WordPress blew it out of the park back in 2003 when it was introduced as a free blogging tool and content management system (CMS). As its ease of use was realized, slews of organizations and individuals began utilizing WordPress to create complete, fully functioning websites and mobile applications. Wordpress has an army of developers constantly updating plugins and applications to ensure that they are fully customizable and working properly. And the best part? You don’t have to be super tech savvy to use this platform.

WordPress is also open source, which means the source code of the software is available for anyone to study, modify and play with. It is maintained by a large group of volunteers (the majority of whom are WordPress consultants with active interest in growing and maintaining WordPress). Anyone can contribute to WordPress by answering support questions, writing plugins, creating themes, translating WordPress and updating documentation. There are a myriad of developers working to improve the security of the WordPress platform, and just as many creating new innovative features that keep the platform fresh and alive.  This means more choices for you – you are welcomed and encouraged to take pieces of the software and tweak it to suit your organization’s needs. 

In other words, there are thousands of customizable themes to choose from, which means your website can look exactly how you want it to look, while also being extremely intuitive to update.

Being active on social is a huge part of the Internet marketing puzzle. Social media provides an easy way to give customers what they want: simple, visually stimulating content that’s relevant and relatable. Lucky for WordPress users, both premium and free social plugins seamlessly integrate onto your website, adding an energy and higher level of dynamicity. These multifaceted social integration plugins may seem daunting, but installation only takes a few minutes. In our experience, social media integration is seamless, and supports Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Pinterest and others.

You have no doubt heard of search engine optimization (SEO) and its importance in attracting organic, qualified traffic to your site. And unless you’re already a tech genius, you may be wondering how to begin the process of optimizing your site’s content. Search engines take account of websites’ activity on social media when determining how to position search results. One of the biggest selling points of WordPress is that it contains a unique title, meta description, excerpt, a category or a tag, and a search optimized URL string. Using a fill-in-the-blank style tool, all you have to do is write and hit save, and voila! WordPress also allows you to write headings tags and assign a page hierarchy with the click of a button. This makes it easy for users to change critical SEO components without disrupting the design or content on the site. 

Matt Cutts, the lead of Google’s web spam team, said that WordPress “solves some 80-90% of mechanics of SEO.” An optimized website will no doubt improve your site’s performance in search results, and WordPress is an excellent tool to help you get there.

In terms of usability, functionality, customer experience and aesthetics – some components that successfully establish a brand identity – WordPress is Sage Island’s first choice when it comes to content management systems. Sage Island designs websites based on clients’ needs and takes advantage of the customized sidebars, footers and advanced navigational menus that WordPress has to offer. We, of course, apply our own custom graphics and styling to each website for the customized look and feel you want. With thousands of themes and plugins to choose from, our account executives and programmers provide you with the best customization and layout options for your website. Sage Island prepares you with the training you need to make your own updates utilizing the WordPress dashboard. With WordPress being browser-based, you can login from any computer with an Internet connection to make the changes yourself. (But of course, you can always leave the more complicated programming to us. We’d actually prefer it – we love this stuff.)

WordPress and Sage Island are alike in that there is always help available. Any glitch and any issue can be reported to our team or searched for in the vast WordPress forum. If your site isn’t mobile friendly, you’re interested in exploring responsive design options, or you think your website needs a refresher, give Sage Island a call today!

Mike Duncan co-founded Sage Island in 1997, and since then has evolved the agency’s scope to include marketing strategy, creative design, technical development and a wide range of digital marketing services. With an integrated approach that leverages the power and measurability of the internet, the savvy Sage Island team develops strategies, builds brands, writes killer copy and delivers to clients all over the world. And they have an awesome time doing it. Sage’s collaborative working environment keeps creativity and innovation at the heart of the concept. With a 17-year history in Wilmington and beyond, Sage Island shows no signs of slowing down. To learn how Sage Island can grow your business, check us out at www.sageisland.com. To stay updated on the latest in digital marketing, follow Sage Island on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SageIsland, and on Twitter at twitter.com/SageIsland.