Chances if you work even brushes against the digital, you have heard of the Content Management System (CMS) giant, WordPress. Originally started as blogging platform now over 75 million sites from e-commerce to non-profits are using this powerful and flexible CMS platform. Built on an open-source PHP foundation, WordPress utilizes its huge user base to tap into thousands of community made themes, and plugins. One of the primary benefits of using WordPress is once you are up and running nearly anyone, regardless of tech skills, can make updates to their content, meaning your site can stay current and relevant. If you are ready to get in on the biggest thing on the web, here are some tips for making a WordPress site.
Keep it Safe
WordPress’ biggest selling point (it is actually free) is its massive user base. This is a great thing for finding support, themes, and plugins but it also makes it a big target for hackers and spammers. WordPress sites are common victims of bots spamming comments and uploaded backdoor attacks. The first thing you can do to minimize your risk is always make sure you are running the latest version of WordPress and updates of your plugins. If you want added security consider using a 3rd party security service such as Sitelock. The benefits of using such a service are not a Sitelock Scam, these 3rd party security services help analysis your site for vulnerabilities, check for any ongoing infiltrations, and even prevent further attacks. On top of all this they run all your data through a Content Delivery Network (CDN) providing additional security and speed. WordPress can be a highly secure platform is proper protocols are followed.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
If you require additional features that aren’t supported with your vanilla WordPress install, don’t start writing code just yet. Due to the massive number of users and community, WordPress has thousands of high-quality plugins for nearly any tasks imaginable. This mean you can alter the CMS platform to suit your needs without even writing a single line of code. There are also thousands of premade themes available for free or purchase that will alter the look and layout of your site to countless different styles. Many of the themes will allow for customization, this ranges from uploading a logo or changing colors to completely altering how and where content is displayed.
I hope these tips have shown you what a flexible and powerful CMS platform WordPress is. Be sure to pay attention to security issues, keep your site updated, consider using a powerful 3rd party security service, and remember you don’t always have to code from scratch. Once you become experienced with WordPress, chances are you will be hooked and you can join the community of millions happy users. Who knows you may even find yourself submitting your own plugins and themes to help the community of eager users. Good luck and have fun building cutting edge sites!
