WordPress is the number one w
Website management software(known as a Content Management Software) in the world. Millions of large and small businesses use this software because it is easy to update. Many people ask about installing WordPress. This is a tricky answer. Yes, WordPress is easy to install and can be installed less than a minute on most Web Host companies.
However, installing WordPress and having a Business Website aren’t the same thing. Think of WordPress as the frame for your house. After the frame is up, do you call it a house yet? Nope. It needs electricity, plumbing, walls, paint and so on. The same thing for your website. You need to think of the details.
First when we talk about WordPress we are talking about WordPress.org, the open source and self-hosted solution. We are not talking about the Cloud hosted solution known as WordPress.com. On WordPress.org website they have the instructions of what they call the 5 minute install. However, with a good web host company the install becomes less than a minute. Using BlueHost or GoDaddy as your hosting you can look in the control panels and click on the one-click installs.
Again since it’s like framing a house there are some things that you should be aware of:
- Never use the default admin user. It’s a good idea to make separate admin user then what you post as. Do not use info either. Use either your name and account or a generic name of function. If use have a bakery maybe just bakery or donut. This will be hard for people to guess.
- Passwords need to be secure. I have a nice blog post on this one – Creating a secure password. This is a must. Anything that will control your Businesses online identity has to be hard to guess or force open. You don’t put a cheap lock on your front door of your house, do you?
- UPDATE – once you have it installed it’s important to keep WordPress Core (this is WordPress that you just installed) and any Plugins or Themes that you install. Security is important as I talked about in this post – InfoGraphic on WordPress Security.
- As for themes I would advise going with Premium theme framework like StudioPress’s Genesis. Realize that just because you pay for a theme it may have vulnerabilities. Research the theme and company who sells it. Be extremely careful with free themes a lot of them are plagued with old security issues and do not get updated.
- Realize the ease of use of updating and managing your website has responsibilities If you do not want to them, hire someone. But these are primarily updating the software and backing up your website.
In the end the easy part of a WordPress website is installing it. The hard part is 99% of everything else that comes with creating an online identity for your business. Realize that a website is the best and cheapest marketing your small business has. People looking for your company will learn everything about it from the best source, you! To start get a hosting plan with Bluehost or Goddady and easily get your business website online.