Wordpress, the reference open-source CMS for website creation
Wordpress is the leading open-source content management system (CMS) for website creation. Created in 2003, it has become one of the most popular CMS in the world, powering more than a third of all websites. WordPress is free, customizable and has a large community of developers and users who contribute to its development and provide technical support.
Based on the PHP language, Wordpress uses a MySQL database to store data. It allows users to create and publish content (pages, articles, media) using an intuitive and easy-to-use content editor, manage users and permissions, and customize the look and feel of their website using themes and plugins.
WordPress themes allow users to change the look and feel of their website, while plugins add additional functionality, such as contact forms, social sharing buttons, image galleries, an online store, a member area, and more.
WordPress is also optimized for search engine optimization (SEO), which means that websites created with WordPress have a better chance of ranking well in search engine results than with a less accomplished CMS. In addition, WordPress is constantly updated to address security issues and improve website performance.
What types of websites should I develop with Wordpress?
WordPress is widely used to create small to medium sized websites, blogs, and static content websites. It is easy to use for non-technical users, and there is a large community of developers who create themes and plugins to extend the functionality of WordPress. It is also possible to develop a custom WordPress site to design a site that perfectly meets the needs of the company. This way, the site is more personalized and efficient.
Wordpress offers flexibility and ease of use that makes it ideal for many types of websites. Here are some types of sites you can develop with WordPress:
- Blogs and news sites: WordPress is one of the best CMS for blogs because of its ease of use and the large amount of plugins available to enhance functionality.
- Showcase and corporate sites: WordPress is a great option for corporate sites because it offers a variety of professional themes to customize the look of your site.
- E-commerce or even marketplace sites: With plugins like WooCommerce, you can easily create an e-commerce site with WordPress to sell products online. Wordpress also supports multi-sellers and dropshipping for example.
- Online portfolios: If you are an artist, photographer or content creator, you can use WordPress to create an online portfolio to showcase your work.
- Community sites: With plugins like BuddyPress, you can easily develop a community site for forums, groups and social networks.
- Multisites and site factories: It is possible to create a multisite or site factory with WordPress using the multisite features built into WordPress. Multisite allows you to manage multiple websites from a single WordPress installation, which can be very useful for businesses that want to manage multiple websites with similar themes and functionality.
Why choose Wordpress?
There are several advantages and benefits to using WordPress to create a website:
Ease of use
WordPress is designed to be easy to use, even for users who do not have advanced technical skills. It offers an intuitive interface for creating and managing your site's content.
Customization
WordPress offers great flexibility in terms of customization, with thousands of themes and plugins available. Themes allow you to change the look of your site, while plugins allow you to add additional functionality.
SEO
WordPress is a popular choice for website owners because it offers advanced SEO features, making it easier for your site to rank in search results.
Security
WordPress is a popular content management system, so there is a strong community of developers who are constantly working to improve the security of the CMS. Security updates are frequent, and the community is on alert for potential security flaws.
Support and community
There is a large community of WordPress users, who share tips, tricks and solutions to common problems. Wordpress also relies on many experienced developers who offer WordPress website development services.
Responsive design and Mobile First
WordPress is designed to be compatible with different types of screens (computer, tablet, mobile) and different web browsers. This means that websites created with WordPress will automatically adapt to the size of the screen on which they are displayed, to provide an optimal user experience on all devices.
Multilingual
WordPress is designed to handle multilingual websites to accommodate different countries and markets. This is possible thanks to the localization plugins available for WordPress, such as WPML, Polylang, etc. These plugins allow you to automatically translate your website content into different languages, using translation files or automatic translation services.
Wordpress compared to other technologies
Wordpress holds the largest share of the CMS market with 65.1%, compared to Shopify and its 6.5%, Wix (2.9%), Joomla (2.7%), Squarespace (2.7%), Drupal (2%) and Prestashop (0.7%) (source).
- Shopify
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows you to create an online store, while WordPress is a general-purpose content management system that can be used to create websites of all types. Shopify is easier to use for non-technical users, but offers less flexibility in terms of customization.
- Prestashop
PrestaShop is an open-source e-commerce platform designed specifically for online businesses. It offers online sales features, such as shopping cart, payment options and order management. PrestaShop is more specialized for e-commerce activities and can offer more features for online businesses, while WordPress is a more general platform for website creation.
- Joomla
Joomla is another open-source content management system that is similar to WordPress in terms of functionality, but is often considered more complex to use for non-technical users.
- Drupal
Drupal is another open-source CMS that is often used for larger websites, and offers advanced features for user management and permissions. It is more complex to use and requires development skills to set up and manage effectively.
- Wix and Squarespace
Wix is an all-in-one site building platform with a drag-and-drop interface for design. It is easy to use for beginners and offers predefined templates. It is best suited for small projects or users with no technical experience, as opposed to WordPress, which is a better option for larger, more complex sites with greater customization needs.
Squarespace is an all-in-one site-building platform with an intuitive user interface and professional pre-built templates. It is easy to use for beginners and is well suited for small projects. As such, it requires very little web skills but allows little customization in return.
In summary, WordPress is a popular choice for website owners because it is easy to use, flexible and SEO-frendly to maximize its chances of being well-referenced by search engines. However, other technologies may be more suitable for specific needs such as e-commerce sites, larger websites or very small sites.
WordPress and Ylly : custom development for performance
At Ylly, we have chosen to focus on custom WordPress website development for the creation of unique, personalized and high-performance websites. This approach involves creating a custom theme as well as specific plugins to meet the needs and requirements of each business. Custom development offers great flexibility and better customization for each website. However, it requires careful planning and close collaboration between the development team and the client company to ensure that the site meets expectations perfectly.
The main advantage of custom WordPress website development is the ability to create a website that meets your exact needs and goals. In addition, it is also much more efficient, especially in terms of loading time, an essential criterion for a good referencing. In short, for Ylly, the custom development of WordPress websites allows to offer a better customization and a better experience for the users of each website created.
The strength of Wordpress is also the strength of Ylly!
To learn more about our Wordpress expertise, contact us!
