Different types of WordPress sites

by | May 25, 2022 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

WordPress isn’t just for blogs

 

When WordPress started in 2003 is was a blogging platform. Since then, WordPress has developed to be one of the most flexible and powerful platforms for websites.

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Hopefully, you have read my other blog posts and have your business strategy, website strategy and business name together. This guide aims to give some insight into making the right WordPress choices based on your business function.

WP Websites concentrates on e-commerce and brochure profile sites as they are the most popular, but there are several types of sites that you can have, but it’s all dependent on what what your strategy and goals are and if you need your site to connect to something else. WordPress has an extensive library of plugins at your disposal to achieve the functionality you need. Some examples of the different types of sites, their functionality and the plugins to achieve that are below:

  • Brochure or Profile websites

  • Ecommerce websites

  • Membership websites

  • Reviews and testimonials

  • Social media

  • Bookings

Brochure or Profile websites

A brochure of profile site, is a static site. There are no bells and whistles. Its usually used for a person or a service such as a business advisor or accountant. It is a basic site that just gives information and encourages customers to contact you for more information.

 

Ecommerce websites

A website that sells something and takes a payment for it is an Ecommerce website. There are many different ecommerce platforms available, but the most popular one to use with WordPress is Woocomnmerce. I use this for all Ecommerce sites because it is easy to use and there is tons of support for it on the woocomerce.com website and on dedicated Facebook groups.

There are no extra fees for using Woocommerce, but if you want it to do more than the average shop, then there are some annually paid extensions that can be bought at https://woocommerce.com/product-category/woocommerce-extensions  

Membership websites

Membership sites can be created within WordPress. Different plugins can be used dependent on what type of membership site is being created: Some of the most popular membership plugins are:
  • BuddyPress is best for creating a social network platform or it can be used as a communication tool for membership groups. There is no cost. See more at https://buddypress.com
  • MemberPress plugin can be used to charge customers for access to content. The plugin allows you to create, manage and track membership subscriptions and sell digital download products. It is a paid plugin. See more at https://memberpress.com
  • LearnDash is best for online courses. With LeanDash you can create and sell courses, deliver quizzes, award certificates, manage users, and download reports. It is a paid plugin. See more at https://learndash.com
 

Reviews and testimonials

Do you use external review sites such as google my business, Facebook pages, yelp ? Do you want those reviews to show on your website? If you constantly get good reviews on these websites, you may want the functionality to import those review automatically. WordPress has plenty of plugins to do this:

 

Social media

Do you want to do more than just show social media icons on your website? Here are some plugin options below:
  • Spotlight social media feeds embeds Instagram anywhere on your website. There is a free and paid version. See more at https://wordpress.org/plugins/spotlight-social-photo-feeds/
  • Revive old posts – Social media auto post and scheduling plugin automatically shares posts and content from a WordPress website to social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google My Business, LinkedIN, and Tumblr. There is a free and paid version available. See more at https://wordpress.org/plugins/spotlight-social-photo-feeds/
  • WP social ninja is an all-in-one WordPress Social plugin that automatically integrates r social media reviews, news feeds, and chat functionalities. The pro version integrates reviews from other platforms. See more at https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-social-reviews/
   

Bookings

Booking plugins are most useful for businesses that have resources that need booking, such as a person or a room. A few options for WordPress plugins are below:
  • Appointment Hour Booking – WordPress Booking Plugin. This plugin is used for creating booking forms for appointments with a start time and a defined duration. The free version is fully functional, but there is also a ‘pro’ version. More details at https://wordpress.org/plugins/appointment-hour-booking/
  • Booking calendar can be used for resource schduling such as rooms or properties, equipment rental, client scheduling or even patient scheduling. There is a free and premium version. See more at https://wordpress.org/plugins/booking/
  • Booking calendar, Appointment Booking System can be used for any kind of resource resivations. Thre is a free and extended version. See more details at https://wordpress.org/plugins/booking-calendar/
  Wordpress is a fantastic platform for any variety of sites. No matter what your website strategy is, or what you need your website to do, there is nearly always a plugin to enable your website goals.

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