⏳ In a hurry? Here’s your WordPress.org Review snapshot:
Summary
WordPress.org is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) used for creating and managing websites. It offers flexibility and a wide range of features, plugins, and themes to create a customized website. It is self-hosted, which means the user has to manage their own hosting and domain.
Overall
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Ease of Use - 70%
70%
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Features & Flexibility - 90%
90%
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SEO & Mobility - 85%
85%
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Help & Support - 70%
70%
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Pricing - 90%
90%
Pros
- Free to use platform
- Good fit for scaleable businesses
- Wide choice of free & reasonably priced themes
Cons
- Web Hosting provision is user responsibility
- User responsibility for updates
- User responsibility for backups
Introduction to our WordPress.org Review:
Welcome to our WordPress.org Review.
Arguably more an open source website content management system (WCMS) than website builder; but our WordPress.org review will take a look at what this highly popular CMS has to offer for the masses and by the end you will be ready to start a WordPress website of your own.
Overview: What is WordPress.org? Is WordPress good? Listen To The Word!
So is wordpress good? The answer is a resounding yes! This is a self-managed, open source content management system which is free to use. The platform allows full scope for individuals and small businesses to create a WordPress web site, review the information before uploading and create a web presence that in their eyes is fit for purpose.
Our WordPress.org Review must point out that those wishing to create a thoroughly professional looking site will need to invest in:
- A domain name: This should be relevant to your web presence (Blog, Brand, Products/Services offered.
- WordPress web hosting: You will be required to purchase a reliable hosting from a 3rd party web hosting service.
Having said this, it should also be clear that our WordPress.org Review feels such an investment is far lower than you will find with other similar services. Those on a limited budget should have no problem meeting such costs.
Figures from a variety of sources including WordPress.org Review sites state that the platform powers almost 1/3rd of the web. This ranges from simple website creation, through blogs on every topic out there, to higher end, complex portals and enterprise websites.
In fact it is a favoured platform by many web agencies including us! 🙂
Ease of use:
In this section of our WordPress.org Review we shall explore the ease if use;
Simplicity:
The platform focuses on getting users online and publishing in no time at all. After domain and hosting provider has been chosen, it will be a case of using a one click installer from the hosting company. Straight forward for tech savvy but maybe a little unfriendly for newbies.
Ease of publishing:
Create whatever content you wish through an editor similar to that you would find with Microsoft Word. Posts and Pages can be written, media inserted wherever necessary, preferred format completed, and with one-click, your content is live and out there on the web.
Features and Flexibility:
In this section of our WordPress.org Review we shall explore the features and flexibility;
Out of the Box:
Whatever type of website you want to create is yours. You can start with the creation of a WordPress Blog, review this to ensure it meets your initial requirement, and then enhance it with themes and plugins as required.
Public or Private:
The choice is yours. WordPress.org publishing tools make it easy to manage your content. Drafts can be created, publications scheduled, historical review of post revisions is an option, and however you wish your content to be presented it will be. This can be publicly or privately presented while more secure pages and posts can be password-protected.
Degrees of management:
You are at liberty to give multiple user account access as you see fit. Administrators have full control to manage your site, editors deal with content, authors and those contributors write your content and subscriber profiles can be created. All with varying access rights dependent upon your choice.
Media upload:
The growing presence and importance of media on your web presence should not be lost. This is one feature our WordPress.org review recommends you stand up and take notice of. Quick, easy upload of images and media can be achieved through drag and drop functions. Alt text, captions and titles, image insertion and galleries are yours to create.
Multilingual:
With the global reach of an online presence constantly increasing, one WordPress website review function that should not be missed is the fact the platform is offered in more than 70 languages!
WordPress Themes and Templates:
A library of FREE themes and templates will ensure you find one to meet your needs.
However, you will more likely find a more unique and premium theme from a major theme provider in this arena. This is an option you seriously need to look into. Some of the sites you can consider for the purpose include the following:
- ThemeForest which has one of the most extensive range of themes and templates available for WordPress users;
- ThemeIsle which has an excellent set of choices;
- TemplateMonster which offers themes that have the dual benefit of improving the functionality of your WordPress blog;
- The Divi Marketplace for a whole range of options for both standard blogs and blogs that are geared towards monetization.
Changing themes is also possible as you may want to refresh your site after some time.
WordPress.org Review of 3rd Party Apps Market:
The WordPress platform has nearly 60,000 plugins that you can use to make your site better. The best part is that the app market is continuously expanding, with users developing new add ons to make the platform better.
