There was a time when HTML reigned supreme. If you wanted a corporate presence on the web, there was no other alternative. As time went on and building sites became easier for the masses through the use of WYSIWYG editors, businesses started to become more aware of what went into making a site. Sure non-programmers/designers could figure out the now easy interface available to them, but in many cases, it was just enough to get them in trouble. It does not matter what size business you are creating for, people will always want to know what goes on behind the curtain and know that they can do it themselves. Today, WordPress gives those people the ability to make a lot of the changes they want, without too much of a risk.
Anyone in marketing with an emphasis in digital could not help but be fascinated with web technology trends and how they have progressed over the years. From straight HTML and data-driven sites to Flash animation and responsive web design, many companies want the latest and greatest because they believe they need it. Although there could be a good case made for any previous or future technologies, unlike WordPress, there was a usually a stronger learning curve.
In the past six months, 11 out of 11 of my website designs have been built using a WordPress back end. Of those 11, one was a redesign of an existing WordPress site, the rest were either new web presences or an upgrade to an existing site. I have found that the majority of my clients are drawn to the fact that they quickly have the knowledge to understand their sites abilities and feel more comfortable communicating their future needs, something not easily found with people who had HTML sites built in the past.
As for the one site that was a redesign of an existing WordPress site, that was quite a unique experience. It was a site that was built very early on, and there was some very unnecessary extra coding added to it, which over time, made the site very complicated to update. Which is the complete opposite reason for using this simplistic interface in the first place. So who should use a WordPress site for their corporate presence?
Absolutely anyone who wants to make their own, or plans on sometimes making their own updates in-house. If built correctly, there is no easier interface to work with. However, there does tend to be a higher cost involved for the development of the technology since designers and programmers realize that there is a potential of losing any extra work they may have gotten in the past with older technologies.
Surprisingly, I have found that many of the clients I have dealt with usually just want the ability to make updates and have the education to carry on a conversation about how and why their site was built the way it was. In time, they almost always come back, whether it be for updates they no longer have the time to make themselves or for complete upgrades, and all too often they will look for they last thing you have done for them to decide what your next role will be, if any.
Tom Roarty's Blog 