As an agency we have been designing websites for over 18 years. During this time we have seen many technologies come and go. Some have maintained a presence, some have wained whilst others have thrived. WordPress falls into this latter category. Today, WordPress the platform used to power the majority of websites that we design. That’s not entirely surprising as WordPress also accounts for around 45% of all websites on the internet in 2023.
Why WordPress?
WordPress started out as a blogging platform and being ‘Open Source’ was essentially free of charge. It was relatively simple and easy to use for non-technical operators. The idea of content management of websites first started to gain traction in the late 2000’s. Enthusiastic developers recognised the opportunity to harness WordPress to deliver this key function. A lot has happened in the interim and WordPress is now a very powerful publishing platform
A WordPress Developer You Can Trust
WordPress as a platform remains fee free but a lot of theme and plugins do have costs. Developers work around the licensing to offer updates, support or extensions for a premium that enables them to earn and income for their work. These costs can soon add up so it’s important to choose plugins that are reliable and well supported. This is where our experience in WordPress Development comes in to play as we only use tried and trusted themes, plugins and extensions.
WordPress Multisite
The multisite feature is ideal for organisations with a number of related websites or for businesses that operate in different territories. A multisite network is a group of websites that share the same core WordPress installation. The network can also share themes and plugins which can help to reduce costs and administration effort. Multisite is a great feature for certain applications but does take a little more effort to plan and setup.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a WordPress based e-commerce platform that, according to woo.com, powers 3.9 million online stores. WordPress and WooCommerce are both free, open source, software. Nevertheless, developing a new store will probably incur some costs. Apart from hosting costs, themes and plugins can sometimes involve recurring costs. Payment gateways that allow secure card purchases and shipping extensions are some examples of potential additional expense. The additional investment may well be worth it if the plugins significantly enhance the customer experience.
Managed WordPress Services
Do not overlook security when considering the implications of developing a WordPress based website. Malicious individuals target WordPress and WooCommerce. Unfortunately this is the price of success. Even strong and stable platforms need to be protected and often this comes in the form of keeping the constitution of the website up to date. The WordPress core, Woocommerce, Themes, Plugins and Extensions are updated regularly to keep them secure. Making sure your website it backed up and is kept up-to-date should be a primary consideration. Additionally, choosing a secure and reliable host should also form part of the security planning process.
If you’d like to discuss WordPress development please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
