WordPress is enterprise-ready; and, if you thought all that WordPress powers are small blogs about dogs, cats, and hobbies; well, think again because WordPress, today, powers 43% of all the websites on the internet.
Earlier Drupal was the go-to platform for large-scale website projects but in recent years, enterprises have time and again opted for WordPress to build substantial websites.
BuiltWith estimates that WordPress powers 37% of the top 10,000 CMS-based websites; and, W3Techs believes that WordPress is the platform of choice for more than 50% of the top 1000 CMS-based websites. So, basically, a large number of enterprises have already made the shift to WordPress.
In fact, many well-known brands have been quite vocal about their love for WordPress.
Take the case of TechCrunch, for example.
TechCrunch switched to WordPress to ‘capitalise on advances in web-development’.
In 2018, TechCrunch completely revamped their website using WordPress to improve accessibility and ‘capitalize on advances in web development.’
They built a React/Redux app on top of a decoupled WordPress back end and connected it via REST API; this approach helped them achieve –
- Significantly better performance
- Improved accessibility since there’s no need to fully load the page each time
- A website that behaves like a native application
- Low maintenance requirement; thus, significant cost savings
TechCrunch is not the only big enterprise to advocate the use of WordPress; big-wigs like Disney books, Sony Music, and, even, Times Magazine run their websites using the WordPress platform.
So, what is WordPress offering that is compels enterprises to make the switch?
However, before we answer that, let’s first understand what exactly an enterprise needs in a web solution.
Unlike small businesses that are simply looking to create an online presence; enterprises have very specific needs, such as –
| High-quality development | Enterprises need a platform that provides a high quality, bespoke result which adds significant value to the overall brand. |
| Fast turnaround time | Enterprises, often, need super-quick turnaround time on their web projects; often, taking less than a month from ideation to development. |
| Affordability | Enterprises have access to a larger pool of resources but they also, often, have strict budgets to follow. They need a web solution that can scale up and down with their budgetary requirements while still delivering superior quality and performance. |
| Complex access requirements | Since enterprises have a multi-level organizational structure, they often need to restrict access for many people and allow limited access to others. |
| Other important issues | Multilingual content, microsites, and accessibility settings are examples of some other issues that enterprises need to resolve. |
As an enterprise, you definitely need an effective and efficient solution to manage everything under one platform.
This is where WordPress comes in.
Why is WordPress a viable option for enterprises?
WordPress is an excellent choice for almost every organisation; and, especially, for enterprises because –
It is flexible like no other platform
What really makes WordPress flexible and easy to expand is the way in which it is built. It allows developers to easily expand a site using one of the many established plugins that are being used by big enterprises across industries. To find solutions for complex problems, developers still have the option to write custom code.
In a nutshell, WordPress is a very developer-friendly CMS that helps teams to scale and expand as needed without compromising on coding standards or security. It is very agile as a platform since you can use it for every imaginable purpose.
For example, we used both the power of WordPress and React library, to build an in-flight media and entertainment system for an Israeli startup called – WhileFly. The system offered information to passengers about the destination such as weather, time, currency, and even the latest local news pertaining to that particular place besides the many different media streaming options and it is soon-to-be a fully secured in-flight E-Commerce shop.
With the right knowledge and the right people, literally, every part of WordPress is customizable; and, you can create whatever you want.
Enables coordination and teamwork
WordPress allows teams to work individually and in-tandem at the same time. Developers can work on specific areas of the project without interrupting the entire process.
Also, WordPress follows set rules and coding standards; this is an important guideline since it makes sure that every member of the team is moving in the same direction. It also helps to improve code quality and security. In the end, everything easily falls into place just like solving a puzzle.
Fast time to market
WordPress is extremely easy to set-up and get started. You can add new features, change existing settings or even re-design entire sites within a very short period of time. Whether an enterprise wants to build a site, tool or a fast MVC to test public acceptance; WP can be set-up really quick. This gives enterprises an edge because –
- they can achieve a faster time to market, and
- save significant amount of money.
