Is WordPress the Right Choice For Building Client Sites?

The question “Is WordPress right for my website?” often pops out when I discuss web design projects with my new clients at Fantastech. People who know WordPress stand by its many advantages. Those who don’t know, I make it a point to help them understand how WordPress aligns with their business goals and ultimately success.

So, what makes WP stand out?

Benefits of WordPress are obvious and WP professionals often ignore that their clients do not have the same technical knowhow. Many lingering questions are ignored or just swept under the carpet. Objections raised by clients aren’t addressed in a convincing manner. That’s why client education is as vital as the project itself since they have to live with the project in the long run. It is crucial that you clear their doubts on WordPress, if any.

For that reason, today I will try to answer why WordPress is the right choice for building client sites. My aim is to help you confidently answer client queries on WP.

Let’s dive right into it.

Isn’t WordPress a Blogging Platform?

That’s the first query to come your way. Many people still associate WordPress with old-world blogs. That’s because they don’t know the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

The first one delivers a comprehensive platform to host your websites with dedicated back-end solutions. The second one, however, is a self-taught grinding experience. Both have different areas of applications. WP began as a blogging platform but today it can be used to build high performance websites ranging from portfolio websites to online shops and news sites etc.

That’s your answer then – WordPress is not just for blogging!

Is WordPress Really Free?

Clients often wonder if there’s a catch when they discover that WordPress is free. At that point, you have to explain that it’s open source just like Ubuntu, Firefox, RedHat and Android. It is maintained by a community of volunteer developers that improves it constantly. It is free to use under the ‘GNU General Public License’.

Cost being the main consideration of any project gives WordPress a huge advantage over its competitors. It is not only free, but saves the clients money in the long run. With thousands of themes and free plugins available in the WordPress library, developers don’t have to start from the scratch. Clients have to pay independently to agencies for coding/developing or to buy additional themes or plugins. There are no other hidden charges – not now or ever!

Is WordPress Reliable and Secure?

A platform run by volunteers would most likely be shoddy and unreliable. That’s not true. WordPress has a strong community of professional grade developers, coders, testers and developers who constantly update, patch and improve the features regularly. In fact, every year tens of updates make WP a refined and sophisticated platform.

• Dashboard is easy to navigate
• Text editor looks basic performs advance
• Updating the website is super easy
• HTML, CSS and Javascript customization

Even successful WordPress development agencies contribute their insights to the community. It performs well on major browsers since it is based on mature technologies like JavaScript, SQL and PHP. Major security patches throughout the year monitors hacking threats and provides relevant updates.

Is WordPress Scalable?

Big brands or established clients often doubt the scalability of WordPress. They think it is meant for personal websites or small businesses. Yes, WordPress is the first choice for startups and small companies. But that doesn’t mean it can’t handle enterprise level websites.

Highly scalable nature of WordPress is evident from the fact that it can survive any hosting environment dealing with extreme traffic. Whether high-end servers or tiny hosts, it can power anything ranging from personal blogs to multiple website networks. WordPress.com itself handles close to 21 billion page views per month. Well known brands like WSJ, TechCrunch, CNN, Samsung and Microsoft have chosen WordPress. And that’s just tip of the iceberg.

Now, you decide whether WordPress scales successfully or not.

Is WordPress SEO Compatible?

Besides the technical queries, clients are also interested to know if WP helps them in their marketing. Simply put – can it their site to first place in Google. While that’s a genuine query, I tell them that ranking of a website on Google involves much more than just the CMS.

• Perfect for aggressive content marketing
• Helps in content curation
• Ultimate social media integration
• Convenient syndication across directories

That being said, Google loves WordPress. It offers in-built SEO features right from the word ‘Go’ thereby giving you a head start in your quest for search engine rank domination. There are many WordPress plugins to further boost your SEO rankings. While SERPs involve a lot more than just the right CMS, WordPress does give you a solid head start.

What are the Extensive Features, Functions and Plugins?

There’s a reason why WordPress powers close to 30% of the web. It offers immense functionality, features, themes and plugins – all free! You can really add anything to the website without incurring major costs. There’s a plugin for everything including:

• Caching
• SEO optimization
• Image optimization
• Google Analytics
• Galleries
• Social sharing

Even if you have zero back end knowledge, you can easily perform basic tasks. Sometimes, it is as easy as drag and drop. WordPress is insanely easy to learn and highly intuitive.

Are WordPress Websites Mobile Friendly?

Mobile traffic continues to overshadow conventional desktop footfall. No wonder having a mobile website has become an important agenda for clients. It is reassuring to know that WordPress is perfectly capable to handle mobile traffic.

WordPress library has hundreds of responsive themes that deliver automatic scaling for viewing on mobile screens. There’s hardly any need to build a standalone mobile website even for large enterprises.

What Happens if Developer or Agency is Changed?

WordPress promises seamless transition in case designers, developers or even the agency is changed. When you make the switch, WordPress helps the new designer easily acclimatize to the platform. The open source, universal platform makes the new designer at home which helps reduce project delays.

So Finally, Is WordPress the Way to Go?

To a layman, it’s just another CMS. But those who know stand by WordPress! New or potential clients have to be convinced and their doubts addressed. These questions will surely help you eliminate client hesitation and educate them about the benefits of WordPress.

How do you address your client’s doubts? What is your strategy to deal with hesitant clients? Let’s discuss.