WordPress is an easy-to-use platform for quickly creating a free blog site. #ThursdayThoughts from Myers...

The one adjective missing here is “Effective”. As a blogging tool, WordPress presents a good solution. But when expanded into an entire website, you’re stretching it far beyond the program’s intent and functionality. You’re squeezing a size 10 foot into a size 7 shoe and trying to convince yourself it’s a good fit. There are some areas in your business when a compromise might make sense, but something as important as your website isn’t one of them. Your homebuyers are searching online. They’re looking for the builder who has the experience and integrity they want. Do you really want to give these savvy surfers a cookie-cutter website? Here are some of the reasons you should reconsider the idea of using WordPress to drive your website.

• You’ll compromise security. WordPress is an open-source platform, meaning anyone and everyone can access it. The coding isn’t sophisticated. Even though you’re not processing payments on your website, your prospective homebuyers are sharing their information with you (and you with them!). Do you want a hacker to access it? Once you’re hacked, you can say “goodbye” to all the leads you’ve tried to cultivate.
• SEO is weak. Search engine optimization is a critical feature of a successful website. SEO drives relevant searches to your website. A site that isn’t optimized is like a restaurant that opens without signage or advertising. A good website incorporates SEO into the development, right from the start. A WordPress site gives you SEO plugins that are more like an accessory than an integrated component. In addition, the very nature of SEO as a plugin can deter Google’s spiders and bots from paying attention to you. They’re quickly scanning websites for relevant content, and plugins are notorious for being slow.
• Plug-ins are unwieldy. As an open platform, WordPress welcomes a wide-open community of developers to create plugins, which add specific functions to your site. Just like SEO for these sites, plugins are accessories. They’re not built into your site, and the coding depends on the individual developer. They can slow down the downloads on your site or potentially leave you open to hackers.
• Did we mention updates? Developers make amends to software, to increase the functionality or security, for example. When you have a website designed by one master, it’s easy to manage the updates to your builder website. A WordPress site comprised of many plugins can be a nightmare. You’ll receive update notices from each developer, and, because they’re not working together, you don’t know how one update will impact another plugin. Your website becomes a patchwork quilt.
• Whose website is it? WordPress templates are called “themes”. You choose one and then insert your photos and content. You might find something that supports your brand, but the same website design might also be a popular choice among other builders. Using a template does not contribute to building your brand.

Suddenly, your “user-friendly” WordPress site becomes a nightmare. And you discover that the “free” site comes at a much bigger cost. Does that shoe fit? Stop squeezing your business into a website that could cripple your business. Talk to us at Builder Designs to get a website that delivers the results you need. We don’t just build sites from the ground up. We focus solely on websites for home builders.

Please know the statements about WordPress are our opinion. In our opinion, to be a successful homebuilder in the marketplace, you need to think about a custom website rather than a site built on platforms like WordPress.