What is WordPress? Where to get started with it

If you are very new to the term ‘WordPress‘ then you are at the right place to know more about WordPress. Lets get started.

What is WordPress?

In simple words WordPress is an online tool to create websites in an easy way without the knowledge of any programming language. Initially it was used for the blogging purpose but modern version of WordPress can create stunning & beautiful websites.

In technical terms WordPress is a popular CMS (content management system) built on PHP and MySQL. It is very user friendly to create or change the website content without knowledge of any programming language. It is not just the end user friendly, but developers also love it. For the web developers it offers to create custom themes and plugins to extend its functionality. As per my personal opinion it is more then just a simple CMS, I call it the CMS Framework.

Why use WordPress?

Now you know that what is WordPress. So the first thing is if you want to create your website yourself then WordPress is the best choice to create your own website in easy way. Read more about it in the How to get started section. But if you are a business owner and just want to outsource the work to an web agency or web designer then it is not your business that what platform they use to create the website for you. But if you told them to create it on WordPress Platform it could help you in many ways like

  • WordPress team release updates regularly, so there is no worry to update the codes manually every time when server technologies updates like PHP or MySQL updates.
  • WordPress developers are widely available and is easy to switch your web designer or programmer.
  • It is easier to update the content at any time without the knowledge of any coding. Even changing the look of website is easier just by switching to another theme.
  • Lots of plugins and themes are available for free.

How popular is WordPress?

WordPress is used by approx. 39% of websites. According to w3techs survey – Among all the websites that uses some kind of CMS, WordPress has a market share of approximate 63%. So this shows that how popular is WordPress.

Wordpress popularity chart

Is WordPress Free?

Yes, basically it is an open source project and is free for the users. Open source software means anyone can download, use, modify or redistribute the software in any way without paying any fees. But there could be some other expenses to run this software like domain name and Web hosting. It was initially released by its founder Matt Mullenweg in year 2003 under GPLv2 License. GPL license give freedom to use the software for free.

How WordPress Works?

The software is available to download from its official website wordpress.org. You need to download it and then install it on the webserver. After installing you can login to its Admin panel where you can add / delete / modify pages, Menu items, blog posts and other things of the website. You can change the theme of the website anytime just by installing another theme without changing anything in your content, which is the beauty of any content management system. Some themes come bundled with it, and you can find more free themes from its theme Library or you can buy premium themes from here. To add the custom functionality there are plugins available on its plugin library or find out premium plugins from here.

How to get started with WordPress?

Now you know that what WordPress is and how it works. And to make it work you require a webserver. Most of the webhosting service providers provide an automatic installer in their hosting control panel to install the WordPress and user can get started without any problem. Even some hosting provider dedicated hosting for the WordPress sites known as WordPress hosting.

Apart from this there is a commercial version of the WordPress where you can get started for Free (with some restrictions). Just create an account on WordPress.com and you are ready to launch your WordPress website.

Now if you are confused about the WordPress.org and WordPress.com, then this brief comparison may solve your confusion.

WordPress.orgWordPress.com
You can download the source code or installer from here to install WordPress on your own serverIt is an hosted version of WordPress. You will get an installed WordPress by creating account here.
Its Free to Download. But require to buy a domain and hosting to make it work.Just create account and get started. Basic features are free and for advanced customization you require to buy a premium subscription.

So where to get started? Simply if you are aware about some knowledge of programming or hosting etc. and you need full control over WordPress then choose the WordPress.org otherwise if you are a beginner and just want to learn about or explore the WordPress then create account on the WordPress.com.

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