WordPress has been around since 2003 and is the most popular blogging software on the market. Over the last few years, WordPress has also become the content management software (CMS) of choice for non-blogging websites. Here are the top 10 reasons why WordPress is so popular and why you might want to consider switching to a WordPress platform for your company’s website.

1. Ease of Use

WordPress is very easy to use and has an intuitive interface. Adding new pages, blog posts, images, etc. on a regular basis is a breeze and can be done quickly. Because the technology is so simple, time spent on formatting is greatly reduced.

2. Manage Your Website from Any Computer

WordPress is browser-based. You can login from any Internet connected computer and manage your site.

3. No HTML Editing or FTP Software Required

WordPress is a self-contained system and does not require HTML editing software (such as Adobe Contribute or Dreamweaver). You can create a new page or blog post, format text, upload images (and edit them), upload documents, video files, image galleries, etc. all without the need for additional HTML or FTP software. BUT, if you hire a professional web developer or company (i.e. North Star Multimedia based in Las Vegas) we bring a ton of experience and the ability to custom theme and code your website to maximize your results.

4. Search Engines Love WordPress Sites

The code behind WordPress is very clean and simple, making it easy for search engines to read and index a site’s content. In addition, each page, post, and image can have its own meta tag keywords, description, and title, and be optimized for specific keywords, allowing for very precise search engine optimization. You can also use tags to further enhance your search engine optimization efforts. Through experience, we implement additional methods to increase your SEO performance.

5. You Have Control of Your Site

No more waiting for your web designer to make simple updates to your site. With WordPress, you have control of nearly every aspect of your site and can easily make those simple updates yourself. This is NOT an issue for the clients of North Star Multimedia but historically some developers have been known to implement proprietary code holding the client "hostage".

6. The Design of Your Website is 100% Customizable

WordPress acts as the engine for your website. The look and feel of the site can be 100% customized so your brand can shine through on your site and provide a unique experience to your visitors. Pay a professional and ensure your website is well-branded to your company Mission and Vision statement.

7. A Blog is Built-in and Ready to Go

Since WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform, blogging capabilities are built-in and are easy to integrate, if desired. Setting up RSS / email subscriptions to your blog, commenting capabilities, and automatically adding the most recent blog posts to other pages of the site (your home page, for example) are also very simple to set-up, and help to extend your company’s reach and make your site more dynamic and interactive.  Many small companies implementing a Wordpress website miss out will regular blog posts which enhance their position in Google search results.

8. Extend the Functionality of Your Site with Plugins

Want to add an event calendar, video gallery, Twitter Feed, Facebook Fan Box, and more to your site? WordPress makes this possible with plugins, most of which are free or very reasonably priced. We have extensive experience working with plugins that work and don't work.  HIRE A PRO and save money!

9. Your Site Can Grow as Your Business Grows

WordPress sites are very scalable. You can have hundreds of thousands of pages or blog posts on your site and the performance of the site will not be compromised in the least. Many small start-up businesses have great ideas and unrealistic expectations of their DAY ONE website release.  This is a long term commitment as part of your written business plan and marketing budget.

10. Have Multiple Users

As an administrator of a WordPress site, you can set-up multiple users for the website and assign access levels and capabilities to each user.

A domain name is more than an address. It is your blog, your business and your very online identity. That's why your domain name must be you. Make it recognizable, easy to remember, and a proud representation of you and your brand. Domains with hyphens like www.domain-domain.com are not recommended.  There are numerous strategies to picking your domain name.  Call us at North Star Multimedia in Las Vegas for a free consultation.

Which dental practice would you choose to contact given the following email addresses: info@pearlybrightsmiles.com or toothymike88@gmail.com? It's probably safe to assume you'd pick the first one - i 65 percent of consumers believe a company-branded email is more credible than a business using a free email account1.

