What is WordPress and Why Every Kenyan Business Needs It

What exactly is WordPress and why does your business need it?

WordPress started as just a blogging platform back in 2003. But today, over 40% of all websites globally are running on WordPress. From small blogs to major news sites like TechCrunch, WordPress powers them all.

And there’s a good reason for this. WordPress is now a fully-featured content management system that can be adapted for practically any website need.

Whether you’re looking to create your first website, sell products online, or run an online magazine or newspaper, WordPress provides the ideal foundation.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything business owners in Kenya need to know about WordPress in plain language.

WordPress as a CMS Explained

Let’s start by understanding what a content management system (CMS) is.

In simple terms, a CMS is software that allows you to create, manage, and update digital content on a website without needing to code everything from scratch.

WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS used by over 43% of all websites. Other major CMS platforms include Joomla, Drupal and Magneto.

But what sets WordPress apart is its simplicity, flexibility, vast library of themes/plugins and cost-effectiveness.

As a business owner, the ability to easily publish content, update products, manage users and keep your site secure is essential.

WordPress handles all of this through an intuitive admin dashboard even non-techies can navigate.

Now let’s explore the key reasons Kenyan businesses should seriously consider using WordPress.

Top Reasons Businesses in Kenya Should Use WordPress

1. Easy and Intuitive Publishing

Publishing content regularly is key to business success online.

Yet many small business owners struggle with complex CMS platforms.

WordPress solves this by providing an incredibly simple publishing workflow.

The admin dashboard uses a document metaphor anyone already familiar with word processing can intuitively understand.

Creating a new post or page on WordPress takes just a few clicks. No coding skills are required!

And you can instantly preview changes on the front end before publishing live.

2. Search Engine Optimized

Ranking high on Google is vital for reaching Kenyan customers online.

WordPress makes SEO easy through:

• SEO-friendly URL structure
• Meta title/descriptions for optimizing each page
• XML sitemaps for indexing
• Alt text tagging for images
• Integrations with leading SEO tools

With WordPress, you can drive more qualified traffic to your site without needing to understand complex SEO concepts.

3. Build Any Type of Website

WordPress is much more than just a blogging platform now.

Premium WordPress themes allow you to create virtually any type of website without coding including:

• E-commerce stores
• Magazines/newspapers
• Professional business sites
• Online courses
• Membership sites
• Landing pages
• Company intranets
• NGO / nonprofit sites

With over 8,000+ themes to choose from, you’re sure to find templates tailored to your industry.

4. Scales to Any Size

WordPress can power sites getting over 100 million visits per month like TechCrunch.

But it’s just as good for creating simple landing pages and microsites.

Even if you start small, WordPress seamlessly scales up as your business grows without the need for migrations.

5. Build a Community

Every business needs a following to thrive long-term.

WordPress makes community building easy through features like:

• Article commenting
• User profiles
• Membership options
• Forum integration
• Social media auto-syndication

Launching an online magazine, creating member zones or just improving engagement with customers is simple with WordPress.

6. Go Multilingual

WordPress offers fantastic translation management through plugins like WPML and Polylang.

You can create fully multilingual sites that help expand your Kenyan business globally.

7. Stay Secure

Cybersecurity threats are increasing across Africa and can cripple SMBs.

WordPress has strong security measures built-in but also uses regular auto-updates to patch vulnerabilities.

Many security plugins help lock down sites and provide monitoring.

So that covers the major reasons WordPress is a no-brainer for Kenyan businesses wanting to establish a serious online presence.

Next, let’s tackle the important question of WordPress hosting.

WordPress Hosting Options for Kenyan Businesses

Hosting is web space rented from a provider to store your website files.

There’s now a dizzying array of hosting options available globally.

But as a business owner in Kenya, you need hosting that offers:

• Affordability – Value for money on a modest budget
• Speed – Quick page loads to keep local visitors engaged
• Uptime – Consistent reliability since electricity can be sporadic
• Support – Responsive customer service that understands the local context
• Scalability – Upgrade paths to handle growing traffic
• Security – Protection against threats targeting African sites

Many international hosting companies fail to meet these needs.

That’s why I recommend using local providers based right here in Kenya like Tara Host.

Tara Host specializes in blazing-fast WordPress hosting tailored to Kenyan companies.

We meet all the criteria above while also providing:

• Easy WordPress auto-installs
• Page caching for speed
• Free site migrations
• Expert WordPress support
• CDN for global delivery
• Wildcard SSL certificates

Tara Host WordPress plans start from just KES300 per month.

Get started with Tara Host’s WordPress hosting >>>

Now let’s explore how to get WordPress set up on hosting.

Getting Started with WordPress

One of the best things about WordPress is how quick and easy it is to get started.

Here is an overview of the 5 main steps involved:

1. Purchase Domain Name

A domain name is your website address that visitors type in like ‘example.co.ke’.

You’ll want to buy a domain name relevant to your Kenyan business brand if available.

I recommend using a .co.ke extension as it identifies you as a local Kenyan company.

2. Choose WordPress Hosting

As covered earlier, Tara Host provides specialized WordPress hosting for Kenya.

