WordPress is the most popular platform for website development in the entire world. Millions of designers and developers use the free, open-source software to create efficient, cutting-edge sites that engage visitors and make it easy to sell products and services online. That said, the ever-growing competition means that it's more important than ever to stand out from the crowd. Here are three killer tips for giving your WordPress site a boost.
1. Use plugins and widgets
Plugins and widgets enable you to extend the capacity and powers of your site to an incredible extent. At present, more than 33,000 plugins are available from WordPress, enabling you to add an array of features, from event calendars to video galleries to Twitter feeds. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Widgets allow you to customise your all-important sidebars. You can add forms, images and attention-grabbing information. What's really great about WordPress is that you don't need any coding experience to install plugins and widgets.
Read: 10 Best WordPress Plugins You'd Be Crazy Not To Install
2. Leverage the power of the WordPress community
The fact that WordPress is open-source means that thousands of individuals contribute to its ongoing development. It also means that, as soon as you setup your site, you're part of a ready-made online community. There are oodles of tutorials, tips, advice pages and discussion forums that you can take advantage of, many of which have been created by WordPress pros – so get involved!
3. Invest in high-quality hosting
As you probably know, a site that performs poorly turns visitors off – even if it looks good. In these hectic modern days, where millions of online presences are competing for attention, users simply don't have the time or patience to sit around waiting for pages to load at snail pace. Your site should work perfectly and be easily accessible 24 hours a day. What's more, it should be 100% secure to inspire consumer confidence. There's simply no point in putting the effort into creating a site that looks the part but can't play it. For peace of mind, invest in premium quality hosting.