What is it?
It’s an online content management tool. That means that you are able to make changes to the site via a web browser.

How does it work?
You have to download WordPress from the website and then upload it to your hosting server. Once it’s on your site, you can upload photos, make web pages that you can edit once they are published, and keep an blog on your site for quick news items or articles or interesting links.

What’s so great about that?
Say your company has a new product coming out. If you need to update your site to include information about that product then you might face a costly site re-design. With a tool like WordPress, however, you would sign into the site, choose to add a page about the new product and your site’s links would automatically be updated to reflect the new information.

Is it tricky?
I would only say, if you do not have a clear idea of what you want your site to look like or say or how you would like your information organized, then things can get a little sticky. Once you have that all sorted out, then make sure you kick the tires of your theme a little before you dive into creating the site.

So, do I still need to hire a designer?
That’s an excellent question.
I would say that if you feel comfortable using an FTP program, and you know how to access your website’s folder on your hosting company’s server to copy the WordPress download there, check out a couple of good books and go for it.
If you want a fully customized site with the right bells and whistles and you would rather it in the hands of someone who will manage all the details while you focus on your actual business, then a designer can be a cost-effective solution.
Simply add up how much time you spend in the forum, divide it by the cost of a cup coffee and multiply it by the square root of itself. If the end result is less than your age in dog years, have fun!