FIGHT! WordPress –vs– Static HTML: Your Bottom Line

Foreword:

Even though most people relatively familiar with the inter-webs in my consideration would intuitively understand the benefits of a content management system over a basic static HTML/CSS website. I have taken the time to describe the differences below.

In the “Fight!” series we will consider the technical and business advantages of having a WordPress powered website -vs- a static HTML/CSS website. Of course a lot of what we cover here could be applied to other Content Management Systems but for the sake of our series we will keep our focus on the most popular Content Management System around today. WordPress is a very diverse software that can be used to keep a simple blog or a diverse industrial sized website with technical specs that would make the faint of heart flee and everything in between.

One Primary Reason You Are In Business

As a business owner you are in business to make money (hopefully). You may be passionate about what you do and love to serve others but if you don’t make money doing what you do, you won’t be doing it long. As you consider what you should do for your business in the realm of marketing there are many foundational choices you must make. Who is my target market? How will I reach this market? What is the most effective means of reaching my target market?

Your Business Strategy for the Web

When it comes down to what you are going to do on the internet you have more than likely already decided most of the above questions and the only thing that is left for you to do is decide how you will find a way to technically support your business goals, timelines and budget. And as business, there are many factors but the final decision heavily relies on your bottom line. What will be the most effective investment of your business’ time, energy and capital. Three reasons why A WordPress website is better than a plain static HTML website for your bottom line include:

1) The ability to easily update content

When it comes to iterations of content and rapid changes for marketing campaigns a plain HTML site falls woefully short in this area.  With a plain HTML based website the process of work goes similar to this:

You create the content -> You Pass the content to the web designer/developer -> The Web designer/developer converts the content to markup  -> The Web designer /developer uploads content to server.  

With a WordPress powered site the process of  work would look more like this :

You log into your WordPress Admin -> You click a button to create a new post -> You add your content to the post -> You click a button to publish the post.  

As you can see, having a WordPress powered website will remove the need of you having a web designer/developer  as a go-between and thus decrease how much you spend in the long run.  Editing your website and making changes becomes as easy as editing a Microsoft Word document.  In larger companies add many departments and red-tape and the time and expenses will exponentially increase. Let’s face it, having an HTML only site makes you a complete dependent on your web designer / developer.  They have all the power!  They own you and to some degree your business.  There are plenty of other HTML / CSS coders out there who you could hire to change stuff on your site but when it comes right down to it, you still need them  for EVERY – LITTLE – THING.  Having a WordPress powered website means you take back part of that power, at least the part you may not necessarily need to relinquish.

2) The ability to easily add new features

We come to yet another feature of the WordPress CMS that will dramatically affect your bottom line:  features and functionality.  Developing custom functionality for a website that will help you carry out business goals is something that is not easily tackled.  In the days before content management systems like WordPress, advanced functions on a website would quickly log many hours of additional development time and a price that could give any small business owner a heart attack.   Having a WordPress powered website trumps a plain HTML WordPress in this regard by the simple fact that you can add almost limitless functionality with through the variety available plugins.  A plugin in itself is a wonder.   All of the time that a developer would have spent on your site racking up hours and expenses has been spent on his developing his plugin.  Then, amazingly, he offers this functionality to you at less than a fraction of the cost of his time!  Any  business-minded person could see this benefit from the other side of the planet.  In the WordPress Plugin Repository you can download over 24,000 plugins with more being added daily.

3) WordPress updates and a rapidly growing & supportive community.

Of all the now available and popular content management systems  WordPress has triumphed as a CMS that is user and developer friendly, infinitely extensible &  easy to learn.  The open source nature of WordPress also fosters a community that far surpasses what i have seen in many of other open source  projects.  An HTML only site would have to tap-out in regard to constant software updates and community support in comparison to a WordPress site.  Open source software rocks because everyone benefits,  and because  the entire community benefits everyone gladly gives their time to make the platform better.   With each new update of WordPress, the software grows in reliability & possible functionality.  If you are needing training or support a simple search on meetup.com will yield you ton’s of free WordPress meetups where you can begin to meet people who know so much about WordPress it will make your head explode.  Along with the meetups  you can attend WordCamps to become completely immersed in the culture for a weekend.  Because the WordPress developer community is so robust there is plenty of healthy business competition as well.  What this boils down to for you is quality, reliability  & a better bottom line!

Only the Tip of the Iceberg

There are many others reasons why a WordPress powered website outperforms an HTML only website in helping your bottom line in the long run.  In this article we have only skimmed the surface.   If your business has benefitted financially from WordPress please comment below and let us know how.

In the next article we will be looking through the microscope at how a WordPress powered website puts the smack down on an HTML only website when it comes to “Content Creation.”

Stay tuned…