Choosing a developer or platform for your website can be a headache. With so many different opinions on which platform is going to be right for you and it’s not just what you read on the web either, anyone you know with a website will give you their opinion too! Arghhh we hear you scream!
Here is some information to help you make your decision.
WordPress is an open-source website builder which means the foundations of a website are free for anyone to use. Depending on the experience and knowledge of the person building the website they can then either build on the foundations provided by WordPress, by writing their own code to their own specifications and/or they can install additional bits of prewritten code called Plugins.
Plugins
Plugins have various advantages including that they can provide a quick route to add specific functionality to your website, there are lots of plugins to choose from and costs can vary. Free or lower-priced plugins may have less functionality than their more costly counterparts. You may also be able to upgrade your free plugin to a paid version to access the features you require. Another point to bear in mind with plugins is that you may need to pay the subscription annually to maintain use of the plugin or to ensure you receive the updates. More on updates later.
Plugins can cause issues when you stack one plugin in after another to enable you to achieve a piece of functionality on your site. Should one of the plugins fail to work, then it can cause issues with other plugins. If you have ever played Buckaroo the children’s game where you pile items on top of a donkey until it bucks and throws them all off, then that will give you a good visual idea of how plugins can go wrong if not managed or used correctly.
Having said that, don’t be put off by plugin use on your website. Just ensure your website developer has experience and knowledge about their use and you can massively benefit from using them.
Plugin alternatives
If you decide you want to limit the use of plugins on your new website you will need a developer to write bespoke code for you to achieve your functionality goal. This is time-consuming and therefore can be costly. Developers have been training long and hard for years to be able to write bespoke code and so you are paying for their experience and not just for the time it takes them to achieve the task at hand. In many cases, it doesn’t make sense to have a website designer write bespoke functionality for you when a plugin already allows you to do a task and will take a couple of hours to install and set up rather than days or weeks of time to start from scratch. Building from scratch in this case is like reinventing the wheel.
Website Updates
Both WordPress and plugins will from time to time require updating. Failure to update these can leave you at a higher threat of your site being hacked, losing functionality and your site failing to work or display as it once did.
WordPress ease of use
Some people feel that wordpress can be a challenge to use for administrators. This will vary depending on the person using the system obviously. We know people that struggle using a mobile phone for some things and so understandable the less techy of us will find most website admin areas a little minefield. We all find tasks we don’t complete regularly more difficult than tasks we are used to and carry out on a repetitive basis!
We make things simpler for our customers in two ways:
- We give you and any of your staff training initially to talk you through how to complete the activities you need to do.
- We are at the end of the phone or email for when you forget what to do, we are ready to help! We can even make any amendments for you if you have a support package with us.
Are WordPress sites more at risk of being hacked?
All websites are at risk of being hacked and you should take security measures to reduce that risk. Regularly updating both your wordpress version and plugins will drastically reduce this risk, as will choosing a reliable hosting provider. Taking these simple steps will help secure your website from potential hackers in a similar way to a house in the street that is regularly attended, has secure locks, and an intruder alarm.
Summary – Why choose a WordPress Website?
WordPress websites offer great features and functionality to businesses, with more flexibility than basic web builders like GoDaddy or Wix. Red Box can customise your website with bespoke code or plugins to suit your needs and budget and offer support and maintenance options to ensure your website is up to date and looking great with the minimum of stress or hassle.
If you would like to find out more about how Red Box Web Design can help you get your dream WordPress website then Let’s Chat
You can read more about why you should choose WordPress, its simplicity of use and its security measures here