WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) for small business websites, but depending on what your website needs to do, there might be a better solution.
Ask yourself these three questions to determine the right platform for your business.
Is E-Commerce Important to You?
If you have an online store and need a detailed checkout process, then a CMS built specifically for e-commerce might be a stronger solution.
One of the most popular out-of-the-box systems on the market today is Magento. Packed with detailed functionality, Magento has gained a lot of traction lately by bridging the gap between modern design and functional e-commerce solutions. It offers a massive inventory of free features, along with access to more than 50 payment gateways.
Plus, Magento is one of the fastest-growing CMS solutions in terms of user base, which means there’s a large user community that can provide support.
One downside is cost compared to other open-source solutions. The bells and whistles may require an enterprise license, which can be in the ballpark of $15,000 up front.
How Complex Is Your Website?
If you aren’t selling online—but do need a complex website and have the resources to maintain it—then consider Joomla. It offers a dizzying number of options, but developing on this platform can be a little tricky. However, its complexity is core to its value. Joomla does a better job with websites that have a ton of pages and need deep-level navigation. It’s also a great solution for websites that host community forums or have large user groups to maintain.
If you don’t have a lot of development resources, WordPress becomes a more attractive option. While both Joomla and WordPress allow “code-free” maintenance, you’ll likely want some basic customization. Programming and developing for WordPress is much easier, and there’s a host of freelance minions chomping at the bit to do (quality) work relatively cheaply.
Do You Have an SEO Expert?
Showing up in search results for terms key to your business is paramount to your financial success, no matter how big your business is.
If you have a dedicated Kansas City search engine optimization (SEO) expert, any CMS will work fine.
If not, and especially if your knowledge of SEO best practices is limited, then WordPress has definite advantages. Powerful plug-ins help keep an eye on maintaining keyword density, appropriate page titles, use of header and image tags, social media integration and much, much more.
Another critical element of effective SEO is frequent, rich content creation. WordPress offers an easy interface to quickly add and manage a blog to your website, embed video and share your content on social networks.
Regardless of your needs and capabilities, there’s a CMS solution that aligns with them—you just have to ask yourself the right questions.
