In the modern business world, a website is not just a luxury, but a necessity. It is the key to a successful business. Almost every person logs on to the Internet to check product information, read reviews and compare options. With a lot more people using mobile devices, business organizations have been facing increasing competition. For a small business organization with limited resources and staff, WordPress is the best answer for building a high quality website.

Why Choose WordPress?

Why Choose WordPress For Your Website There are a lot of different reasons to choose WordPress for building a great website. WordPress is an open source and free content management and blogging platform. According to reports, around 18% of the Top 10 million websites in the world are running WordPress. It is a customizable, easy to use and powerful platform for both advanced web professionals and beginners. This platform makes it easier for you to manage and publish content.

Since WordPress is a web based platform, you can manage it from anywhere. You don’t need any additional or expensive software to make necessary changes. Due to this, small business organizations on the go can easily make modifications from any device anywhere.

Getting Started with WordPress

Before you get started with WordPress, you need to focus on some important things. Besides choosing a domain, you also need to figure out how you will be hosting the website. WordPress.com provides hosting service for people who want to use this platform as their first choice.

A simple blog can start out free, but the additional costs start adding up soon. These may include costs for domain mapping, choosing domain name, removing ads, space upgrades, custom designs and more. A lot of businesses have realized that choosing the customized WordPress platform can help them save money in the long term.

Self Hosting WordPress

Self Hosting WordPressSince WordPress is free, business organizations can easily install this platform on the web hosting server. Although it’s more involved than properly setting up on WordPress.com, it will give you more opportunities for customization. Here are some requirements for self hosting a WordPress website :

• Buy a domain name from GoDaddy.com. You will have to pay an annual subscription fee with these services. In most cases, the fee ranges between $6-$12.

• Choose a Web Hosting Plan – The next step is to choose a web hosting plan. This can be quite tricky and confusing. WordPress has minimal requirements. You should look for a plan offering MySQL and PHP 5 databases. BlueHost, Dreamhost, GoDaddy and HostGator are the most popular WordPress hosts.

• Choose a Theme for Your Website – WordPress uses themes or templates to control the feel and look of your website. While some themes are completely free, others can be bought for about $15-$50. The price will be determined by the features.

• It is also important to set up FTP access. This will allow you to install WordPress to your webserver. Last but not the least, you need to upload WordPress and install.

Installing WordPress

Installing WordPressOnce you have set up hosting, installing WordPress to the new webserver should take about 15 minutes. You just need to follow the instructions given by WordPress. While installing WordPress, you will also have to set up an administrator account. This account will be used for any updates and customizations. It will also help you create some new users to manage the website.

When you have successfully installed WordPress, you will have to customize the website to suit your specific business needs and requirements. This can be easily done through themes. WordPress uses templates or themes to control the feel and look of your website. You can choose from many different layouts. You need to consider the kind of information you will be uploading on the website. It is important to choose something that is relevant to the content.

There are some themes that are 3 column, 2 column and 1 column layouts. themes.wordpress.com is a great place to look for some interesting and attractive themes for your WordPress website. As mentioned earlier, while some of these themes are completely free, you may have to pay for other choices.

It is worth mentioning that some themes also come pre-loaded with excellent social media features. If your business already has a social media presence, you should connect these features with WordPress. You need to add social media buttons to allow people to share content and posts to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. If visitors find it easier to share your content, you will be able to generate more traffic. People always share more content when it feels convenient. Sharing content is also excellent for your search engine rankings.

Necessary Content & Pages

Necessary Content & Pages Once you have installed WordPress and already chosen a theme, the next step will be to add relevant content to your website. WordPress has three main components which you need to pay attention to. These include :

Content – Content is one of the most important aspects on every small business website. This is the specific area where a business provides all the crucial and relevant information to visitors. The website’s content should revolve around something interesting, important and exciting. It will help you build a powerful brand for your business. You also need to showcase pricing and products. Moreover, you should give some background information for your business. This is the perfect opportunity to make your business seem attractive to customers.

Navigation – You need to pick the most relevant and important pages for navigation. These pages should be responsible for driving more traffic to certain parts of the website.You need to include some links to other important pages on the website. Some good choices include Blog, About Us, Contact Us, and Product Listing pages.

Footer – The footer of the website should include contact information. You should place physical location, phone numbers, hours of operation and more.

These were some of the most important steps you need to take to get started with WordPress. If you want more information, you can browse through loads of information to keep yourself updated. If you lack the skills to set up a high quality WordPress website, you can seek professional help and check our plans.