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wordpress logoWordPress started life as a blogging tool and was released in 2003 by its creators, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. The software is free to use and it has developed into a popular Content Management System (CMS), which allows you to edit your own website. Some 23% of the world’s websites currently use the WordPress CMS. You login to it via a website browser, which means that you can edit your site from a desktop computer, tablet or a smartphone. WordPress has a community of 100s of volunteers who are continually improving it.

There are thousands of themes available (the theme governs the look and feel of the site). If you are tired of your website design, you can choose a new theme. At the time of writing, parallax themes are becoming popular.

Recent themes are responsive, which means that they work well with tablets and smartphones.

There are over 30,000 plugins available which provide additional functionality, i.e help with SEO, or the creation of a client portal.

The WordPress software is free and can be downloaded here: https://wordpress.org

You can instantly create a blog here: https://wordpress.com

Via the above link, you can also create your own site, however, there are some limitations with this approach, i.e. you can’t install your own plugins.

Alternatively, you can choose a website hosting service which offers ‘one click WordPress installation’.  A word of advice: choose one where you can pick up the phone and talk to somebody (as opposed to handling questions via email).

You can learn to build your WordPress website yourself, if you are technically inclined. Or can you go on a training course where you typically build your own site in a day. Most businesses usually use a third party website development firm which specialises in WordPress (ask me if you would like a recommendation).

WordPress is SEO friendly. ‘Permalinks’ are created automatically when you write a new blog post or web page. I like the way in which the software automatically creates the page Title tag for me and also the way in which I can toggle between Visual and Text view (the latter gives me access to the html).

With regards to blogging, you should categorise your blog posts (which is easy in WordPress). You can add Tags to your posts and create a Tag cloud if you wish.

I have been using WordPress for five years. I find it easy and intuitive to use and I write my blogs directly in the software. I like the way that I can upload and manipulate images, easily embed videos and create new pages whenever I want to.

I hope that you have found this WordPress review to be helpful. If you need help with your website, you can join The Marketing Compasssend me an email or call me on 01628 773128.

Nigel Temple

Author Nigel Temple

Nigel Temple is a marketing consultant, speaker, trainer and writer. Topics include: AI / ChatGPT, Marketing strategy, Digital marketing, SEO, Copywriting, Mailchimp. Nigel is available to hire for a consultancy meeting, training workshop, speaking event or marketing project. Email: nigel@nigeltemple.com Or call Nigel on: 01628 773128

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