In the following article we’ll offer an answer to the question, what is WordPress? We’ll then explain why WordPress is the most popular publishing platform on the web today.
What is WordPress?
Released in 2003 by it’s founders, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little.
WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS), used to created database driven websites or blogs.
Simply put, WordPress is a website creation tool that allows you to add posts, pages, images and all other website related content without needing to write a line of code.
Written in a programming language called PHP, WordPress is an evolving piece of software under constant development.
WordPress is considered the industry standard for blogs. Yet, many are not aware, WordPress is so much more than a blogging tool.
WordPress is a complete, feature-rich content management system which is capable of creating just about any website you can imagine.
Who Uses WordPress?
WordPress is currently used by 59.4% of all websites which use a content management system. That’s 28.6% of all websites on the web (source).
You are in fantastic company when choosing WordPress. There are many well-known companies and celebrities using WordPress as their publishing platform.
- The New York Times.
- BBC America.
- The Official Star Wars Blog.
- MTV News.
- Jay Z.
- Beyonce.
- Playstation Blog.
- The Walt Disney Company.
- Facebook Newsroom.
The list goes on and on.
Why is WordPress so Popular?
WordPress has grown in popularity over its 14 years of existence and there are many very good reasons for this.
1. Open-Source
WordPress is an open-source project. This means the full code for WordPress is accessible for anyone to see.
You can actually take the WordPress code and attempt to make your very own web application like WordPress from it.
What’s great about open-source is the fact that anyone can offer improvements to the code.
Also, being open-source means WordPress is completely free to use, that’s a tick in anyones box.
2. The WordPress Community
The WordPress community is a thriving community.
If you’re ever stuck with WordPress, you can be 100% confident there’s a solution on the web somewhere.
A quick Google search or a question on the support forum will most definitely lead you to a solution.
There are thousands of WordPress meet-ups around the world all year round, so integrating yourself with this thriving community is easy and also encouraged.
3. Easy to Use
The entry point to learning WordPress is very low. In minutes, even a complete beginner can have WordPress installed and ready to add content to.
For developers, the process of converting an HTML template to WordPress is relatively easy too. There are many detailed tutorials around the web to help you get started.
4. Themes
Another reason WordPress has grown in popularity, is due to the thousands of themes available, both free and premium.
WordPress themes handle the look and feel of the front end of the website.
From hairdressers, to consultants and everything between, there is always a theme available for your specific needs.
Check out our range of premium WordPress themes here.
5. Plugins
WordPress plugins add extra functionality to your website and there are thousands upon thousands of plugins available, many, completely free.
For example; should you want to add social sharing links after your blog post, there are plenty of plugins for this.
If your current theme does not provide the functionality you need, you can be sure there is a plugin available for your exact requirements.
Should you need something that is not already available (which is not to common), there are always many developers to choose from to get the job done.
6. Constantly Improving
WordPress is evolving all the time. Each release is an improvement on the last.
Should you choose WordPress as your website creation tool (and we think you should), you can be confident the software will be kept up to date and inline with modern standards.
How to Get Started Using WordPress?
To begin using WordPress you first need to find somewhere to host your WordPress website and there are many cheap shared hosting companies available:
- Bluehost.
- GoDaddy.
- HostGator.
To name a few.
We recommend starting with cheap shared hosting from one of the above hosting companies.
Each of the above shared hosting companies have a one-click install service available so you can install WordPress with a single click.
After WordPress has finished installing, you can try out different themes by searching through the themes directory from inside your WordPress dashboard.
If you need some added functionality, you can search for plugins from the plugins page.
Themes and plugins are installed and activated the same way, the process is easy and you’ll be up to speed in no time.
If you’ve just discovered WordPress and want to build a business website the easy way, check out our latest WordPress business theme.
You can have any of the demos set up in a matter of minutes.
Conclusion
In this post we offered an answer to the question, what is WordPress.
We showed the calibre of companies and individuals using WordPress as their publishing platform.
We also learned why WordPress is such a popular content management system.
And, finally, we gave some insight on how to begin using WordPress.
Have you recently discovered WordPress? Did this article offer an answer to the question, what is WordPress? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook.
If you enjoyed our view on what is WordPress, I’d be grateful if you’d help spread the word by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!