Also, every other developer is familiar with WordPress making it easy to achieve faster turnaround times and enabling easy transfer of projects to other teams in the future. In fact, there are trusted online communities where you can find top-notch WordPress developers and agencies for your project.
Cutting-edge technology
WordPress has pioneered the introduction of several new technologies over the years which are redefining the way websites will look in the future –
- Gutenberg editor – Built on ReactJS, it has enabled developers to build sites that allow webmasters, and a site’s manager to see how the site will look on the frontend, from the Gutenberg editor, directly when they are editing content on the site.
- React – React combined with WordPress opens up a world of possibilities. Enterprises are opting for this combination to achieve faster speed, better performance and differentiate between presentation and data.
- Headless WordPress – Headless WP helps to decouple the content and development teams; it helps to improve performance and create faster as well. It basically refers to a site that manages its content using WordPress and engages a custom frontend stack to display the content to visitors.
Backlinko chose WordPress to ‘make use of its content editing possibilities’
One of the brands that has utilised WordPress’s cutting-edge tech to create something wonderful is Backlinko, one of the biggest SEO-related blogs. Backlinko was suffering from performance issues, poor load times; and, increased LCP and TTI.
To resolve their problems, they chose a combination of Headless WordPress and React (with Next.js) which helped them achieve –
- Radically improved UX.
- Every single page started loading 3 times faster.
- Optimised page rendering (and, decreased LCP).
Backlinko is one among many other brands that have used a combination of industry leading tech offered by WordPress to build something out-of-the-box.
It is constantly updated
In 2021, WordPress was updated over 25 times; that means, on an average, the CMS was updated twice in a month. It is constantly updated with the latest and best PHP version, new features, bug fixes, performance improvement, speed optimisation and more.
It is important for enterprises to stay on top of the game; and, with regular updates, WordPress offers the best available web solutions at all times.
Industry-leading security standards
When we talk about WordPress as a web solution for enterprises, security is an issue that always comes up. No CMS (or anything for that matter) is a 100% safe solution; however, you often hear about WordPress websites being hacked.
- But before we draw a conclusion, let’s look at some numbers –
- A study by Sucuri, the well-known website security service, found that over 61% hacked WP sites were using an out-dated version of the WordPress core software.
- Even today, more than 50% WP sites are not running on the latest core software.
- Over 60% of the site owners who identified ‘how the attackers got in’ realised that it was due to a vulnerability in the plugins they used.
- Sucuri, in a report, found that 3 plugins contributed to over 15% of the hacked sites.
- WordPress has been offering the latest PHP version since several years now, still only about 33% sites are using PHP 7 or above.
The key takeaway here is that risk, usually, arises from plugins, out-dated versions and other similar factors. All these can be easily curbed (and, even effective controls can be put in place) if you have a good team offering constant support. Regular updates, alone, can ensure that no security issues crop up. The WP core team also actively addresses security risks.
WordPress VIP – Ideal platform to create powerful enterprise ecosystems
WordPress VIP is a managed WordPress hosting platform meant for enterprises and large-scale websites. Big tech players like Facebook (recently Facebook launched a custom WooCommerce experience with the help of WP VIP in less than 30 days) have also chosen WordPress VIP due to features like high speed and optimal performance.
It also has features, like –
- Automatically scales-up to handle traffic
- Performs automatic back-ups on an hourly basis
- Proactively scans and secures the site
- Reviews all third-party plugins and minimises risk
Connect with us
If you are looking for a team of experienced professionals that can help take your online presence to the next level, then connect with us at rgbcode. We have worked with enterprises across the globe and have demonstrated our skills in a variety of industries.
We specialize in developing on the WordPress platform and pride ourselves on providing our clients with the most enjoyable experience while working with an external development team.
Connect with us today and give us a chance to show you what we can do for your business.
