Whether it's an update or a full rebuild, you have no shortage of decisions to make when it comes to updating your website. There are plenty of free resources available on optimizing your website, best practices for design, and even how to write engaging copy, but it's crucial to set a strong foundation with your Content Management System.
A CMS is essentially a portal that allows you to manage your website, and there are dozens of options to choose from (even some come free with your marketing automation software). Here at Thomas, we've built more than 6,000 websites and we've learned that WordPress is the way to go. If the impressive stat that more than 39% of all websites are powered by WordPress doesn't encourage you to consider it as an option, here are nine other reasons we're advocates for it.
Reasons Why The Internet Runs On WordPress
1. Well-Known Companies Use WordPress
WordPress is such a reliable, popular platform to use that even the biggest brands in the world use it. The New York Times, Forbes, eBay, The Walt Disney Company, and Best Buy are powered by WordPress. From big companies to small brands, thousands of businesses trust WordPress — overall, WordPress holds 59.5% of the modern Content Management System market! WordPress truly is a global platform; here are some other stats:
- There are more than 64 million websites using WordPress
- WordPress is available in 57 different languages
- There are more than 58,000 plugins available to customize your website and they've been downloaded more than 600,000,000 times
Image credit: Hosting Tribunal
2. WordPress Is User-Friendly
We'll get to the technical marvels in a minute, but WordPress's ease of use is a win. It comes with easy-to-install templates (and completely customizable code if you're working with an agency) and an editing interface that requires no HTML experience to make changes, alter layouts, and more.
Updating your company information, product information, and tweaking content on your website using WordPress is simple. But if you need help, there are millions of tutorials on YouTube and across the web on how to make these updates so you'll never be scarce on resources.
3. WordPress Makes It Easy To Get Found Online
While we just discussed why it's best for your ease of use, you're not the only person benefitting — search engines love it, too. WordPress' interface streamlines the process for you to enter meta descriptions, add image alt text, and a few other crucial pieces that help index pages properly.
On the back end (stay with us, we're almost done talking technicalities), the platform is developed in a way that's accessible and continually optimized. As you know that search engine algorithms are updated frequently, websites using WordPress perform exceptionally well when buyers are searching for their potential suppliers.
New In 2021: How Manufacturers Can Maintain A Healthy Website Despite Google Algorithm Changes
The Rodon Group, a custom plastic injection molder, saw a 24% YoY increase in Contact Us submissions after redesigning their website and implementing SEO strategies. "We’re now seeing an average of 14,000 sessions per month,” said Jill Worth, Digital Marketing Lead at The Rodon Group. "Our online and website strategy helps us drive new sales from multiple high-volume customers." ➡️ Read The Full Case Study4. WordPress Is An Open-Source Platform
Believe it or not, WordPress is the epitome of altruism. The original source code for the platform is available for free, and it can be modified and redistributed — again — for free. There are many plug-ins for the platform that can help you customize your pages, optimize search engine optimization (like Yoast, seen below), and capture information with forms. Most of them are easy to use and affordable (but some of our favorites are free). In fact, as of May 2020, there are over 58,490 plugins available through WordPress.org. 
5. WordPress Is A Secure Platform
We've talked endlessly about the importance of website security (and if your website is not using HTTPS, you need to stop reading this article and contact us right away), but if you’re worried about the safety and security of your website, you should be at ease with WordPress because it's a secure platform. Cybercriminals this year are targeting manufacturers and their supply chain — but a secure website keeps your customers' data and company information safe.
Learn More: Information Technology Challenges Affecting The Manufacturing Industry
If any WordPress website has a security vulnerability, it stems from the use of old software, weak passwords, and other preventable issues, so you'll need to make sure your technology is up to date. And if you have questions or concerns regarding any of those, the platform's security team does an excellent job of quickly resolving issues.
Not sure if your website is vulnerable to hackers? Request our free digital health check — we'll let you know what you need to have a website that protects the information of your buyers, employees, and your company.
"We tried other people with our website and marketing but found their focus wasn't on manufacturing, and Thomas is. We get a lot of activity now and steady results weekly — a lot of inquiries thanks to Thomas and our online marketing efforts," Ron Delfini, President at Engineering Specialties, Inc.
6. WordPress Is Completely Customizable
We touched a little bit on this in the first section of this article, but we want to reiterate the benefits of working with a platform that is completely customizable — or as out of the box as you need it to be.
Templates are a great fit for those who want a DIY website, but if you're looking to create pages unique to the look, feel, and needs of your business, you (or your marketing agency) can build from scratch. Even if you move ahead with the latter, a uniquely developed website still adheres to the native user experience of the platform, meaning you don't lose any of the user-friendliness you see on your end (but it's completely customized on the back-end).
7. Responsive Themes Make Your Website Easy To Navigate
Mobile-first indexing is here, meaning that search engines use the site experience on a phone as the basis for crawling in their algorithms. For you, this means your website needs to look great and work properly whether your prospective buyer is viewing it on a phone, tablet, computer, or anything in between.
Responsive website design is the norm for websites these days, so if you have a different version of your website appearing on mobile vs. desktop, it's time for a change.
WordPress’s responsive themes and mobile plug-ins help viewers easily interact with your business online. Its native user interface shows previews of what your website looks like in different viewports, so you can easily see how your website looks even if you don't have a tablet with you at the moment.
8. WordPress Has Multi-User Capacity
Multi-user capability sounds like a phrase you need a dictionary to help decipher, but if you have multiple teams, agencies, or even freelancers working behind the scenes on your website, you need to give them access.
With WordPress, you have complete control over who has access to your website (again, security is important!). You can create new accounts with permissions specific to the user’s accessibility needs while keeping them out of other areas if needed.
Permission levels include:
- Super Admin
- Admin
- Editor
- Author
- Contributor
- Subscriber
And you can easily add and remove people as needed.
9. Increase Clicks With Testimonial Plugins
Testimonials are a powerful selling tool. We use them for our business and encourage our clients to do the same, as they are a great feature for your website when buyers are researching your company. Include information from your happy customers on your custom pages or incorporate product and/or service testimonials through plug-ins as a selling tactic to help increase the quality of your brand and encourage visitors to contact you.
See More: Ways To Increase Clicks On Your Manufacturing Website
Increase The Effectiveness Of Your Website With WordPress
Additionally, it's important to touch on the existing testimonials for WordPress. Just as you can't expect to onboard a vendor without speaking to their current clients or reading their case studies, take a look at what other people online are saying about WordPress, check out some website examples here, or check out the additional resources below:
- 6 B2B ECommerce Website Examples To Help You Sell More In 2021
- Get Started With Your Redesign: 25 Website Must-Haves
- 10 Best Industrial Website Designs This Year
We're more than happy to talk through more in-depth about why WordPress is a great option for your website or answer any other questions about your website design project. Get started with a free digital health check and see how your website compares against competitors.
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