In 2003, two young developers, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little released a new web platform called WordPress. WordPress was originally intended to be a simple blogging platform like Blogger.
Mullenweg and Little never imagined that their open-source blogging platform would become one of the most popular CMSs in the world. Today, over 20% of websites use WordPress.
WordPress holds many options that allow you to extend it beyond its original capacity on the other hand, It requires more work to produce something simple.
A growing number of small businesses rely on WordPress these days but the truth is that small business owners don't need just a blog, but a fully functional, website that drives traffic, leads and hopefully, revenue.
By switching smaller businesses with fewer needs to a website builder, not only can you save time and take a bigger profit, but you can also get your clients' sites published faster.
Here is a list of some great alternatives for wordpress.
Duda
Duda provides a variety of features that WordPress and other CMS platforms lack. Duda is a responsive website builder designed perfectly for digital marketing agencies that focus on building sites for small business. Here are some benefits:
- Tools to import themes from other sites and adjust them accordingly
- Multiple navigation structures to choose from
- One click site conversion
- Automatically syncing between the mobile and desktop sites
- Comprehensive analytics
- Click to call for mobile site visitors
Duda is used by over 9 million websites around the world.
Wix
If you are on a tight budget, Wix is a great free website building tool. Here are some features it provides that WordPress does not:
- You can create a free forum on your site
- You can create lightboxes to make your site more engaging
- You can change the layout of your site with scrollbars, columns and unique menu structures
Wix isn't as comprehensive as some of the other website building tools on the market, but it's better than WordPress and is free to use.
Strikingly
Strikingly is a great tool for building one page websites. If you are building a simple site that has a homepage with a couple of ecommerce features or subscription forms, then it can be a great option.
- You can set pricing and shipping options for the ecommerce tools.
- It comes with contact forms that are very easy to setup.
- You can provide some simple coupons.
Strikingly may not be ideal for brands that need larger sites, but it is a great tool for companies looking for a robust solution to create a one page website.
Evolution of WordPress for Small Business Owners
Since WordPress was only intended to be a blogging platform, the original developers didn't provide the functionality small business owners needed. Here is an overview of the landscape of WordPress for small business owners.
WordPress Relies on a Very Skeletal Framework
The WordPress zip installation file is 8.3 MB large. The original developers had to make sure it was as compact as possible, because among other reasons, there wouldn't be enough bandwidth for people to install it.
PHP Foundation Opened the Door for Future Communication Solutions
The WordPress platform is built entirely in PHP. PHP is a very flexible language for a variety of reasons, which enable backend developers to create new tools for frontend developers.
Easy for new Programmers to Pick Up
The PHP programming language has many built in functions, which reduces the learning curve for new WordPress developers. The mail() and generate_response() functions make it every easy for new developers to develop plugins that can exchange information between the client and server sides.
Powerful Object Oriented Capabilities
PHP is an Object Oriented programming language that is built on C. This makes it easy for developers to create new plugins with minimal effort.
Development Toolkits
There are also a number of new WordPress development toolkits, such as Sublime Text and PHP Storm. These tools make developing new plugins easier than ever.
Affordable Development Options
While the minimalist framework of WordPress isn't ideal for small business websites, there are very cost-effective solutions. Anyone can learn PHP and develop custom plugins to solve many of the challenges they face. Small businesses can outsource to developers in any country in the world.
They can also purchase third-party tools to solve many of the problems they face. Here are some third party plugins that small businesses are using for their WordPress sites:
- Duda to create contact forms
- WordPress Landing Pages to create and split-test landing pages
- WP eCommerce is a great tool to sell products online
- WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept allows merchants to accept payment online
- All In One WP Security & Firewall protects the site from Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and other malicious activities
Many tools are available for free or for small fees.
Third-Party Plugins Make WordPress the Best Option for Small Businesses
In the past, WordPress wasn't a feasible option for small businesses. Fortunately, third-party developers have addressed many of the problems they faced.
Installing plugins on WordPress is much easier than building a website from the ground up. It is now the most affordable and practical option, even though WordPress wasn't originally developed with small businesses in mind.