More than 100 million websites use WordPress for their platform. The software is free, so the only cost of maintaining the site is the hosting. Sites you visit now are on WordPress, and you don’t see any difference in them from any other website.  WordPress long ago left the “blogging” format way behind.

Consulting has evolved with the internet as well. You’re not always sitting across the desk from your client. These days you’re often doing your advising and instruction via email or the internet.

Have you tried one of those cookie-cutter sites that say you can be up and running on the web in just a few clicks? They’re fast and easy, as well as inexpensive, but are they really going to help grow your business?

Think of those sites as billboards. People are driving by, and you have your site there next to the road hoping they’ll notice and even read a little bit. You pay more based on traffic, but the actual influx of business isn’t what you hoped for.

It isn’t like the baseball movie, the “if you build it they will come.” Getting your site noticed is really less than half the battle. Getting visitors to actually spend some time on the site and call or email you for business is the tough part.

WordPress is open source software. This means that the code is accessible to third parties so that they can develop ancillary products for it. Plugins are the main asset of this open source concept for WordPress.

While the basic free software is powerful, there will be things you want to do that are not built into the base software. Plugins developed by thousands of third-party developers provide extra functionality and useful features for your site visitors.

Using plugins, you can create a store or bill for your services. You can create forms for your visitors to enter their questions or information to get advice.

Use WordPress to write engaging content about your consulting area of expertise and answer questions that are frequently asked by your clients. Of course, you’re not giving away the farm, just doing basic tutorials and sharing helpful information.

Then offer special deals, discounts, or reports that offer more information. These are offered via a form that gets that highly valuable personal contact information from the visitor.

There are plugins that automatically post an excerpt of your latest post or article to your social accounts. This is a huge tool for promoting your website and services.  Once the plugin is installed and configured, you simply write your site content, and headlines/excerpts get posted to your social accounts, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

WordPress is a free or very low-cost website solution for your consulting business. Use it to grow and prosper.