Hosting:
Unfortunately, to begin your WordPress journey, you need to purchase your domain name and have a reliable hosting service at hand like WordPress recommended Bluehost.
Since not every hosting platform utilises the same software, you have to make sure that your hosting supports WordPress and uses the correct PHP version.
WordPress.org Review of Backups and Migration:
There are many backup and migration plugins on the market that simplifies backing up and restoring the WordPress databases. They fully support bzip, zip, and gzip compressions while supporting automatic scheduled backups.
WordPress.org eCommerce Tools:
In this section of our WordPress.org Review we shall explore the eCommerce Tools;
3rd party eCommerce plugins can be installed to the WordPress platform. The WooCommerce shop plugin for example is free for personal as well as commercial use. This means that once installed they can be used immediately to establish an online store presence. Once established you will then be able to sell either digital and/or physical products online.
Putting this ecommerce platform in place offers a host of advantages. To emphasise this it will mean you are ready to begin and expand the selling of products or services at exactly the pace that suits your aspirations. Putting in place such a platform will enable you to accept credit card payments and set up shipping as well as the delivery of goods directly from your website.
SEO and Mobility:
In this section of our WordPress review we shall explore the SEO and Mobility;
WordPress.org Review of SEO:
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): WordPress review articles quite rightly point out that SEO features come ‘out of the box’ and that there are also fine-grain SEO control plugins you can add. However, it does have to be said that in order to maximise your online reach and exposure, you would be wise to invest in the services of a professional digital media marketing agency to get the most from SEO. The plugins will need to be fine tuned and then there is always the matter for off page SEO works.
Mobile:
Not only is WordPress mobile-friendly, administrators and editors can launch and manage their sites through mobile devices.
WordPress.org Review of Pagespeed:
Technically, WordPress doesn't have a specific page speed. Speed will be dependant on a number of factors including the server level. Also consider that downloading and incorporating plugins can effect site speed. Also depending on the elements you put on your site pages such as images and videos can effect site speed also.
Support and Resources:
In this section of our WordPress review we shall explore the support and resources around the software.
So, is WordPress good with their support and resources? Being one of the most popular online content management systems there is an abundant level of online forums and community support to delve into although a higher level of expertise may be required to filter through these areas for support. Unfortunately newbies may feel like they are on their own as being the nature of open source there will not be anyone email or call unless you signup for a 3rd party support package with a professional.
WordPress Pricing:
Our WordPress.org review has even better news for those considering this platform.
WordPress is Free to download and use. Donations instead are accepted and money raised will be used to ensure free access to supported software projects, protect the WordPress trademark, and fund a variety of programs.
The only setup costs you need consider are;
Domain name with Godaddy.
WordPress Hosting with WordPress preferred partner Bluehost.
WordPress website security with Securi, with pricing as follows;
While additional costs would include commercial premium WordPress themes and plugins, these are not mandatory, although, as you develop your web presence they will generally be needed.
Conclusion and Recommendation to our WordPress.org Review:
So, is WordPress good, bad and ugly?
What is it best used for?
The WordPress.org platform has lots going for it. It is free to use, offers flexibility and ease of use to create a web presence that suit initial needs, but also allows you to grow at whatever pace is appropriate.
While optional costs can be incurred through paid-for plugins and themes, these are reasonably priced.
Another reason our WordPress.org review strongly recommends this platform is the fact that those businesses or bloggers who wish to make money from their site can do so by running their own on page adverts.
What is it not best used for?
In a word, newbies to CMS and Hosting. Unless you are going to employ a professional to build your site with ongoing maintenance.
WordPress Alternatives:
While there will undoubtedly be interest with WordPress.org being free, those who are still unsure with other ongoing cost management and future needs, it is recommended that you also review other Website builder platforms to achieve a comprehensive understanding of what is out there.
Here's a list of the best WordPress.org alternatives to create a website;
| Rank | Website Builders | Our View |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Squarespace | Best for Design & Creatives |
| 2 | Shopify | Best All-In-One eCommerce solution |
| 3 | Webflow | Best for advanced design tools |
| 4 | Weebly | Best for ease of use |
| 5 | Wordpress.com | Best for beginner blogging |
| 6 | Carrd | Best for single page websites |
| 7 | Wix | Good for general use |
WordPress.org Review Final Word:
This powerful platform offers so much. If you have some tech skills then we strongly recommend a free trial through a wordpress preferred hosting company.
That’s all for now:
Thanks for reading our WordPress.org Review and don’t forget to keep an eye out for our ever-growing blog of review and comparison articles. You may be interested in our related website builder, eCommerce platform review and comparison articles below;