WordPress started in 2003 as a simple system for early web bloggers. However, it has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Today, it’s the most common CMS on the internet, and there are over 455 million WordPress sites out there. But, does that mean it’s good enough to use it for your business-to-business service website? In short – yes, but it all depends on what you need. To see if it’s the right choice for you, here are some pros and cons of WordPress for B2B companies:
Why Should You Consider WordPress?
If you want to reach other businesses and sell them your products or services, the internet is the place to do it. And when you know what you’re doing, chasing down leads and converting them to sales isn’t as hard as it may sound. However, you need your website to work for you and not against you to get there.
Choosing the proper framework for your needs is one of the things to consider for your first website. Get this step right, and you’ll make things far easier for yourself down the line.
But how can you figure out if WordPress is the way to go in your case? Here’s what it is and what it can offer you to help you decide:
What Is WordPress?
WordPress can do much more today than it could back in the day. It turned from a blogging framework into a full-fledged and well-maintained CMS. These are some of the benefits of using WordPress and why it works for a lot of websites.
A Content Management System (CMS) is a software that allows you to create, modify, and publish all kinds of content on your website. The better the CMS you use, the easier it will be for you to manage your content, integrate social media, and change your site to make it more user-friendly.
And since WordPress is open-source software, people are working on improving it all the time. It gets regular updates, and it gets better with each of them. And we still didn’t get to the best part — which is that it’s free.
So, your company doesn’t have to spend a dime on a new website outside of the design and development costs, hosting, and any premium plugins you may want. And if you have time and want to learn, you can even make it yourself. Of course, you might want to pay for a few pro plugins if you need them, but there are plenty of free options as well.
What Kind of B2B Companies Use WordPress?
There’s no specific profile of a company that uses WordPress. And, the platform’s versatility is the reason behind this. You can make your website look however you like; there’s a myriad of plugins available, and connecting it with your Google Business Profile to increase visibility is as simple as it can be. So, there’s no reason why you couldn’t create a site that you, your visitors, and Google will all love.
That said, among B2B companies, there are a few examples where WordPress is a perfect choice:
- Start-ups. If you’re new to the business, WP is great because it’s easy to use.
- Non-profits. Since it’s free, WordPress is ideal for non-profits and NGOs with strict budgets.
- ECommerce companies. With the WooComerce plugin, your WP site can become a robust eCommerce store.
- SMBs of all kinds. Thanks to available CRM plugins, you can still use your WordPress site to generate leads even if you aren’t selling products or services online.
Pros and Cons of WordPress for B2B Companies
WordPress offers many advantages to a wide variety of businesses. As with anything, there are some potential drawbacks as well. Here are some pros and cons of WordPress for B2B companies to help you figure out what’s right for you:
4 Pros of WordPress for B2B Companies
Now that you’re familiar with all the basics, we can break down the advantages that make WordPress so appealing to companies across the niches. Of course, it makes it easy to pair your site with all Google services and allows you to make your pages eye-catching, but that’s just scratching the surface. So, what are the other benefits it brings?
1. It’s Secure, As Long As You Cover the Basics
First off, it’s a secure ecosystem. You may have heard that it’s insecure, but this is far from true. In fact, WordPress has been among the safest website platforms on the market for years. Hence, you have nothing to worry about if you follow the essential digital safety tips.
2. WordPress Makes it Easier to Follow SEO Best Practices
Second, it makes good SEO practices easier to follow. The default URLs tend to be clean and easy to read if you structure things well. Additionally, you can gather data on user interactions, use plugins to easily manage title tags, meta descriptions, and more. And, once you do it a couple of times, publishing fresh content is fast and easy.
3. It Allows For a Rich Content Strategy
Third, it allows you to turn your website into a media-rich hub. You can add pictures and videos to your website and get users’ attention as soon as they land on one of your pages. On top of that, themes are easy to modify, which allows you to go after a rich content strategy.
4. WordPress Easily Integrates With A Lot
Finally, WP integrates with most analytics solutions and SEO tools right from the box. So you can track your campaigns and conversion rates and make sure you stay on the right track.
2 Cons of WordPress for B2B Companies
Although there are plenty of good things about it, there are still some potential disadvantages to creating your site with WordPress that you should know about. Here are some potential cons of WordPress for B2B companies:
1. You Have to Keep Things Updated to Keep it Secure
To keep your WP site safe, you’ll need to follow the best practices and keep it updated. This is true for any CMS, builder, or platform that you use. Since so many websites are built on the same platform, hackers are always looking for different ways to exploit them. If they find one way to get in, they can potentially use it on hundreds of thousands of sites.
Of course, WP developers keep an eye on the situation, and they fix the issues as soon as they become apparent. However, this makes it essential to update your site and plugins regularly. If you skip it a couple of times, your data may be in danger. This may mean retaining an ongoing maintenance agreement with experienced developers who can keep things updated, running smoothly, and protected.
2. Unique Functionality Often Requires Custom Development
Next, if your needs are average, this CMS will handle anything you can throw at it. However, if you need your website to do something complex, the chances are that it won’t be possible out of the box. This is one of the many things to consider when you are evaluating a website builder vs template website vs custom website.
You’ll be able to create a large-scale site, but you might not be able to add unique functionality if that’s what you want. Sometimes, you can find a plugin to help you do what you need. But, too many plugins or the wrong ones can negatively affect website performance. In such cases, you may be better off with a custom web development solution.
Wrapping Up WordPress for B2B Companies
There are plenty of reasons why WordPress is so popular. It’s straightforward to use and easy to customize. For most businesses, it makes it simple to establish a web presence. Still, it doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for everyone. You can consider the pros and cons of WordPress for B2B companies and figure out if it suits your needs or if you need to look for a solution elsewhere.