10 Reasons Why I Love WordPress

It took me a couple of years to figure out why blogging was so important.  I guess that’s because I didn’t fully understand how blogs can be used.  Back then I thought, “Why would I want to publicly discuss what I did from day to day?”  But blogs (web logs) are so much more than a journaling tool.  Blogs, especially WordPress, can be powerful content management systems capable of replacing old school HTML websites. 

I had always built traditional HTML sites and they were a lot of work maintaining the same look and feel throughout the site.  I’m the kind of person who gets an idea and whips out a standalone web page without linking it to the rest of the site.  Before I know it, there is no visual or contextual continuity.  Search engines don’t like that.

I started out playing around with the free version of WordPress.com.  Once I got the hang of it and how easy it was to publish content, I soon understood the power of WordPress.  But, I also saw how limiting the free version of WordPress.com was.  No selling was allowed and you can’t upload themes or plugins. 

I already had my own web hosting, so I installed WordPress on my own account.  I was hooked and haven’t built an HTML site since.

1. WordPress software is already free on your web hosting account.  If it’s not, you need a new web host, or you can install it the hard way by downloading it from WordPress.org.
2. Installing WordPress is easy from your hosting account’s control panel.  Just fill out a handful of fields and click the install button. 
3. Fire your expensive webmaster because WordPress doesn’t require a webmaster to install or run it.  If you can use a word processor, you can use WordPress.
4. Traditional HTML websites require expensive design software.  Plus, your source files are stored locally on someone’s PC and need to be uploaded to the server when edited or new web pages are added.  WordPress uses already developed themes, many of them are free.  And since your blog’s content is stored in a database on the web server and not in local source files, you can modify your blog from any computer with internet access. 
5. WordPress was designed to be loved by the search engines because WordPress developers consulted with search engine providers to ensure it would be search engine friendly.
6. Blogging is the easiest way to update customers with news about new products or how to use them. 
7. WordPress makes a great showcase for photographers, hobbyists, crafters, gardeners and more.
8. You can easily create tutorials.  Teachers can even post homework assignments online with ease.
9. It’s easy to find and install free plugins to perform specific tasks without having to touch any programming code.  If you need to perform a specific task with your blog, chances are pretty good there’s a plugin for it.  If not, WordPress is open source which means there are thousands of programmers capable of writing just what you need.
10. Create new users with only Author access and allow them to contribute posts to your site.