With more than 60 million websites powered by WordPress as of a year ago, it has rapidly become the go-to source for business owners. WordPress is an open source blogging platform originally created in 2003. Since that time, it has become an extremely user-friendly solution for all but the largest of websites. OK, enough of the techy talk, what does this mean to you?

Word Up

Free and Open Source means free to use for everyone - no monthly fees. It also means that, in the case of WordPress, there is a community of developers constantly testing, tweaking and making sure WordPress is at its absolute best at all time.

This means that WordPress is very secure and that's very important when the news is constantly talking about security breaches of one sort or another.

What You See is What You Get

WordPress comes with a built in editor that lets the user write posts or pages, as well as updating existing posts and pages. It may take the help of a web designer to get you started, but after a quick tutorial, you will be up and running.

The editor allows you to use standard Word Processing tools such as copy, paste, bold, italics, as well as insert images and hyperlinks. With the importance of ranking being a consideration, it is very easy for anyone to post to their company blog on a regular basis - an important part of your SEO strategy.

Shopping Cart? No problem!

WordPress has a bunch of add-ons, called plugins, that you can add to your site and set up a complete shop. You will need to see to some other details, but for the most part, you can upload the plugin, add the products (much in the same way as you added a post) and begin selling. A good web designer can point you in the direction of the best plugins for eCommerce and should be around to assist you with the set up - just to make sure everything is done correctly. But after that, you are set!

Speed Racer Racing

WordPress is database driven which means that your overall site speed will be greatly increased. This means your visitors are happier and Google likes a faster site, as well. You can address issues such as page cache (which helps speed up page delivery) by using plugins, as well.

Design Flow or It's so Pretty

WordPress runs on a template system, which makes the website run smoother and it keeps the overall design of the site consistent. We've all seen sites where each page looks like it's from a completely different site. It isn't a good look, it destroys business branding and it decreases the visitors' impression of your site - and your business.