Why we use WordPress

and why it’s awesome for you.

We hope you like useful information, as well as a healthy dose of pickle puns. Because you’re going to get both here.

We’re in the website rescue business

We see it every single day. A client comes to us because their website isn’t performing the way it should, it doesn’t look the way they want it to look, and it doesn’t have the capabilities that they require. It’s unfortunate, because often these clients have spent a princely sum to get a website that they hate.

WordPress websites solve a lot of our clients main concerns, and puts them in the driver’s seat of their business. Here, we’re going to take a look at what sets WordPress apart from other website builders, then compare WordPress against each one.

WordPress Rocks!

There are a ton of ways to pickle a cucumber, but not every method makes a tasty gherkin. What we’re trying to say is, there are numerous platforms that designers can use to create your website. They’ve all got their pros and cons, but when it boils down to it—we think WordPress is the best.

A WordPress website is infinitely customizable. Truly, the only constraint on your website is our imagination—and we’ve got plenty of that to spare. Because there are an infinite number of plugins, themes, and products associated with WordPress, your website can truly stand out.

The power is yours!!

Here’s the beauty of what we do at Gherkin: because we utilize WYSIWYG Builders like Divi and Elemetor, you don’t have to be a developer to edit your Gherkin Media built website. What you see inside the editor is what you get. Simplicity. Customization. So after launch, you don’t need to write a single line of code to get your site just right.

Endless Tools and Plugins

Not only is the LOOK of a WordPress site infinitely customizable, so are its functionalities.

Here’s a mindblowing stat for ya: There are over 58,000 WordPress plugins.

That’s a WHOLE lot of functionality. Seriously, with that many plugins you can be CERTAIN that regardless of your business, niche, type of website, or capabilities—there are a MULTITUDE of plugins designed specifically for you. These plugins allow for a smooth, seamless customer experience for visitors to your website, while allowing you to offer many different types of products and services.

The Automation Station

Above and beyond the plugins, are the over 3000 apps available to help to automate your website’s processes. Seriously, WordPress websites can offer a fully hands-off experience for a website owner. You can automate everything from lead follow-ups, to social media posts, to marketing, and beyond.

Track Google Analytics

In today’s digital world, data is KING. Seriously, without sound, actionable data that can be used to either double down on or pivot strategy—your business is essentially blindfolded.

Google analytics are a fantastic tool for business and website owners to be able to track the success of particular pages. This gives us deep insights into the behaviours of a particular niche, what they like, and what they don’t like. It’s one of the most powerful tools a business can have in its arsenal. In a saturated market, market knowledge is power.

WordPress has built in Google Analytics capabilities, which allow you to easily track your traffic, and find out what makes them tick. Every single industry has a leader, and by properly using Google Analytics to your advantage, you can be that leader. No BS.

A couple of cons

We are not in the business of sugar coating things. There are a couple of (very minimal) downsides to a WordPress website. Firstly, you’ve gotta pay for hosting. Technically this is a pain in the butt, but, for as low as 30 bucks a month, you can get excellent hosting services. Also, pretty much all other website builders require you to pay for hosting.

Secondly, there will be updates. Yes, once we’ve created a WordPress site for you, it will be awesome, slick, and fantastic. But to stay that way, we’ve got to update your plugins from time to time. A website owner can certainly try to tackle this on their own, however, we offer ongoing support so that you don’t have to worry about the nitty gritty of running the site.

How does WordPress stack up against the other major website builders?

In short: pretty darn good.

There are an estimated 64 million websites currently using WordPress. Over 400 million people visit WordPress websites every month. 661 new WordPress sites go live each and every day. And 51% of the top 1000 websites in the world are WordPress websites.

I’d say those are some solid stats.

But how does WordPress fare against the competition? Here, we’re going to compare WordPress against other major website builders.

Wix vs WordPress – Who takes the crown?

For several years, Wix was the second largest website builder behind WordPress. Recently,
Squarespace has actually overtaken their spot, demonstrating a shift in the overall market.

Wix Is Simple

Wix is a simple website builder, in every sense of the word. One of the major benefits of Wix, is
the ability for anyone, regardless of experience, to be able to set up their own website. While
this is a great feature for hobbyists, people who don’t really care how sharp and user-friendly
their website is, it’s not so great for professionals and business owners looking to stand out from
their competition.

Stuck With A Template

With Wix, once you choose a template, you’re stuck with it, partner! There ain’t no goin’ back!
So choose wisely. This is one of the MAJOR downsides of Wix compared to WordPress.
WordPress allows you to change your theme like you change your clothes, so don’t worry about
getting it right the first time. Adapt, learn, change.

