What is WordPress? A complete guide

Understanding WordPress

WordPress, an open-source content management system (CMS), is widely embraced by individuals seeking to create websites and blogs without coding expertise. With no cost attached, it offers free installation, usage, and customization.

Types of websites possible with WordPress

Professional Portfolios

WordPress offers diverse themes tailored for showcasing personal brands, with 'Pages' serving as homepage, About, and contact pages, and 'Posts' for highlighting specific content in various formats. Themes with built-in galleries or plugins for portfolio carousels enhance presentation options.

E-Commerce Stores

WordPress excels in building online stores, facilitated by e-commerce plugins like WooCommerce. Manage products, payments, and shipping seamlessly in the backend, ensuring visitors enjoy a smooth shopping experience on the frontend.

Hobby or lifestyle blogs

Leveraging WordPress's roots in blogging, it offers robust features tailored for this purpose, including: 

• Distinguishing between posts and pages
  
• A powerful WYSIWYG editor for easy content creation 
  
• Functionality for organizing content through posts, tags, and categories 
  
• Integrated options for user comments and moderation 

Once WordPress is installed, selecting a suitable theme and incorporating plugins for additional functionalities, such as social sharing buttons, enhances the blog's capabilities to align with specific goals and preferences.

Mobile applications

Enhance user convenience by providing access to your site's features via a mobile app, bypassing the need for a browser. WordPress plugins offer a cost-effective solution to seamlessly convert your site into an app.

Business websites

WordPress proves invaluable for business websites, often requiring extensive pages and posts with added functionalities. Leveraging its robust CMS capabilities and active open-source community, WordPress excels in meeting diverse business needs. Customizable themes tailored to brand requirements, along with user-friendly page builders like Elementor and Divi, streamline layout customization. Additionally, plugins for SEO lead generation, analytics, and other essential functionalities empower businesses to integrate and expand their online presence effectively.

Advantages of utilizing WordPress

WordPress is a favored platform among bloggers and businesses, powering over 40% of websites online. Here's why it's so widely embraced:

SEO-friendly

WordPress prioritizes SEO, empowering users to enhance website visibility through plugins like Yoast SEO, offering internal linking suggestions and meta description templates

Open-source nature

WordPress is open-source, allowing for code modification and redistribution, fostering a collaborative community to enhance the platform. 

Media versatility

WordPress supports diverse media types, allowing seamless integration of text, images, and videos, providing creative freedom in content creation. 

User-friendly interface

Built for non-technical users, WordPress boasts an intuitive interface. Tasks like adding themes or plugins, once time-consuming, are now simplified, enabling swift website customization. Explore this WordPress video tutorial for theme installation guidance.

Security assurance

With frequent data breaches, security is paramount. WordPress addresses this concern with features such as plugin updates and strong passwords, ensuring robust protection for user data.

Tools for constructing your WordPress site

It can be daunting to start building your website with the abundance of hosting providers, page builders, and plugins available. To simplify the process, we've curated a list of essential resources to kickstart your journey. Watch our video for five tips on building your WordPress website.

WP engine offers managed WordPress hosting, catering to agencies, enterprises, and small businesses, ensuring secure and reliable service.
WPMU dev provides an all-in-one WordPress platform, covering hosting, security, and marketing tools for running a successful website.
All in one SEO is a comprehensive SEO plugin for WordPress, allowing easy optimization of every page and post for higher search engine rankings.
WooCommerce simplifies online business setup with customizable features and built-in blogging to foster business growth.
Elementor a popular WordPress page builder, enables users to design stunning web pages from pre-made templates without technical skills.
GravityForms facilitates advanced form creation with a visual editor and conditional logic for enhancing visitor conversion.
WP beginner offers free WordPress resources and advice to beginners, assisting them in improving their websites.
The events calendar family offers various WordPress tools for calendars, RSVP, ticketing, and events management, providing both free and paid options.
Don't feel overwhelmed by website creation; WordPress offers the flexibility to create an impressive online presence for your business.

When was WordPress founded?

In 2003, Matt Mullenweg, then a college student, founded WordPress. Initially, it was a relaunch of the b2/cafelog project, originally developed by Michel Valdrighi. Mullenweg aimed to enhance website functionality without altering the core source code, leading to the creation of WordPress.

The significance of WordPress 1.0

Matt initiated a new version of b2 on SourceForge by branching the original concept. Collaborating with friends, he crafted another iteration, which was christened WordPress. Eventually, WordPress 1.0 was publicly released in 2004, dubbed 'Davis' in honor of jazz legend Miles Davis. This version, akin to today's platform, featured multiple categories for content organization and comment moderation.

The ascendancy of WordPress

WordPress gained prominence when a competitor altered its pricing model, prompting users to seek alternatives like WordPress. Following his departure from his job, Matt founded Automattic. Securing $1.10 million in Series A funding from investors like True Ventures, Radar Partners, and Polaris Ventures, Matt set the foundation for WordPress's growth.

The contemporary WordPress

Today, WordPress thrives as a vibrant community encompassing developers, designers, and bloggers. In 2017, WordPress revamped its user interface with the introduction of the Gutenberg editor. The latest iteration, WordPress 5.0 (Bebo), boasts an enhanced showcase theme. Various industries continue to recognize the platform's value."