How to Make a Classified Website Using WordPress
You may be familiar with the term “cyber-catalogue”, it’s usually used when describing a website that provides a list of products or services for sale, usually in a digital format. Although there are plenty of free tools available online that can be used to build simple catalogues, the truth is, that unless you have deep pockets, you’ll probably end up paying someone else to build the site for you.
The cost of having a high-quality, fully functioning website that can be updated and marketed to customers without hassle is becoming less of an issue as more and more businesses are realising the importance of having a presence online. Especially as more people are becoming disenchanted with traditional advertising. According to HubSpot, only 10% of adults in the U.S. say they regularly read newspaper ads, and only 4% say they watch television commercials. So if your business is based on selling products or services to people in your local area, you’ll probably want to consider a classified website for marketing and outreach.
Why WordPress?
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either already aware of the benefits of using WordPress, or at least have heard of it. Launched back in 2003 by Mike Little and Scott Stein, WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) used globally, powering hundreds of thousands of websites and growing every year. What’s more is that WordPress is completely free, which for some businesses, may simply be worth the cost of a professional website. In fact, it’s often used as part of a company’s digital marketing strategy, along with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Why should you choose WordPress for your classified website?
It Has Everything You Need
With WordPress, you don’t need to worry about hiring a web developer to set up a custom solution with PHP and MySQL. Instead, you can use the provided WordPress platform, which already has robust features that will save you time and hassle. Even better, you can use WordPress to build your website regardless of whether you’re a beginner or an expert, as it provides an easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorial that will get you up and running in no time.
One of the big concerns for any business owner is security. With WordPress, they don’t need to be. The platform was originally designed to be secure by default, but you can take additional measures, such as using a password manager to generate random passwords for all accounts, so if one of your websites gets hacked, your other websites aren’t at risk.
Proprietary & Extensible
Unlike most CMSes, WordPress does not require you to run proprietary software on your server. While this may seem like a disadvantage, it actually makes it much easier to develop with, and much more flexible. You won’t be limited to using the templates and plugins that come with the CMS, as you can always use your own, which you can design and build with almost any web developer or designer. If you’re an experienced developer, you can even create custom plugins and themes to further extend the capabilities of your site.
One of the best things about WordPress is that it’s open-source. This means that its source code is freely available for anyone to review, critique, and improve. In addition, you can encourage and participate in the continuing development of the product, by contributing your own ideas and coding changes. In other words, the sky is the limit.
If you’re looking for a CMS to provide a simple platform for your business, look no further. With WordPress, you can build a fully functioning, robust website that can grow with you as you develop new ideas and requirements.