Does Wix Have Plugins?

Just to give you a taste of the sheer magnitude of options that come with a wordpress website
vs a Wix site—Wordpress has 55,000 plugin options. Wix has 200. There’s really no
comparison here. Need we say more?

The Verdict?

Wix is a great tool for a hobbyist blogger looking to put together a quick website on their own, with no coding required. The options for functionality, however, are extremely limited. For an ecommerce business or a service business, we think WordPress outclasses Wix in almost every single way.

Squarespace vs WordPress – The Battle for Supremacy

Squarespace has recently taken over the 2nd spot on the list of most used website builders. Having said that, Squarespace and Wix share a lot of similarities. In our opinion, Squarespace is nothing but a slightly improved Wix. Squarespace shares many of the same challenges of Wix.

Fast Website

Like Wix, Squarespace is a great option for people looking to slap together a quick site, with the added function of being able to choose from multiple different layouts, thanks to its block editor. Still though, the options for a website are much more limited than with WordPress. That’s why many of our clients come to us with a Squarespace website that they’re unhappy with, and we give them their dream site using WordPress.

Ecommerce Website

While users can build a decent ecommerce website using Squarespace, again, the options for customization are severely limited as compared to WordPress. With Squarespace, you can only accept payment via Stripe or PayPal. These payment methods aren’t available in every country, so this limits your customer base by locality. The digital economy is a global one, so it’s clearly in the best interest of every business to offer their products and services to the world.

The Verdict

While Squarespace is certainly a cut above Wix, its lack of the customization and functionality of WordPress.

Webflow vs WordPress – The Visual Showdown

Weblow is a pretty cool concept. For those who aren’t able to visualize their website without actually seeing it coming together in real time, it’s a great builder. The user is able to customize the visual aspects of the website itself, and preview them before publishing.
Webflow Integrations Are Limited

This is a problem. WordPress has seamless integration with countless plugins, Webflow integration can be a headache, and will require deep understanding of each one of these, which can severely limit its functionalities.

Webflow for Ecom?

Here again, we see the downsides of Webflow. With Webflow, you can only sell digital products. Subscriptions, memberships, and online courses are out of the question.

Can Be Pricey

Webflow is not open source software, therefore it can be more expensive to create the website you need as compared to WordPress.

The Verdict

While Webflow does allow for customization, it’s lack of functionalities for Ecommerce, and its overall costs are quite limiting for most businesses. Again, WordPress comes out the clear winner here.

Drupal and Joomla vs WordPress

Here, we have 3 VERY similar website builders. All three are open source software. All three use plugins on the backend and templates up front. Let’s take a look at these WordPress clones and see how they stack up.

Joomla and Drupal

While the platforms are similar, Joomla are severely limited in themes. With WordPress, you’ve got access to over 11,000 themes, many of them are customizable. This means that whatever website design you have in mind, you can get it done on WordPress. Joomla only has 1000, while Drupal has 2900.

The Verdict

In terms of integration, plugins, themes, and functionality—once again, WordPress is simply unmatched. While Drupal and Joomla both offer quite a lot of built-in features, they don’t have the bevvy of add-ons and plug-ins that WordPress offers. Also, WordPress has a massive community that builds new functionalities every single day.

Bonus Content: Why WooCommerce is now our Go-To Ecommerce Plugin

At Gherkin Media, many of our clients run an Ecommerce business. While we used to use the Shopify plug-in, we’ve recently made the switch to WooCommerce. Shopify is likely easier for a beginner to set up on their own, for developers like us—WooCommerce is where it’s at! Here’s why WooCommerce rocks:

  • WooCommerce gives YOU full control of your shop.
  • WooCommerce is open source, meaning ongoing development and customization by a large community.
  • WooCommerce is less expensive.
  • WooCommerce does not get more expensive as you grow.

Are you in a website pickle? Gherkin Media can help!

If you’ve tried building a website on your own, or you’ve paid someone else to build it and are unsatisfied with it—contact us. Everyday, we rescue our clients from their terrible websites, by migrating, creating, and developing an awesome website for their needs.

We’ll gladly audit your current website, and let you know why it sucks, or if it’s awesome the way it is!

Do you need help getting your web project off the ground?

Has your web project stalled, crashed or disappeared?

Has your existing web developer ran out of fuel, or changed flight path and never returned? Good news, our Gherkin Special Tactics team can save the day!

Get in touch and ask us about our FREE rescue package for web projects that are underway but have hit a wall.

Send in the rescue party

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