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Speaking from personal experience, having just finished building my sixty-page WordPress e-commerce website and the ongoing global feedback from web designers and first-time users, the WordPress content management system is out on its own when it comes to user-friendliness.
It enables you to build SEO optimized, adaptable and professional-looking websites with very little prior knowledge of design. Its multiple functionalities and modification capabilities allow you to try and test different design layouts so you can customize your website to suit your business needs. If you are new to web design like I was, it can, as with anything new, take a little bit of getting used to, but once you’ve familiarized yourself with the WordPress dashboard, you can become a self-taught designer in no time.
The following list highlights some of the beneficial features that you will find when using a WordPress e-commerce website.
1. COST-EFFECTIVE
The cost of creating a website has reduced significantly over the years, and few content management systems are more cost-effective than a WordPress e-commerce website. The numerous WordPress themes available are very affordable for new businesses and ongoing maintenance won’t be a drain on finances due to the simplicity of the dashboard and the ability for the users to install plugins, which enable the expansion of the website.
2. QUICK AND EASY TO USE
WordPress is easier to use than any of its competitors and whether you’re an experienced designer or fresh at the platform, you will find the WordPress dashboard intuitive an easy to use. You can immediately start creating posts and new pages, content, images, and customize your layout. When you need to update the capability of your site, this is easily achieved by installing your required plugins.
Although you certainly don’t have to have prior design experience, if you do need assistance, there is an easily accessible support system in place to help you.
3. EASILY UPGRADED
The WordPress theme you choose for your eCommerce website will define how the front end of your website looks. Designing your website so it accurately represents your business is easily achieved due to the platform’s flexibility, and you can customize your theme at any stage of the design process. You can also upgrade and extend the functionality of your eCommerce website by using plugins so your site adapts to suit the growth of your business.
The theme you choose at the beginning is often based on your current needs, but it’s important when choosing to consider what changes might be required in the future, so check that your theme is adaptable.
4. SEO FRIENDLY AND LOVED BY SEARCH ENGINES
It’s quite likely that most of your initial traffic, and going forward, will be channelled from organic SEO. This is why it’s important that the underlying framework of the platform you choose is SEO friendly.
WordPress ranks highly with search engines due to its clean and constant code, which makes it easy for search engines to read and index eCommerce websites built with it. Other reasons why WordPress themes fit so well with search engines is due to being able to add meta tags to posts, pages, images and titles, and you can fine-tune your SEO campaigns on high converting pages. There are also extensions and plugins designed specifically for when you need to increase your SEO capabilities.
5. WEBSITE RESPONSIVE CAPABILITIES
Choosing an eCommerce WordPress theme that has responsive capabilities is essential considering that your website will have to perform on multiple devices. If you choose a theme that isn’t responsive, plugins can be added to enhance its responsive capabilities. However, if you have to change your theme in the future, it will affect how your content is displayed on mobile devices, so it’s wise to choose one that already has this in place. It is also something that Google takes into account when it comes to rankings.
6. GREAT COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The WordPress Community gets good press, and it is well deserved as help is available 24/7. If you need assistance with your site, there are plenty of options, such as the official WordPress database, direct assistance, online tutorials, guides and blogs.
So, if you have a question, you only need to reach out to the community and there will be somebody that can help you.
7. MULTIPLE USERS
As the system operates on an open-source platform, it enables different designers to work on your site. I found this to be particularly useful as it meant I could contact designers with my technical questions and they could immediately assist with accessing the platform and fixing the problem in real-time. This not only saves time, but it also provides a handy way of seeing what the designers are doing and how they are doing it.
8. ACCESSIBLE ON MULTIPLE DEVICES
Another benefit of the WordPress management system is that it’s browser-based. This enables you to log in from any device that has an internet connection and make use of the dashboard to add design changes to your website.
9. BLOG READY
As WordPress was created as a blogging platform, it has built-in blog capabilities. This means you can seamlessly integrate with all the social networks without having to log in to each one individually and instantly connect with your community to promote your latest offers and promotions.
10. SECURITY
Compared to other website management systems, WordPress has a well-proven and secure system. However, to ensure your website is impenetrable, use WordPress security plugins that can further bolster your website’s security.
Conclusion:
If you are considering building your first website or your business needs to upgrade its e-commerce capabilities, then you should be considering a WordPress website.
All too often, businesses, especially start-ups, are held back due to limiting budgets and the high costs of website design. However, by their very nature, WordPress themes are a way for you to take control of the entire design process at a fraction of the cost.
