One of the things we recommend to all of our clients is to have their web site built on a content management system (CMS) that allows them to post, edit, and manage their own web site content, without having to rely on their web design firm or web guru guy to make changes (and bill them) every time they want to add new content or change existing content.
Though many of our clients want and/or need a full featured content management system, they are also working under budget constraints, or technology limitations that make having a customized CMS or high-end content management package with licensing fees unrealistic. Sometimes, a proprietary system can be so exclusive, that just having a staff member trained to use it or hiring a consultant who is well versed in making changes to the templates or code itself, can exceed the project budget.
Weve found that WordPress provides an excellent low-cost solution as a CMS, and further provides a bunch of ancillary benefits that achieve goals were steering our clients towards, i.e. ownership of their own web site, low ongoing costs, built search engine optimization (SEO), open source code, etc. that gives them more options for mastering their own internet presence, not fewer.
When combined with a quality SEO-friendly Theme , WordPress becomes a powerful tool for mastering your own web site, and delivering your content to your audience, quickly, easily, and efficiently.
We highly recommend DIYThemes.com Thesis theme for our clients, because it not only incorporates awesome SEO technology, but it also allows you to change your web design yourself. Not just manage the content, but manage the interface as well. It gives you the flexibility to change the number of columns, change the colors, change the fonts, change the dimensions, etc. giving you true control over both what your users see, and the content they read. (http://diythemes.com)
Additionally, WordPress has enormous community of developers that have created add-ons for almost every possible element youd like to add to your site, that you can download and easily install, giving you control over the interactivity and user features on your site as well. Photo galleries, user registration, contact forms, calendars, etc. there is a comprehensive directory of tools for almost every need. (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/)
WordPress runs on open source technologies like php (programming language) and MySQL (database) which means that you as the site owner can find low-cost developers to create custom application and features for your site, even if there isnt a plugin that does exactly what you want. It also allows you to move your site to any hosting service, or any design firm, and have them understand and have full documentation of how your site works, so youre never locked in to a specific company, just because they designed your site initially.
Maybe best of all, WordPress is completely free. While you still may incur costs for a theme (Thesis by DIYThemes.com is $87.00), and you may still want to hire a designer and/or programmer to customize your site and do the initial installs and setup, you wont be paying for ongoing software licenses, or upgrade charges, or backend coding for a proprietary CMS, because you own everything, and the software is all free, open source, and compatible with almost every hosting service.
You can backup your site with the click of a button, setup a hosting account with any provider, and import your backup file all through WordPress and a web browser at any time. It gives you the leverage and control, not your web designer or hosting company. THATS change you can believe in.
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