WordPress is an open-source content management system which is used by nearly a quarter of the top 10,000,000 websites on the world wide web. It dates back to 2003, and is used today by many well-known blogs, news sites, and Fortune 500 companies. You can view a showcase of major sites running WordPress by clicking here (opens a new window/tab).
WordPress is free. There is free hosting available on WordPress.com, though it’s limited in its customization abilities. You can extend WordPress by adding free or commercial:
- Themes, which change the appearance of your site
- Plugins, which add features that can do pretty much anything
To extend WordPress’s features or create a new look and feel for your site, you will need to host your own WordPress site through a hosting company. This will typically cost a few dollars a month for very basic hosting.
The free options I recommend are Wix and Weebly. One of them might be a better choice for you than WordPress if one or more of the following are true:
- Your website needs are fairly simple and easily addressed
- You don’t expect a large number of members or a lot of traffic
- Your budget is thin and you can’t afford to hire someone
- You want to get up and running quickly
- You don’t want to spend the time learning WordPress
If you decide on Weebly, and later want to move it to WordPress, there are ways of doing so. With Wix on the other hand, you’ll need to recreate the site with copy and paste. If you do decide to do your own website, you might want to consider signing up for my reasonably priced training site via the Do It Yourself menu item.
For those who need to set up a knowledgebase, I can also set up wiki sites and stand-alone forums.
