What Is WordPress & What Is It Used For?

You might be asking yourself, “What is WordPress?” “What is WordPress used for?” WordPress powers nearly a third of the world’s websites.

With tools for everyone from personal bloggers to large corporations, this powerful site builder and content management system (CMS) aims to make it possible for anyone to create an online presence in minutes. WordPress is also suitable for creating business websites with additional functionality, customization, and integration with plugins for SEO, lead capture, and analytics.

The WordPress platform is flexible, scalable, and always free to use. Here’s a look at some of the key features of the world’s most popular site-building software.

What exactly is the WordPress content management system?

WordPress is one of the world’s most simple and popular content management systems or CMS for short. This means you provide the content while the platform does all the coding and organizing. If you’re looking for the right web builder to get your website started, WordPress is the way to go.

WordPress is an open-source website creation project, which means there are hundreds of volunteers all around the world working to improve the platform every day. It also means it’s free to use without paying a licensing fee.

There’s an essential difference between using WordPress.com and the self-hosted WordPress.org. We recommend using WordPress.org because although it requires you to use a domain and website hosting, it means you’ll completely control your content. In addition, you can create a fully customizable online store using WooCommerce, enabling the management of products, payments, and shipping.

You can use custom themes and plugins, your site will be ad-free, and you can use custom analytic tools that work better than the ones that come with WordPress.com. To use WordPress, it’s important to have a web hosting account where your website files are stored. We recommend specific web hosting providers like Bluehost and SiteGround for their reliability and cost-effectiveness.

Who should use WordPress?

If you’re wondering whether WordPress is for everyone, here’s a breakdown of the features of WordPress that explains how it works well for all users.

WordPress began in 2003 as a piece of free blogging software created by Mike Little and Mike Mullenweg, who continues to run WordPress.org, the company that makes WordPress available to anyone who wants to create a website or blog.

In developing WordPress and making it perpetually free, its creators hoped to “democratize publishing” by designing a site-building program allowing anyone to have a voice and presence online.

WordPress sites are flexible and easy to install, allowing users to create and manage multiple websites through tools and platforms like Kinsta and DevKinsta.

The features that made WordPress so appealing to bloggers and other kinds of Internet publishers also appealed to a wider audience, including some of the most prominent companies in the US and worldwide.

WordPress is the platform of choice for a long list of household names, including Sony Music, Variety, Time, Inc., and the Disney Company, along with millions of smaller business and personal sites.

The most recent version of the platform has been downloaded over 22 million times so far, and new versions continue to be developed by the large WordPress user community.

WordPress is free to use and modify with WordPress plugins

WordPress is an open-source, free website creation tool written in PHP.

It is licensed under General Public License, which allows anyone to use the software and modify it to suit individual needs and share those modifications with others. “Open source” software is publicly available and always free, so WordPress can be downloaded anytime or installed as part of a Managed WordPress hosting package.

In addition to being free, WordPress offers over 50,000 free WordPress plugins that can add new features and functionality to a website.

Because WordPress invites modification and improvement, it has the support of a large and growing community of designers, developers, and lovers of software.

These members of the WordPress community are constantly working on the WordPress core code and organizing events and “WordPress camps” to help people learn about WordPress and solve problems with using it. In addition, WordPress users of all levels of experience are invited to join the WordPress community and contribute in any way they can to support other users and keep the program stable and up to date.

Getting started with a WordPress site is as easy as downloading a copy from WordPress.org and installing it on a hosting platform or using the WordPress installation feature offered by most web hosting providers. No matter how it’s acquired or installed, WordPress is completely free.

WordPress works for all users

As its creators intended, WordPress can be used by anyone, from a beginner to a seasoned developer. For new users with no design or development experience, a WordPress website can be set up as a “one-click install” on a hosting platform using one of the hundreds of free-to-use WordPress themes.

These themes allow users to customize various features, such as the site header and colors, right from the dashboard, without needing to know any code. WordPress also supports search engine optimization through plugins like Yoast SEO, which offer features such as internal linking suggestions and meta description templates.

For users with experience in website design or development, WordPress allows access to all parts of the software, including its theme and plugin systems, application framework, and scripts, so that it can be customized to suit the needs of any site.

Because WordPress can be modified in various ways, it can be adapted and changed to grow and meet the evolving needs of an expanding business.

WordPress is flexible with WordPress themes

One reason WordPress is so popular is because of its virtually endless flexibility. WordPress comes with access to an extensive gallery of free themes that users can choose from at any time to set or change the look and functionality of a site.

Beyond that, anyone can buy and install a custom WordPress theme created by designers worldwide.

There are essential plugins beneficial for all WordPress websites, enhancing their functionality and performance.

WordPress can also be tailored for various additional functions with a long list of plugins that add features, such as online storefronts, magazine layouts, and galleries, to a basic WordPress theme. WordPress Plugins can also be purchased from third-party developers and installed through the site’s WordPress dashboard.

Site owners can mix and match plugins to fine-tune the site and extend its features, and even inexperienced users can install and start using it with only a few clicks of a mouse.

WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com

WordPress can be downloaded from WordPress.org, which offers information, tutorials, access to the WordPress community, and essential WordPress software.

WordPress.org also provides free WordPress tutorials, including beginner-friendly video tutorials and guides for learning WordPress without any cost.

In addition, because it can be installed anywhere and modified as needed, it offers users virtually complete control over the look and management of the site.

WordPress.org, the source for WordPress, is frequently confused with WordPress.com, a third-party hosting solution that allows users to set up and run a site for free as a subdomain of WordPress.com itself.

The basic features of a WordPress.com site are free to use, but users can upgrade to a premium version that allows more options and a unique domain name.

But unlike WordPress itself, which can be installed anywhere and modified as needed, WordPress.com sites are limited to the platform’s choice of themes, and users don’t have access to the site’s PHP code or the many plugins and other themes available for use with WordPress itself.

You can get a more detailed comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org here.

Getting started with WordPress

One of the major benefits of using WordPress is its versatility. You can use it for your portfolio or your Fortune 500 business – it’s that flexible.

For beginners, there are numerous resources available, including free WordPress tutorials, video tutorials, glossary explanations, and a free WordPress blog setup service.

The key to this flexibility lies in the themes you can choose. Themes are free templates that give your site the certain look and feel you want to achieve, and there are thousands to choose from.

WordPress is also extremely user-friendly. It’s easy to change something on your site, and you won’t need to rely on a webmaster to make the changes on his or her time because you can do it yourself in seconds. Also, you don’t need to learn the programming language HTML CSS because the WordPress software script does that for you!

It only takes a few minutes to install the WordPress software script on your computer. Make sure that you have the newest version of WordPress installed. Once it’s installed, you can create your webpage quickly without needing to learn HTML – something that would have taken you months, if not years, to perfect.

After you pick a free theme, there are thousands of plugins you can choose from to further customize your site. There are premium themes available if none of the free versions suit your needs.

Plugins are pieces of software you can install to add functionality to your site. Some of the best and most common plugins we recommend include Akismet, BackWPup, and All in One SEO. Akismet ensures the comments you receive on your site aren’t harmful spam!

BackWPup allows regular backups of your site, so you don’t lose any precious content if something goes wrong. All In One SEO helps search engines optimize your blog posts or content. There are thousands of useful plugins available through WordPress, so feel free to browse and choose which functions will work best for your site. In addition to free plugins, there are premium plugins to choose from, too.

Because WordPress is open source, there are new advancements and improvements daily. This constantly evolving system was created by a community of members devoted to making the platform the best option, bar none, for people who want to start their own website.

If you use the self-hosted WordPress.org, you will be responsible for the updates, but they only take one click. Easy enough!

WordPress vs other CMS Platforms

Below, we explore some of WordPress’s top competitors, highlighting their unique features and how they compare to the flexibility and community support that WordPress offers.

1. Joomla; Joomla is a powerful CMS known for its extensive user permissions and flexibility in creating complex websites. Unlike WordPress, which is often praised for its user-friendly interface and extensive plugin ecosystem, Joomla requires a bit more technical skill to master but offers advanced customization options for those with web development experience.
2. Drupal: Drupal excels in creating highly customizable and scalable websites, making it a favorite among developers for complex projects and enterprise-level applications. It offers robust security features and comprehensive content management capabilities, but unlike WordPress, it demands more technical expertise, which can be a barrier for beginners.
3. Squarespace: Squarespace is renowned for its sleek design templates and intuitive drag-and-drop interface, making it ideal for creatives and small business owners who prioritize aesthetics and ease of use. However, it lacks the extensibility of WordPress, which allows for an almost unlimited variety of plugins and themes to enhance functionality and design.
4. Wix: Wix is a user-friendly website builder that provides a wide range of customizable templates and a drag-and-drop editor, suitable for beginners looking to build simple websites. While Wix simplifies website creation with its managed environment, it does not match WordPress’s flexibility and depth, especially when it comes to SEO capabilities and advanced functionalities.
5. Shopify: Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform that makes it easy to create and manage online stores, offering robust tools for inventory management, payment processing, and integration with multiple sales channels. Unlike WordPress with WooCommerce, Shopify is specifically tailored for e-commerce, providing a more streamlined and focused experience but with less flexibility for non-retail websites.

WordPress continues to stand out among these alternatives due to its extensive plugin architecture, active community, and scalability. These features make it a versatile choice for a wide range of websites, from blogs to large multinational corporations.

WordPress Support

The WordPress ecosystem is not just about software; it’s about the strong community support that comes with it. We adore WordPress for its flexibility and scalability, but navigating its extensive features can sometimes be challenging, especially for newcomers.

Fortunately, there’s an official WordPress forum, and numerous blogs and community sites dedicated to helping users optimize their WordPress hosting and website functionalities. These resources are invaluable for troubleshooting and learning from the experiences of others.

For those who might need more tailored WordPress support, services like Bluehost offer premium, paid assistance. Bluehost provides one-on-one attention to help you with everything from initial setup to advanced customizations, ensuring your WordPress site performs optimally without any guesswork

Common questions related to WordPress