When I started in the web development business 11 or so years ago, HTML was still relatively new. The whole concept of having a “script” language that would add functions to websites (beyond displaying text and images) was pretty revolutionary, and rarely used.

Today people expect a basic amount of website functionality (like search), and services like Facebook and Twitter have turned the whole world of online marketing upside down.

Most importantly the functionality of websites themselves has improved dramatically, and it’s much easier to hand the reins to the users with content management solutions or “CMS.”

Four years ago…
Client: “What CMS should I use?”
Web Designer: “Are you a big corporation? No? Don’t use a CMS then.”

Some people assumed web development companies gave this answer because they greedily wanted to charge for website updates every time your site needed updating.

In fact, this was not the case. Website updates distracted designers, and stole valuable time away from more creative endeavours, and billing for them was always a hassle, as people couldn’t believe how long it took to add one little menu item to their website.

The actual reasons for avoiding CMS solutions were as follows:

1. You had “enterprise solutions” that were great, well supported, and really, really expensive.
2. You had “CMS startups” … everyone knew a company that built their own CMS. The problem here wasn’t (always) the quality, it was the risks of the unknown. What if the company that built this really cool CMS went bust next month? And many did. Do you want to build your small business presence on a platform that is reliant on somebody else’s small business?
3. You also had open source options. Most of these had loyal and vocal supporters, but the products themselves tended to be clunky, unsupported, hard to use, and limited in functionality.

So the best answer was “no CMS” — avoid the risks, and use straight HTML. For extended functionality, have something custom developed using a scripting language like PHP (which had a very high quality of reliability and a broad support base).

Of course people did select CMS programs, and many web design companies and CMSs came and went. And my job for many years often involved trying to pick up the pieces for abandoned clients.

Now…
Client: “What CMS should I use?”
Web Designer: “Are you a big corporation? No? Use WordPress. Yes? Use WordPress.”

So, what changed between 4 years ago and now?

1. WordPress Grew Up – WordPress started life as a blogging tool. This morphed into a fully functional CMS, and the program got more sophisticated. The user base got larger and broader. The developer base grew; countless new free “plugins” were made available to add more functionality to the basic program, and the project came under professional management, well funded by Automattic Corp.
2. The User Interface Improved – WordPress, unlike its poorer cousins Drupal and Joomla, began life as a blogging tool used by ordinary people. These other tools were used by programmers and computer geeks. As such, WordPress always had a strong focus on a simple user interface. This has only gotten better with each successive update.
3. Critical Mass – A few years ago WordPress was relatively unknown. Now, in only a few short years, WordPress runs more than 10% of all the websites on the Internet. And it’s not just bloggers — even CNN.com runs on WordPress!
4. The Google Algorithm – In its constant battle to give useful results, Google is always updating its algorithm – the top-secret formula that determines how high every website ranks for every search. How your website ranks is based on a number of things, including the number, method and value of links to your website, the content on your website, how often your website is updated, and the “mechanics” of your website. Adding a “news” section to your website (using the “blog” functions of WordPress) helps ensure your website is regularly updated, and new content is added. And WordPress has all the mechanics done correctly right out of the box, so you can focus your search engine efforts on content and links instead of playing around with the programming.
5. It’s Open Source – WordPress is itself open source (which means you can download and use it for free). It is also written using open source scripting language PHP, and open source database system MySQL. All of these are very well supported, and, of course free to use. Open source isn’t always a good thing – but when it’s amazing, well supported software and it’s free, that’s a win for everyone!
6. The Social Media Eruption – Facebook, Twitter, and a gazillion other social media tools have come on the scene. WordPress has excellent integration with many of them. Want to embed a photo from Flickr, a video from YouTube, or post your blog to Facebook? Tools are available to make this process very simple.
7. It’s A Standard Skill – WordPress Experience is one of those new “job requirements” that’s starting to show up on job postings. And not for website designers and programmers – for administrators, marketing people, Human Resources, and more. At the most recent WordCamp, Victoria’s WordPress user event, there were over 170 people — all honing their skills.

And did we mention that WordPress has a built-in search function for your website?

Are you ready to take control of your website? Maybe it’s time to upgrade to WordPress! Please contact us if we can help.

Looking to hone your skills for Social Media? Take one of my social media courses. And come to Social Media Camp Victoria on June 3rd and 4th.