In the Beginning WordPress Was For Bloggers
WordPress has a reputation for being blogging software based on it’s history, and the current 60 Million+ bloggers on WordPress.com.
The open-source version of WordPress comes from WordPress.org. The widely used blog engine is found on WordPress.com. Confusing? Read WordPress.org vs WordPress.com to understand the difference. We’re discussing the open-source WordPress.org version. This version has evolved into a flexible content management system (CMS) that is widely tested, supported, and secure.
Pages, Not Blog Posts
95% of my clients use WordPress to display static pages about their businesses or organizations. There are no blog posts on these sites. I encourage clients to have a business blog, showing their expertise, but blogging is not for everyone.
WordPress is Now For Websites
Any decent CMS, include WordPress, is essentially a system that delivers files from your server host to your visitors’ browser. It’s that simple, except the files include HTML, CSS, Javascript, Jpeg, PNG, PDF, etc. The CMS (and the developer) simplify this process by creating a structure around all that content. Add content into one end, out comes a website on the other end.
I’ve taught dozens of clients to add all kinds of content using the WordPress Dashboard in less than an hour. What I find interesting is each client has different needs, but WordPress can be adapted to fit those needs. Whitepaper PDFs? No problem. Audio and video? Piece of cake. My favorite challenge is creating custom post types, i.e. custom data, for clients, so they can add pieces of content specific to their business and display it to their customer, just the way they need to.
WordPress is a powerful, flexible content management system in the hands of the right developer, and it is not just for blogging.