7 Reasons To Love WordPress

In a sea of compatible CMS suitors, it can be time-consuming to find the one. Certain qualities, like lovable plugins, attractive themes, and extensive customization might catch your eye, but how do you know you’ve found your CMS soulmate? Before you tie the knot, it’s important to have a list of characteristics you’ll enjoy being with long-term.

Whether you’re building a simple blog or full-fledged application framework, here are some lovable reasons to consider choosing WordPress to power your website.

7 Reasons To Love WordPress #ilovewp

1. At its core, it’s free

   Love don’t cost a thing. Because of its open source nature, WordPress is free to use and there are no software licensing fees. Rather than paying a costly monthly or annual fee to use in-house services, as a developer or site owner, on WordPress you can spin up as many sites as you want without having to worry about licensing and copyrights.

2. Search Engine Magnetism

   WordPress has been engineered to give your website the best search engine results possible. Straight out of the box WordPress is already great for SEO, but there are some additional things you can do to make your content even more magnetic to search engines. For instance, installing an SEO plugin, like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack, is the first step in expanding WordPress’ search engine capabilities to help your content rank higher.

3. Lovable Plugins

   Want to expand your site beyond WordPress’ core functions? Perhaps a plugin can help.

   WordPress plugins allow you to add new functionalities to your website, like building a forum (bbPress), affiliate shop (ThirstyAffiliates), ecommerce store (WooCommerce), and so on. Other CMSs, like Squarespace, are limited with in-house software that cannot be adjusted from the user’s end. On the other spectrum, WordPress delivers 40,000-plus plugins, allowing you to tweak your site to perfection.

   Check out this Ultimate Guide To WordPress Plugins to learn more about some of the well-known plugins, as well as the top 10 most popular plugins installed by WP Engine customers.

4. Protection From Harm

   Although there is the common misconception that WordPress is not secure, this is completely untrue. WordPress’ open source community project consists of thousands of contributors and a core team of developers who work continuously to roll out security patches. Yet this alone doesn’t mean you should practice laxity in security.

   While WordPress constantly releases new core versions with the latest security updates, it’s up to you to keep your core, themes, and plugins up to date. There are other measures you can take to harden the security of your WordPress site, like using strong passwords, enforcing 2FA, installing a security plugin and so on.

5. Super Involved Community

   The WordPress community consists of thousands of individuals across the world who actively work to make WordPress better. If you run into an issue or have a problem, there’s literally someone out there to answer your question via support, Slack, developer resources, codex, and more.

   You don’t have to have the technical expertise to contribute to WordPress either. For instance, WordCamps around the world, from Prague to Bangkok to Mumbai are all made possible thanks to their event organizers and volunteers.

   Depending on how you want to contribute, whether it be design, translation, event planning, plugin development, training, and more, getting involved is super easy. You can even join a local WordPress Meetup to network and find like-minded individuals who share the same passion for WordPress.

6. Non-Techie Love

   Indulging in WordPress’ content-producing capabilities doesn’t require a ton of technical expertise. It’s quite easy to start a blog, or even build an ecommerce store without having knowledge of coding languages. The WordPress interface is quite intuitive, giving you flexibility in the content you produce.

   If you love simplicity, WordPress has got your back. Compared to other CMS’s, like Drupal and Joomla, adapting to WordPress is much easier for non-techies. While there is a slight learning curve due to WordPress’ vast customization options, creating content is a piece of cake thanks to its user-friendliness.

7. Customize It To Meet Your Needs

   If customization is your thing, WordPress has its advantages. WordPress is fully compatible with outside frameworks and programming languages, making it possible to weave in any integration.

   Whether you want to create a simple blog or full-fledged CMS, you don’t even have to develop on the WordPress admin panel — you can build an alternative WordPress admin panel on virtually any device or platform thanks to the JSON REST API.

   In addition, WordPress brings a number of attractive themes to take your site from “meh” to “wow” (without even having to code anything).

   If coding is your thing, backend structures like the Genesis framework give you a head start without all the bloat and clutter. Rather than code everything from the bottom up, frameworks like Genesis have a good amount of the backend already setup for you.

Final Thoughts

The list goes on. We love that WordPress now supports PHP 7, promising impressive improvements in site performance. For content creators, its interface is straightforward and agile. For developers, the customization possibilities are endless. This user-friendliness and flexibility have resulted in a vibrant, diverse community who continues to improve the platform thanks to its open source nature.

Last year, Matt Mullenweg asked WordPress users to share why they love WordPress. We ask you to do the same! Share with us in the comments below or tweet us the things you love the most about WordPress.

#ilovewp