One of the most widely used website creation and content management systems nowadays is WordPress, and for good reason – it’s adaptable, reasonably priced, and lets you transfer your website to various hosting platforms. It does have certain restrictions, though, just like any tool. In this blog, we will look at three common misconceptions people have concerning WordPress, and why you shouldn’t leave your website management up to your friend’s neighbor’s nephew!
Expectation 1: WordPress Is Easy To Use
Reality: WordPress is often lauded as being easy to use, but this is frankly not the case for most beginners. While it is certainly easier to use than some other site-building tools, it still requires a certain level of technical know-how. If you’re not familiar with HTML or CSS, you may find yourself struggling to customize your site beyond the basic templates.
WordPress sites also tend to suffer from the ripple effect, where a small change on one page may cause adverse effects on a totally different part of your site. Because WordPress is open source, there is not a central authority that can provide support or answer questions across the board. If you want your WordPress experience to be as easy as 1-2-3, you’ll need to hire a WordPress expert.
Expectation 2: WordPress Is Free
Reality: It’s true that WordPress is technically free to download and use, but that’s only the first piece of the puzzle. Actually, that’s more like the box the puzzle comes in. There are thousands of themes, templates, plugins, and tools to help make your website the best it can be, and while many provide basic functionality for free, to have an effective online presence you will have to pay in some way for most, or all, of the additional components. These can quickly add up to a pretty penny in monthly costs. On top of premium themes and plugin functionality, you’ll have to pay for your domain name and hosting services so that users can find and view your website online. Free WordPress is fine and dandy for amateurs, but you certainly won’t be making any headlines.
Expectation 3: I Don’t Have To Worry About My Site Security With WordPress
Reality: We don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you’re fooling yourself if you think website security isn’t your problem. There are over 60,000 WordPress plugins at the time of writing this blog, and all of them come with frequent, often daily, updates. Skipping these updates on a regular basis leaves your website vulnerable to malicious attacks through old or faulty coding. Also, WordPress itself rolls out updates, and so will the theme you choose. If ignored, it can have a drastic effect on the front end of your site, or leave major security breaches.
Services for custom WordPress development go beyond simply creating your website. They provide ongoing support, updates, security administration, and so much more. Do you have the time or desire to check your website every day and apply these updates? Most people would answer “No!”. The solution is to leave your site in the hands of the professionals.
The Simple Reality: WordPress is an amazing platform, with endless possibilities. But unless you are planning to drop everything else and focus only on building and maintaining your website, there’s no reason to ignore professional website services. Hiring a team of WordPress experts, like we have here at Bullseye Media, shouldn’t be thought of as a nice-to-have for your business, but an investment in necessity for your website’s success.
Oh, and we didn’t even mention what goes into your site for good SEO! You can read more about that in one of our previous blog posts, or better yet, reach out and ask us about it!