Although it may initially seem insignificant, there is a bigger takeaway here than just email. It’s really all about building credibility and branding; essentially, the impression your business is promoting to the outside world. And for small companies in today’s competitive market, branding is how one business will stand out from another. When you hire North Star Multimedia in Las Vegas to build your company website, we include domain email with our  annual web hosting fees.  We also offer a premium-level of email hosting that accommodates Microsoft Exchange.

The Five Reasons to Brand Your Email

If you’re still uncertain, here are five solid reasons why you should have a business-branded email address for your company:

1. Give The Right First Impression

A branded email shows the world your company is established and professional. A generic email may project inexperience – or even worse, raise doubts on whether you’re a real company at all. But when you use a branded email, your audience feels you’re here to stay and serious about your business.

2. Create A “Bigger” Image

A generic email address can convey that your business is new, or small, or part time. Having a branded email creates a more “corporate image” and can help prevent awkward situations where potential clients may not want to compensate you as fairly. Additionally, setting up multiple email addresses for different segments of your business (e.g., billing@pearlybrightsmiles.com. info@pearlybrightsmiles.com, support@pearlybrightsmiles.com, etc.), will support that established, professional image you need.

3. Build Credibility And Trust

Unfortunately, scam artists do exist, so many consumers won’t be comfortable emailing personal information to toothymike88@gmail.com. But when you have a branded email address, you’re providing a sense of security and reassurance to your customers that your business is legitimate.

4. It’s Inexpensive…And Easy

Included with North Star Multimedia annual web hosting.

5. Promote Brand Awareness

The best benefit of using branded email is every time you send out an email, you’re promoting your business, not Gmail or Hotmail. It’s a valuable, cost-efficient way to market your company without having to spend a lot of money.

So if you, like many other small businesses, think that branding was only meant for large enterprises with big advertising budgets, think again. You’re never too small to start building your brand, and you can get started today with branding your email.

At North Star Multimedia, we have proven experience and checklist of to-do action items that we implement once your website goes live.  Usually, within a week Google will recognize the changes and we advise clients with new domains and web hosting it takes approximately 90 days for your website to be fully implemented.

A word of caution: Once we build your website and implement professional SEO techniques, you will be solicited by spammers to INCREASE your SEO.  99999.9% these emails are sent from a fictitious Gmail account and on the backend of our web hosting analytics we can discern these spam emails are being originated in China.  How do you think these spammers found your website unless we had implemented SEO?  LOL

Put a Call to Action at the bottom of Every Page of Your Website

Even where golf courses have decent headlines and passable copy, many fail the final test in generating a response; namely, asking the reader for specific action. The more specific and directed that action is, the greater the response!

Sell them on taking the next step; don’t expect them to stumble to their phone by themselves…

Ask, direct, tell the reader to:

Call NOW
Call and ask for Shelia
Click to secure a tee time
Book a lesson
Reserve a table
Schedule an appointment

Smart marketers know that the most persuasive sales messages don’t come from a sales rep or a business owner…they come from other satisfied customers. But when your sales message comes from a genuinely satisfied customer, prospects view that as far more credible and persuasive.

Here are three reasons why testimonials are so effective…

1) Build Trust & Credibility With Social Proof

2) Persuade the Mind with Emotion

3) Nothing Captures Attention Like a Good Story

Our brains are literally wired for stories. We’re literally programmed to think in terms of narrative stories. It’s how we relate with the world and construct our identities. Scientists have even discovered that when you’re engrossed in a story, it’s all-consuming.

The very best testimonials cast your customers as the hero character in the story, not your business. You simply play the role as a guide — or mentor — that stepped in to lead them to the storybook ending.

Responsive design requires you only have one website that is coded to adapt to all screen sizes, no matter what the device the website's being displayed on.

Here are some of the 5 undeniable reasons your website needs to be responsive.

1) Mobile usage is exploding.

2) Positive user experience is a must.

3) Blogging and social activities bring mobile visitors.

4) Responsive design is preferred for SEO.

5) Responsive design adapts to future devices.