Their platform is designed to optimize WordPress performance right out of the box.

Once you’ve signed up, Tara Host will create your hosting account.

3. Install WordPress

At Tara Host, we do automatic installations of WordPress for you once you purchase these plans. Alternatively, you can install it yourself as discussed below.

Inside your Tara Host dashboard, you can install WordPress with one click. This auto-configures everything saving you hassles during setup.

It takes just seconds to complete WordPress installation this way.

4. Select a Theme

Themes control how your WordPress site looks visually on the front end.

I suggest using a popular premium theme tailored to your business niche for the best experience.

For example, ecommerce stores would use a theme like Shopkeeper while magazines are better suited to Newsmag.

You can also opt to get a custom website design from us at a custom quotation.

5. Start Publishing Content!

Now the fun part begins…publishing content!

You can immediately create your first blog post or page in WordPress.

The built-in editor has familiar formatting options like bold, italics, links and image uploading.

And remember you can preview changes before going live.

Once you get familiar with the system, publishing new content is incredibly straightforward.

Now let’s switch gears and cover some best practices for actually using WordPress as part of your business.

WordPress Best Practices for Business Success

Like any powerful tool, you’ll need to invest time in mastering WordPress to utilize it effectively.

Here are some tips on optimizing your use of WordPress:

Keep Software Updated

You want to maintain the latest WordPress version for access to new features and security patches.

Tara Host includes auto-updates so you don’t need to worry about this.

Be sure to also update themes/plugins to stay on supported versions avoiding conflicts.

Make Regular Backups

Having frequent backups protects you from disasters like hackers deleting your site.

Again Tara Host does daily automated WordPress backups for all accounts.

Downloading your backups periodically as well is wise for additional redundancy.

Learn WordPress Basics

Getting familiar with core WordPress concepts pays dividends long-term.

Understanding taxonomies, custom post types, hooks and theme hierarchy goes a long way.

Tara Host has learning resources and ebooks you can use to level up your knowledge.

Taking it step-by-step will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

Follow SEO Best Practices

Driving traffic requires optimizing content to align with how Google ranks pages now.

This means going beyond just keywords to topics, user experience and vertical relevancy signals.

I highly suggest reviewing detailed WordPress SEO guides or watching Neil Patel on YouTube.

Leverage Free Plugins

One of WordPress’ biggest advantages is its library of over 55,000 free plugins.

Plugins add advanced functionality without needing to code anything yourself.

Examples include lead generation forms, social sharing buttons, popup displays and subscription options.

However, stick to plugins on WordPress.org having a good rating and regular updates.

Avoid plugins hosted elsewhere as they often contain security vulnerabilities or bloatware tracking code.

Consider Member Plugins

Sites focused on community building should utilize purpose-built member plugins.

Setting up different access levels, content restrictions and payments is much easier.

Popular options include MemberPress, WishList Member, Paid Memberships Pro

This opens up offering premium content areas, digital downloads, support forums and online courses

Use Trusted Themes

As the interface your visitors see, themes drive user experience.

So you want to use well-coded options following best practices.

Restricting yourself only to the few free WordPress themes limits room for innovation.

But nicely designed commercial themes from elite Marketplaces like CreativeM starting as low as $40 transform the perception of your brand’s authority instantly.

The key is vetting theme creators have a consistent track record of releasing updates and providing support to avoid issues down the road/

Employ Scalable Hosting

Tara Host’s optimized WordPress infrastructure easily expands to accommodate sudden traffic surges

This on-demand auto-scaling prevents outages frustrating visitors attempting to use your website during peak periods.

Whether you require handling thousands of e-commerce orders or registrants for an online course launch, scalable hosting guarantees exceptional availability through traffic fluctuations.

Regularly Maintain WordPress

Like a vehicle, WordPress functionality keeps humming when you adhere to the proper maintenance schedule.

We mentioned keeping software updated, but also pruning database tables and employing cache-clearing plugins periodically.

Schedule time every few months to spring clean background processes enabling a continually optimized platform.

Tara Host’s white-glove support team can also handle the heavy lifting of running diagnostics and performance tune-ups based on your distinct goals.

This allows you to instead remain laser-focused on customers and content – the true lifeline for meaningful Kenyan business prosperity online powered by WordPress.

Are You Ready to Join Kenya’s Digital Economy Revolution?

As this detailed guide has revealed, WordPress offers the most feature-rich, cost-effective foundation for bringing your Kenyan business idea online.

No other platform beats WordPress for publishing content fast, building engaged communities, creating beautiful interfaces and seamlessly scaling into the future.

Your competitive edge in Kenya’s exploding digital economy hinges upon controlling your website narrative through fluid content and user experiences reflecting regional cultural nuances international entities can rarely authentically replicate.

Now is the time to leverage WordPress introducing your distinctive brand voice to wider local audiences primed to digitally support enterprises elevating their lives.

Tara Host provides the managed WordPress hosting expertise required so you can solely concentrate on crafting resonating stories that energize transformation.

Get started with Tara Host’s optimized WordPress hosting packages today!