WordPress isn’t the best content management system (CMS) to use for a company Web site. In fact, there are many reasons why you should not use WordPress. My Dad taught me a long time ago that you need to use the right tool for the job. A Web site is one of those cases.
“…you can use a flat head screwdriver for a philips head screw…it’ll work… but eventually it will strip the screw”
I’ve seen many small companies start out by using WordPress. The simple ease of use is usually enough to convince many small company Presidents, CEO’s and other OO’s they many have onboard. WordPress is simple to install and provides a basic CMS with all kinds of plugins. Unfortunately, there are several downsides to using WordPress for a company Web site.
Post or Page?
Not soon after you start messing with a fully designed WordPress site your bound to get the difference between a post and a page confused. WordPress handles these two differently. Pages are supposed to be part of your main site content, where as posts are general part of your blog section – which is really what WordPress is all about. But, why does a company need posts or a blog? Doesn’t a company have different kinds of pages; such as: content, products, press, updates, newsletters, etc?
A WordPress Site looks like a Blog
“it looks like a WordPress site”, I’ve heard many times before. There’s nothing worse than having your company image associated with a common blogging Web site tool. It doesn’t show anywhere near the right level of professionalism. A company Web site needs to be professional, well thought out and clear. Building your Web site from a blog program is not professional, in my opinion. A WordPress site usually displays content in a scattered approach; with tags, archives and categories grouping posts together. A company Web site needs to have a hierarchical design that flows well between levels & pages.
Targeted by Hackers and Spammers
It’s a known fact, that by using WordPress, you are opening up the possibility that your site may become vulnerable to hacker attempts. WordPress has in the past experienced several exploits which hackers have used to post malicious code onto Web sites which spread viruses onto visitor’s computers. Spammers are also a constant issue as they target WordPress sites with all kinds of spam.
SEO / Google Ranking Reasons
While you may be able to obtain fairly good search engine results using WordPress SEO Plugins, you probably should not overlook the possibility that Google may at any time change it’s stance on blogging sites. In fact, it may already be part of it’s 200+ ranking factors. Perhaps the word “blog”, just in itself, could penalize your pages. Of course this probably sounds a bit extreme, but as the Google Florida Update has shown in the past, Google can change its algorithm pretty drastically at times.
Ok, I’m done ranting. Flame away.
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