Today I run a web agency and develop WordPress themes. It wasn’t always that way.
I was once starting at the very beginning, just like many of you. I was unfamiliar with FTP, hosting, and CMS platforms.
I know what it feels like to be a beginner. Thankfully, I found WordPress and Genesis early on and still after all these years I highly recommend them both.
In this article I am going to explain why I use and recommend the Genesis framework for WordPress.
I wrote an article about WordPress here, but for this article, let me explain why I choose to recommend and develop themes specifically for the Genesis framework.
Now you can read all about the Genesis features here, but for this article I want to give you my personal reasons for recommending the Genesis Framework as a must have for anyone using WordPress.
Team of professionals
From the viewpoint of a newbie in the online world, there was so much I did not know or understand. I decided to “eat the elephant, one bite at a time” and trust Genesis to take care of some things for me rather than try to learn all the things at once. I am glad I did this because, 1, it kept me from burn out early on & 2, I trust Genesis. Let me explain… I was struggling to just get my website live and share with the world… many of you can relate I’m sure. I knew that even though I didn’t know about certain elements Genesis had me covered until I could research it more and implement some new techniques.
My #1 reason for selecting the Genesis framework is because I know there is a team of highly trained professionals behind it.
Now, I know this for sure today, because I have met many of them in person and follow their work, but in my beginning, I trusted the social proof I kept stumbling upon as I researched online. Today, I feel 100% confident that I am in good hands working with Genesis. When WordPress updates, I don’t worry, because I know the developers on the Genesis team are on top of it.
I trust the team and because I trust them with my own business I feel confident recommending them to my customers as well. In fact, every custom site I develop is on Genesis and every premium theme I develop is on Genesis as well.
SEO
In the beginning, I knew SEO (search engine optimization) was important, but I also knew I didn’t know anything about it! The Genesis Framework handles the basics of good SEO for you.
Our themes have been fully search optimized by Greg Boser, search engine optimization pioneer and industry expert. With automatic updates to the Genesis Framework, you never have to think about it again. Your code will always be up to date and fully optimized. – Quoted from the StudioPress site
Today I know a bit more about SEO, you can read my article about that here and download my free SEO Cheat Sheet, but I still am grateful to know the team of really smart people at StudioPress has my back!
Support
How many of us choose to purchase an item from a company not just because we like the item but because we feel supported? Genesis has a top of the line support team. You can read this article to learn more about what their support covers. Not only does the Genesis team provide superior support, there is a community of Genesis users that goes above and beyond to help each other. There is a facebook group dedicated to all things Genesis related and once every few years the StudioPress peeps help arrange an in-person meetup.
Security
Another element that I often worried about in the beginning was security. WordPress is the leader in content management systems online today powering 29.3% of the web. Being popular also makes it a target. There are some basic practices you can follow to keep your site secure, but I appreciate the piece of mind I have knowing that Genesis has the best security possible.
We brought security expert and core WordPress developer Mark Jaquith in to make sure the Genesis Framework has the best security possible. With his guidance, we built our framework to follow all WordPress security best practices. – right from the StuidoPress website
Here is a helpful guide the smart folks at Genesis have put together to help you understand more about the Genesis framework. Click here to download The Genesis Guide for Absolute Beginners (PDF – 1.4 MB)
Final Thoughts…
So there you have it, the main reasons I personally choose to recommend the Genesis Framework for WordPress are the team, SEO, support, and security!
I have heard the argument that Genesis is not easy to get to know and I don’t agree. That is why I offer free monthly webinars to the folks in my facebook group where I demonstrate different features of Genesis and WordPress. I also offer live trainings to answer your specific questions.
I was grateful for helpful folks when I began learning about marketing online and I am all about giving back… so don’t be a stranger! We are real people over here at StephanieHellwig.com and we want you to be successful too!