Itching to join the expansive community of bloggers, entrepreneurs, businesses that operate online? Curious to know what options you have as a student? We’ve compiled a list of reasons why one of the most popular website publishers WordPress, is the top pick for a number of reasons.
WordPress is newbie-friendly and has a very simple user interface, making it breezy to work with, but for students looking for more reasons and need more convincing, then you’ve come to the right place.
A website can be used for anything, maybe students want to list down their favorite recipes and publish them on a blog, maybe they want to list down famous writers like on this website? Or maybe poets like this one? Whatever the reason, publishing a website isn’t as hard as it used to be.
Here are our 8 reasons why students should learn and use WordPress:
1. It’s Easy to Use
The number one reason on our list is that WordPress is incredibly easy to use, and so it suits a lot of different types of students’ needs without overwhelming them. It’s easy because students don’t need to know coding to use it, and they don’t need to learn some complex program either. Its user interface (UI) is smooth and simple.
Even the most web-illiterate students can use WordPress, and they have guides for new users, which students can find on search engines easily.
2. It’s Free
It’s free-to-use, which means students can get started with it without costing them anything. Of course, there are paid versions of WordPress that evidently provide more features, but the software itself is available to download for free. Curious about the paid versions? Here’s the run-down:
- Personal: The best option for personal use (4 € per month/ billed annually)
- Premium: The best option for freelancers (8€ per month/ billed annually)
- Business: The best option for small businesses (25€ per month/billed annually)
- eCommerce: The best option for online businesses (45€ per month/billed annually)
With WordPress, students can decide to go with the free version or the paid version. They just need to know what they need. If they have more specific needs and perhaps more features, then the paid versions are more than affordable. If their needs are simpler, then they can probably manage with only the free version.
3. It Flexible/Adapts
Initially, WordPress was created as a blogging platform but it has branched out to be used in a multitude of ways, so users can basically create websites for any number of reasons or functions.
WordPress is at an advantage compared to its competitors because of its blogging past. Why? Well, it’s one of the cleanest and fastest website publishers out there, and it’s especially easy to publish blog posts with it thanks to its history.
So, what kind of websites can students create with WordPress? Here are some examples:
- Blogs (of course)
- Business directories
- Business websites (like a website for startups)
- Chatrooms
- Coupon websites
- eCommerce websites
- eLearning modules
- Forums
- Knowledge bases
- Non-profit websites
- Online portfolios (for creatives or entrepreneurs)
- Personal projects (information expositions, etc.)
- Photo and Video Galleries
And it goes on and on. What are your ideas?
4. It’s SEO-friendly
One of the main aspects students should consider when using WordPress is that it is SEO-friendly, and this helps it rank higher on search engines, especially Google. This also gives it powerful potential to give traffic and exposure to the website.
So why does WordPress rank higher on Google? Well, WordPress utilizes compliant code to produce semantic markup – in simpler terms, it gives Google what it wants for SEO.
5. It Offers Many Options for Expansion
WordPress lets its users enhance their websites with plugins and themes. Depending on the type of website a student wants to publish, they can choose a theme that goes with it. And in the process of having a website, sometimes students will need to add something new – and that’s where the plugins come in.
Students who have the paid versions of WordPress have more options on plugins but some of them are still accessible for the free version of WordPress.
6. It’s Secure
WordPress has been created with optimized security. It’s considered a safe and secure platform, and WordPress also offers plugins to help secure websites better. The WordPress security team works to identify and solve any issues with the core software. They also document and recommend security best practices for third-party plugins and theme producers.
7. It Has a Helpful Community
WordPress is open-source software, and with its accessibility, no wonder its user base population is huge. Many WordPress users have created and published helpful blogs, courses, guides, etc. to help newbies out when they start out with WordPress. WordPress also has competent customer support – students can choose either option to get started on learning.
There really is a huge number of resources to learn WordPress, so if it’s quick solutions that students need – all they need to do is look it up.
8. It Works Well with Other Software
WordPress enables its users to connect to other platforms easily to boost site functionality. Evidently, it easily integrates with other platforms to give users a multitude of options and to enhance their websites.
Whatever platform users need to connect with, WordPress doesn’t make it difficult for them to do it.
Final Words
For students who now know why WordPress is worth learning and using, we recommend that you get started with it ASAP, especially if you have aspirations on building a website with purpose – maybe you have a startup idea, a knowledge base, or an idea for an eCommerce website?
Digitalization and publication online is something that many students cannot avoid, if they strive to succeed, and gain exposure, traffic, etc. The process won’t be a walk in the park, as with everything – it will surely take time and patience. But with many aspects already automated and ready-to-use, WordPress surely makes life a bit easier.
