If you want a web site that puts you more in touch with your customers than a few unchanging static pages, then the open source WordPress Content Management System might be just the ticket for you. It enables people who don’t like getting bogged down in HTML and Javascript to make their own timely updates, send out newsletters, post to Twitter and Facebook, or even change the whole look & feel of their site, if they feel so motivated.
The power of WordPress is in how its functionality is compartmentalized into plugins. There are so many useful plugins available that no matter what your business model is, or how big or small your organization is, WordPress can handle it. If you are a sole proprieter and have products to sell, there are shopping cart plugins available to integrate your site with PayPal or other credit card processors. If you like to write and blog and let advertisers pay you, there are plugins for positioning ads around your site. If your business is based on one-on-one meetings with clients, there are calendar plugins where you can set business hours and let customers schedule their own appointments. Of course there are plugins for tracking your web site traffic so you can gauge the site’s success and usefullness.
Another great feature of WordPress is that it can support one author or many. The owner of the site can assign usernames and passwords, or he/she can set the settings to allow many members of his/her organization register their own accounts. This barely scratches the surface of what WordPress can do. The possibilities are as infinite and unique as their are web site owners and business models.
