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When you set out to build yourself a website you have a few goals in mind. You may have sketched some of those goals out, read a book about how the Web 2.0 and soon to be 3.0 method of communication has changed our world (you probably did not read a book – but have participated online and want to be more deeply involved with the change). Regardless, you have goals and are now beginning to consider the methods available to you.
Common Methods
- Hire a professional to design the site for you (perhaps not something you’re ready for – i.e. lots of content, outline of online strategy, $ etc.)
- Find a website hosting package that includes a website builder (hard to find one that does not offer outdated and cookie cutter designs with very little “function”)
- Dabble with “free” online websites (often includes tacky adds and the same outdated cookie cutter presentation)
- other…
There are a number of methods available and soon you may find yourself lost in the sea of features, web space and hype. I’ve been there, tried it; tried it again and searched relentlessly for a solution that would allow me to build a site with substance, flair and function. Months and months of trying various services, methods and madness. Have you been there?
Then, along comes WordPress. (cheer, shout, jump up and down!!!)
Ok, so let’s look at the big picture: You want a website and you plan to accomplish some significant goals with that website!
Earth Shaking Goals for Every Website Owner:
- Attract people to your online content with a stylish and professional design
- Answer frequently asked questions about you, your business or your expertise in one place – your website. (The 5 “W’s)
- Interact with visitors in meaningful ways (this can be as simple as getting a phone call from a website visitor, or facilitating a commenting system on your site to interact with your website audience – or any other interactive of online communication)
- Be proud of what you’ve given the world and yourself as a result of building a site that people love, use and recommend.
- Become a multi-millionaire, alter the course of history and issue in world peace 30 days after launching your new site. (ok… hold on, let’s keep it in perspective.)
How WordPress Helps You Build a Site and Accomplish Your Goals
A. Attracts an Audience:
RSS Explained by CommonCraft
When you publish content online through a WordPress powered website the content is “pushed” to the internet. In other words, the publishing software has a built in broadcasting system that yells to search engines and blog networks, “Fresh content has been served – ‘Come and Get it!’” Now, your new content is discoverable and making it’s way into the online reader streams. As people browse, search and find your content in these arenas – people are directed to your website.
All WordPress websites publish an RSS feed making it all the more inviting for people to repeatedly access your content – every time you publish new articles on your site. What is RSS? Here is a super video by CommonCraft illustrating the RSS thing.
Instead of being static like early websites, your powered by WordPress website is a dynamic resource – slipping into main content streams of the present communication era. Now that is FUNCTION!
Is it Attractive? Without a doubt!
WordPress started out with the aim to be aesthetically pleasing while ensuring that the content on any given website is front and center. Content with Style. That could well be the motto of the WordPress team, although here is how they articulate it:
WordPress is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability.
Now that is priceless! In fact, the WordPress platform has effectively achieved these goals and now thousands of coders, designers and end users. Thousands of fresh themes are developed around the world and you are guaranteed to find a design that you can customize and fill out with your content, purchase a premier yet affordable theme or hire a designer to create a customized WordPress layout for you to apply to your website.
B. Answer the 5 W’s & so much more:
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Now here is where strategy starts to get down to the brass tacks – the reason for wanting a website in the first place. This is where the beauty of WordPress as a content management system begins to shine. Navigation and Structure as applied to your content. Do you have an area of passion, expertise and experience the world needs to see and make the most of? Outline what it is you have to offer into topics or categories; then outline a few key standalone pieces of content and you are ready for WordPress. Here is a for instance:
- Topics I plan on writing articles about
- Tips and trends
- Industry Secrets
- News and Updates
- etc…
- Stand-alone Pages
- About Me
- Services
- Showcase
- Contact
Check out the Content Sitemap Tutorial on WordPress.tv:
C. Interact with visitors = natural publicity:
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Your website powered by WordPress will give you optional tools such as allowing online commenting/conversations that anyone can and will read; extend core function through plugins allowing you to send new article notifications to twitter, invite individuals to post a link to your article through their personal social networks. Promoting your article by submitting it to network blogs and communities built around your area of expertise/service is a natural thing to do when you have a website that allows you to blog. (Check out Jared Thompsons article aimed at encouraging designers who blog to promote their content.) Don’t miss the talk of TED regarding the change that social networking has issued into our present reality.
D. Something worth taking pride in:
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Doing this with WordPress is actually a natural thing! The community of designers, technicians and users form a very enthusiastic entity. Just start looking around and you can see that people like the results of their unique style and content given legs with the WordPress application. Need to see some inspiration to get started? Don’t miss the featured showcase on WordPress.org. Got an effective and/or unique website running on WordPress Consider submitting your site to that showcase!
E. Discovering new levels of success – achieve your goals and make history:
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One of the first things you begin to learn as the owner of a WordPress powered website is that content fits into specific publishing areas of website architecture. As you learn the basics of pages, child-pages, posts, categories and tags you have the opportunity to play with and refine the way your content is presented. The system is designed to make publishing simple, while helping your readers more effectively navigate your content driven website. Maybe you are already a highly organized communicator, or maybe you will like how WordPress makes you look more like that 
Either way, the ability to publish, refine and test your ideas online is a benefit that has significant potential for improving personal success.
What have you found to be the single-most important feature or aspect of WordPress that allows you to produce something valuable and effective?
