer tutorials on how to use WordPress, or you can find any number of videos and ‘how-to’ guides to get you through and answer your questions on getting your site to look exactly how you want it to. No technical wizards needed here!
- Change the look and feel of your wrodpress website anytime. There are templates, or themes, that you can use to make your website original and unique. In fact, there are thousands to choose from and most are free. You can of course choose to pay for a theme, but it is not required. Also, if you decide to change your theme, you can do so whenever you’d like. This adds a lot of flexibility to your site as you can change your theme to suit your growing business.
- Change what your wordpress website can do with plug-ins. Plug-ins are software that allow you to do a lot of different things on your website. There are some that can automatically backup your site, create a sitemap for your visitors to use, help you fight SPAM, allow comments on your posts, and email a message to your visitors asking them to take another look at your site etc. Oh, and just about all of the plug-ins are free.
- SEO friendly. The ball is already rolling for you with SEO. Search engines love WordPress and are already configured to quickly and easily index WordPress sites. There are even SEO plug-ins that can help you in getting more search engine attention and helping you in your search engine optimization efforts.
- Get help when you need it. With the incredible popularity of WordPress, there are plenty of WordPress experts that have a lot of experience and can help you with just about any problem. There is a forum at WordPress.org that has great information and is an excellent resource, but you can get help from plenty of other places online as well. No matter the problem, you won’t be in the dark for long.
- You maintain control. One of the most frightening experiences has to be when you realize that someone else is in control of how your business looks or operates. It can be very frustrating to have to wait and depend on someone else. With WordPress, you keep control and can add pages, delete pages, move things around, update functionality and can get help or assign someone else to make changes as you see fit. This can help with peace of mind as much as it can with the growth or flexibility of your business.
WordPress has got to be one of the easiest ways to really create and maintain your small business website and internet presence. As with anything, there is a bit of learning curve, but with its cost effectiveness and design flexibility, it sure is worth it.
Ask me how I can help you with your WordPress small business website and/or business blog.
Peace & Prosperity,
