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Why do people use the internet?

To find information:  This could be students looking for pictures of pyramids for a school project, people looking for the latest information in the finance sector through to looking for an emergency plumber.

To buy something:  More and more people now are choosing to buy online than anywhere else whether this be the latest best seller on hardback or Kindle, downloading new software or looking for that outfit for the upcoming special function!

 Why do you need a website?

Because if you don’t you are not acting in the best interests of your customers.  You are also leaving lots of money there for your competitors who are harnessing the power of the internet.

Why WordPress?

Why not?  WordPress is rapidly growing to becoming THE easiest, most flexible, most adaptable, most reactive way of building the gateway to your business.  It is also finally, a way of allowing control of the website to be given back to the business owner rather than the web developer.

 Why WordPress over Joomla and Drupal?

Although all 3 are Content Management Systems (CMS), the learning curve for WordPress is far less than that of the other 2.  There is endless support and information for WordPress in places such as WordPress.org, LinkedIn (WordPress Groups), You Tube (lots of ‘how to’ videos on WordPress), Facebook Pages on WordPress where you can pose a question and others will help you.  You are never alone with WordPress.

 Less about Code, more about Content

Less is definitely more with WordPress websites.  You don’t need to know any code to create and maintain a beautiful website.  You can easily change the appearance of your website every week if you wanted using the thousands of professional themes out there.  Many are free but my advice would be to go for a premium theme if this is your business website.  I love the Canvas Theme from Woo Themes and it is, what the name suggests, a ‘blank Canvas’ – you are in the driving seat and change colours, fonts, headers just by clicking a few buttons….there are lots of ‘how to’ videos for the Canvas Theme over at Woo Themes.

WordPress lets you design an easy to use website for your visitor with clear pathways containing different aspects of your business.  There are also over 18,000 plugins for WordPress that do everything for you.  Some of the great plugins are used for keeping spammers away from your site, increasing your rankings within the search engines so when visitors are looking for your product or service, your site appears first.

 Come on in, we’re never closed!

A website allows you to run your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so while you’re asleep, your customers are browsing around your products or services. If you run the normal offline bricks and mortar business, then your customer base is limited to those that walk or drive past your business during opening hours.  There are many plugins within WordPress that let you easily build an online store (ecommerce) with full payment options with just a few clicks!

 Do I give a professional image?

A well designed website with some great content and an easy to follow route throughout, will quickly allow your visitors to build up confidence in you and what you offer.  Using WordPress as a first class Content Management System allows you to do just this.  It also allows you to stand in front of your service or product by telling your visitors a bit about you…..you’re proud of what you offer and want to stand tall – your About Me page is the place to do this.  You would also include contact details and this again increases confidence that there is a ‘real person’ behind all this great content!

 A Website will increase customer referrals

What is easier to remember?  A string of numbers 01234 346790 or yoursite.com?  People are much quicker and more inclined to signpost someone to a website with an easy to remember domain name than they are to remember and then pass on a load of numbers.  Referrals are one of the most important sources of new business you can get because they are visiting with one purpose in mind and that is to buy now or ask some questions and buy later!

 Easier Advertising increases productivity

Including your website address on all forms of advertising including headed paper, logo emails, invoices, adverts etc will offer customers the opportunity to head on over to your site and see what it’s all about.  These are quality visitors because you’ve created intrigue and given them a ‘call to action’ and they’ve done just that because they’re visiting your site.

WordPress website – 24 hour sales

What better static presentation than your website.  Having products and services available for your customers to buy is an efficient and effective way of expanding any business.  Even if you don’t offer the option for customers to buy directly from your site, you have the invitation there on your contact page for them to call, email or contact you via the WordPress PlugIn contact form.

Use your WordPress website to promote future business

Why is WordPress better for this than a regular website?  In an offline business, your customers come in, walk around and may leave without buying anything.  When people visit your website and providing it is designed with them in mind, the chances of them returning will be high.  You should aim to capitalise on every visit by offering them something for FREE in return for their email address.  This way, you can grow your list of interested potential buyers and keep them informed through newsletters or updates on your products and/or services.  This can easily be set up within WordPress with a plugin that makes writing and producing newsletters a breeze!  Unlike a regular offline business that doesn’t harness the power of the internet, you have more than that one opportunity to close a sale……

Again using the power of WordPress plugins, this can be done easily and effectively by just copying and pasting.

 In Closing…………….Why WordPress

The main thing to remember and this applies to however and whoever is building your website – you’re not creating the website for you…….you already know all about the information, product or services you offer.

You’re creating the site for your visitors, so it should contain the content they want, and it should be professional looking with easy navigation.  It should be fairly simple in its concept and design and should not have your visitor scratching their head wondering how the heck they ended up at this site as it bears no relation to the search term that brought them there.

Less is more for your visitor…..remember, you’re not creating the website for you:)