Top 10 Reasons to Choose WordPress for Your Cannabis Website (and the quiz to help you decide)🍃
OK, we admit it. We’re a little biased when it comes to our favorite web-building platforms and hosts — but for good reason. We’ve built hundreds of websites and had our fair share of tech snafus in our tenure. With each challenge and troubleshooting experience comes the fine-tuning of preferences for what works best, and we’ve come to the conclusion that WordPress is a great option for cannabis websites.
In 2024, brands can’t afford to settle for platforms that say one thing and do another — with the high costs of operating a cannabis brand, there’s no room for wasting money on bogus website builders. We’ve built our business on creating reliable websites that build credibility, convert shoppers to happy customers, and uniquely highlight the look and voice of each brand. Here are 10 reasons we love using WordPress to elevate our top-shelf brands.
1. Chronic Customizability
WordPress is open-source, giving you the freedom to craft a site that’s as unique as your cultivars or as bold as your branding. Having control over the source code means we (or you, if you’re ready to take on a DIY website template) can tweak the functions of your website to perform special tasks, making it possible to utilize it as a strategic tool for your business. Think custom memberships, special third-party software integrations, lead funnels, subscription programs, or even a customized eCommerce marketplace. The options are nearly endless — a strong starting point.
2. Baked-In Brand-Building Benefits
Why start from scratch when you can start from a template built with functionality and appeal at the forefront? We’ve designed dozens of beautiful templates we can use as a starting point for your website. WordPress has made it easy for us to swap out template settings for branded images, colors, fonts, functions, and so much more. You can check out our modern website templates (available to DIY or hire us to do it for you!). Once a template is customized, it’s hard to imagine that it was anything other than custom.
Here are a few cannabis brands that used our Edibles template but made it completely their own:
3. Grow Like a Weed!
Starting small? WordPress scales with you. From seedling to full-blown forest, it’s your digital greenhouse. Launch with one page, one product or one service, and one contact form — it’s that simple. Your website should evolve with your business and stay continuously up to date, while at the same time staying lean and fast. We are proud users of the YooTheme page builder for lots of reasons but the main being how easy it is to update your content and make it look good!
4. Get Skyhigh with Plugins
Believe it or not, there are more than 50,000 WordPress plugins to supercharge your website with special features. If your business offers an ongoing product subscription, a rewards membership, or eCommerce settings unique to your brand, you’ll need plugins to perform these business-specific functions. Our team used these plugins to give Hapsy, Mary & Jane, and WONPR their own unique flare while serving functional purposes for their business. So whether you need a strain library, age gate, or lead funnel, we’ll strategically choose plugins to target your business goals and position your brand for growth.
5. SEO: Stay Elevated Online!
There are plenty of hurdles to navigate online as a cannabis brand — we prefer a platform that doesn’t make SEO one of them. With the SEO-friendly structure of WordPress, climbing the rankings comes with more ease. Between the right combination of keywords and a deep understanding of the backend, we initially optimize all our websites to get your site noticed online ASAP! If you want to go it alone, we recommend the Yoast SEO plugin to get started (the free version will get the job done, but the paid version has some convenient perks).
6. Weed-commerce!
If your business sells a product or needs to integrate with your dispensary POS, meet the eCommerce solution that is seamlessly based on WordPress — WooCommerce. This fully customizable eCommerce plugin allows you to import and tailor product listings on your website. With the ability to analyze performance analytics tied to your site and shop, you have the tools to make real-time updates to highlight top-selling products or promote products that need to move off the shelf. WordPress and WooCommerce are the joint effort your business deserves. Need beautifully branded product photos for your product listings? We’ve got you covered with our preferred product photographer — ask us for more information.
7. Bud-dy System!
Tap into a massive community ready to lend a hand or share some wisdom. Got a problem? There’s probably a WordPress guru who’s blazed that trail before. We recommend established WordPress themes (YooTheme for the win!) and plugins with active updates and reliable support teams. If you’re going to hire a designer to build your WordPress website for you, make sure to ask for past client references and work examples before signing an agreement or spending a dime. We built our reputation on word of mouth — check out our past projects!
8 . Control Your Crop
From content to customer data, maintain complete ownership with WordPress. Your digital garden, your rules — no unexpected weeds here! DIY and proprietary platforms like Squarespace and Shopify have very restrictive terms of service, and, worse, limited or no merchant options for cannabis businesses. WordPress is open source and has tons of options for cannabis and CBD merchant processors — ask for our merchant recommendations!
9. Save Your Greens!
WordPress itself is free. Spend only on hosting and premium features, leaving more budget for your, well, buds! Don’t get locked into expensive fees on a platform that maintains ownership of your content and provides no methods for exporting your content and going elsewhere. WordPress hosting options are available at a range of price points, but keep in mind, the cost tends to go up with a greater level of service. We recommend WP Engine, hands down! If you need a more cost-effective option as you ramp up, we recommend LiquidWeb/Nexcess!
10. Smooth Integration, No Harshness
Seamlessly integrate your fave tools, whether it’s a CRM, email marketing platform or age verification. WordPress ensures smooth hits, every time. Easily embed lead forms from a variety of platforms like Flodesk, MailChimp, Dubsado, Klaviyo, ConvertKit, AlpineIQ, and more! Integrate third-party cannabis menus like Meadow, Dutchie, I Heart Jane, and more for easy POS syncing and inventory management. We make integrations easy!
Ready to talk about a new website? Let’s brainstorm your brand needs. Book a Discovery Call.
Not sure if you’re ready — or which platform to go with? Take our quiz to find out!
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