Note from Benoit, founder of the Pikka agency: You certainly know this, but at Pikka, we are very big fans of Shopify.
But Shopify is far from being the only e-commerce solution and even the only CMS in the world. We try as much as possible to remain objective and see the advantages and disadvantages of each platform.
We have therefore decided to talk about some CMS with which we have worked in the past to bring a different angle to the Shopify ecosystem and who knows, why not, find good ideas to implement on a future merchant site!
Today, we start with Wordpress!
What is the CMS with which more than 43% of the sites in the world are created today? This is obviously Wordpress . But why is it so popular? This tool has several positive aspects in your website creation project. Not only is it free and open access, but it is also an open source CMS, i.e. each user has the right to use and modify the software and its source code regardless of the finality.
This software is therefore very popular and we will explain why
Wordpress: presentation and history
The history of the creation of Wordpress dates back to 2001 when a Frenchman created the CMS B2 which will be its precursor. Indeed, in 2002 , following the announcement of the end of the B2 project, Mike Little , an English web developer, and Matt Mullenweg , an American computer scientist, decided to create the new b2 branch which was officially born under the name of Wordpress in 2003 . This is the first version of the CMS that appears. Subsequently, it will be developed, new versions appear, as well as new features.
In 2005 , Matt Mullenweg creates the company Automattic, which will be the company that allows the management and development of the Wordpress software. Wordpress then experienced significant development, so much so that in 2015, the company Automattic bought the Woocommerce e-commerce extension in order to install it on Wordpress and thus offer an e-commerce solution .
Today, sites under Wordpress attract more than 409 million unique visitors each month (this figure is an estimate) and about 20 billion of these pages are viewed each month, this shows the significant traffic generated by this cms. It is estimated that it has more than 60% of the market share of websites in the world. Wordpress is built on a base of PHP programming language which helps to produce dynamic pages via an HTTP server and on a MyQSL management system which allows the storage of user information, plugins... It may seem obvious today but Wordpress has been a real revolution when it came out .
Through this project, the creators wish to convey strong values . But, do you have any idea of the five fundamental pillars put forward by WordPress? Because, indeed, five axes are important in the eyes of Wordpress users.
To begin with, they want better products that make the internet better, so ideas and transparency are essential while respecting a climate of trust and goodwill.
Then, Wordpress highlights the fact that everyone has a voice and that they can modify the software as they want in open source mode in order to collaborate and advance the CMS.
We can also talk about the wish that everyone can benefit from real assistance by real people to add a human and reassuring side to customer service.
Then there is the value of freedom and ownership, in this case each person is free to create their site as they see fit while keeping their data for themselves if they wish.
Finally, Wordpress wants everyone to have something to contribute to the system and to your site, so you will grow with your site.
Interests and dissemination
As you already know, more than 43% of websites in the world are made using Wordpress, this represents a multitude of sites, but do you know them? We decided to present you some of them that we appreciated.
First of all, here are examples of showcase sites made on Wordpress. This type of site is the most frequent creation, along with blogs, on Wordpress. For example, LVMH , which is a French group of luxury companies, created its site using Wordpress. This site highlights the news of the group, the different houses that compose it...
As we have seen, the acquisition of Woocommerce , in order to install it as an extension, by Wordpress, has made it possible since 2015 to create e-commerce sites. Shops have therefore been set up through this platform.
The National Assembly has chosen to create its shop thanks to the Wordpress platform and in particular through its Woocommerce extension which allows it to market its products online.
Finally, you can also find more original sites such as the Rotten Gifts whose concept is to offer original and unusual gifts for all kinds of events. Through Wordpress, they launched their e-commerce site.
The advantages of Wordpress
The Wordpress platform has many advantages that explain its popularity. Its use is easy and fast , which makes creation intuitive.
In addition, the CMS is adaptable , thanks to its evolution, it allows you to create any type of site whether it is a blog, an e-commerce site or other. You will find many themes and extensions, whether free or paid, this allows you to add features or a particular theme without the need to code.
As such, Wordpress is perhaps the closest thing to the desire for a "no code" solution , even if it is not always appropriate or real and development skills are used enormously to have a good well built site.
Who does not dream of being able to create their website without having any notions of code? This has been possible thanks to the large community of developers who have made thousands of plugins available to users. There are extensions for SEO to have the best possible referencing, for the security of your site, for the compression of images in order to obtain the most efficient site...
How much does a Wordpress site cost?
The prices for carrying out projects on Wordpress vary according to the expected result, but also according to the partner from whom you ask for help. But then, how much will you be charged for your project? It will depend on what you want to implement.
For information only, here is the type of price that you can find with freelancers or agencies specializing in Wordpress
- For a one-page site, which is a site bringing together all the information on a single page that appears by scrolling, we will be on a price of between €500 and € 3,000 excluding tax and this will represent from 1 day to 10 days of work.
- For a slightly more advanced site, called a showcase site , which includes between 10 and 15 different pages, we start on a working basis of between 15 days and 2 months for a price of between €3,000 and € 6,000 . € excluding tax .
- It is possible to create showcase sites but more complex which can include from 10 to 50 pages. We will then be on sites that require more work, at least 2 months up to 6 months . For these sites, the prices vary between €5,000 and € 20,000 excluding tax, or even more of course.
- Finally, for e-commerce site projects on Wordpress, it will be necessary to go through the Woocommerce extension (e-commerce software) . The rates are between €8,000 and € 30,000 (or even more ) for 1 to 4 months of work.
Regarding hosting and domain name, you will not have any additional costs to add because the Wordpress.com solution takes care of everything. However, if you want to have your hands on these features, you can install Wordpress.org, which is the free software platform. In this case, domain name fees will be between €10 and €20 per year while prices for hosting can start between €3 and €30 per month for smaller sites.
WordPress. org or Wordpress. how?
The Wordpress.com solution is therefore the platform hosted and maintained by Automattic, it allows you not to add hosting costs and therefore to focus on content creation, it is a SaaS solution like Shopify .
In its approach to accessibility to as many people as possible, Wordpress has decided to offer users a free version of the software , in order to create its site at no cost. However, the functionalities will be limited to you and this may block you at some point in your project.
In parallel, the paid version , called Wordpress pro , is offered at a price of 15€ per month , for a total of 180€ per year . Thanks to this formula, you can have a large number of extensions such as Woocommerce which will allow you to open your e-commerce site, assistance from a member of the team in the event of a problem or even more storage space.
In other words, the two versions (free and paid) allow you to create and launch your site. However, you will find it much easier to create one with the pro version thanks to these many additional available parameters.
Wordpress is therefore the very widespread content management system thanks to its ease of accessibility and handling. If you had to remember 4 things from this article, it is:
- Its open-source configuration allows development, recent modifications on a frequent basis but also a working collaboration of all the developers;
- Its ease and its free use for any user. You don't have to be a code whiz;
- Its many themes that allow you to develop a site that reflects your values and your field;
- Its many extensions and in particular that of Woocommerce which will allow you to create your e-commerce site
In other words, it's easy to see why Wordpress CMS is such an important part of sites around the world. In a future article we will compare the features of Shopify and Woocommerce to find out which is the most suitable e-commerce solution for a merchant site!
