What is WordPress?
- Last updated on 20th November 2020
- Sonia Rieder
- WordPress – Tips & Tutorials
- 4th
Do you want to publish your own website? Then you’ve probably heard of WordPress. But what is WordPress anyway? And what can the free CMS do? I’ll answer these questions for you in a moment.
Contents:
- What is WordPress?
- WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
- Who invented WP?
- Why you should use WP for your website
- What can you do with WP?
- FAQ
What is WordPress exactly?
WordPress is now the most popular content management system for creating websites and static or blogs. Because with it you can manage, organize and publish content such as texts and images without any programming knowledge.
The programming language PHP provides the technical basis. The data is saved in a form of MySQL or MariaDB database. But you usually don’t get much of it. As a website operator, you use a simple and unique user interface.
Since WordPress is open-source software, you can use it for free. And there is a large community that is developing the system.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
What confuses many beginners: There is WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Isn’t that the same?
Here are the main differences:
- WordPress.com
The company Automattic offers a hosted, partly paid WordPress platform because of its content management system. You can register there and also start a free web blog or static page. Unfortunately, the possibilities are very limited. For example, you can only use very few themes or plugins. This is possible when you have a paid account. This is also not really recommended. - WordPress.org
Here you can download the WordPress software for free and then install it on your own server. This means you are completely flexible and can fully exploit all possibilities.
Of course, you have to look for a host to use it. You will then receive a server with storage space and a domain through this.
If you are serious about running a website, I definitely recommend the 2nd type. So the self-hosted version. My services & WP services also relate exclusively to the self-hosted type of WP.
Raidboxes: Managed WordPress Hosting
Who invented WP?
WordPress was developed and produced by Matt Mullenweg back in 2003. And he is still the driving force behind the project today.
In 2005 Mullenweg founded the Automattic company. At the beginning of WordPress, the website software was mainly used as a pure blogging system. However, over time, it has become the most famous “operating system” for websites.
This is mainly due to the ease of use, constant expandability, and further development.
For example, the old editor has been completely revised and changed with the Gutenberg Editor. Since then, writing and designing websites has become even easier and more flexible.
WordPress is now the most popular content management system. In 2019, it had a 49% market share among the top 1 million websites. For comparison: Drupal has a market share of 4%….
49% of the top 1 million websites use WordPress as their CMS (Source: Builtwith.com )
Why you should use WordPress for your website
I have been working as a web worker for 20 years and have seen and tried out a wide variety of CMS systems. From the website builder to Typo 3, Joomla, and Wix. And none of them can really keep up with WordPress. Here are just a few advantages:
- Free to use
Since the software is open-source, you can download and use it completely free of charge.
- Easy installation
Even without technical knowledge, you can easily install the popular CMS (content management system). It is very best to use my instructions for installing WordPress.
- Simple operation
In contrast to many other content management systems or website builders, WP is easy to use.
- Extensibility via plugins
Do you need a certain function such as a contact form? Then you will find over 55,000 free plugins in the official plugin directory. There are also a lot of premium plugins and themes. You can add additional features to your website with just a few clicks. Of course, installing plugins is also very easy!
- Diverse designs with themes Do you want
your website to be visually appealing? Even if you’re not a gifted designer, that’s not a problem. Because there are countless free themes or plugins for WordPress. Premium themes are also available in abundance. With these design templates, you can easily change the look and layout of your website.
- SEO
So that you can be found in Google, your website should of course be optimized for search engines. As a WP user, you can easily implement the SEO basics on your website. To do this, simply install an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math. The tool then provides you with all the functions you need to optimize your articles and pages.
- Support
If you have any questions or need any help, you can always turn up at the help forum. There are also an infinite number of WordPress tutorials on the web and also on youtube that explain everything to you. And if you get stuck on certain topics, you can turn to WP professionals
What can you do with WP?
Up until a few years ago, WP was mostly used for weblogs. But that has changed completely in the meantime or the given time. Since the open-source software is very flexible, you can use it to create pretty much any type of website. Here are a few typical areas of application:
- Blog or magazine
The classic! Since WP was originally started as a weblog, it is of course ideal for bloggers.
- Business website
Of course, WP (WordPress) can also be used as a company website.
- Affiliate Websites
Do you do affiliate marketing? Then there are ready-made affiliate themes and plugins for you.
- Portfolio
You can present your portfolio with little effort. For this, you can use special portfolio themes or you can expand your website with a portfolio plugin.
- Shop
If you want to integrate a shop into your website, there are also many possibilities for this. The easiest and best known is WooCommerce.
- Digital business card
- E-learning platform
- Landing Pages
- Forum
