What is WordPress? Explained easily

In this advanced geeky world, you might have heard about WordPress at some point of your time and might have thought about knowing it but could not find the right answer.

Don’t worry; today I have come up with the simplest explanation about ‘WordPress’, its uses, benefits and so on.

So, Let’s get going.

WordPress
WordPress Logo.

In simple words, WordPress is a tool/ software that allows you to set up your blog/website and go online with ease. However, if we dive deep into some technicality, it is a free open-source Content Management System (CMS) built with PHP that allows you to write your blog, upload your photos, share them with your audience and manage your blog like a pro with less or no technical knowledge. In short, it’s a lifesaver. 

WordPress is a popular blogging platform. It’s a powerful CMS that has the flexibility to support various website types. It started out as a blogging tool that was built into the core CMS. Its advanced features include post and page editors, categorization, filtering, permalink structures, and post-publication states. In addition to its advanced functionality, WordPress offers a number of free and premium themes. Despite its popularity, it’s easy to see why it’s such an important tool.

WordPress is an extremely flexible tool that can run complex sites for businesses and multinational corporations. It has a comprehensive feature set, allowing you to build everything from a blog to a website with an e-commerce store. It can also be customized to meet the needs of businesses and individuals. Furthermore, there are countless themes for WordPress to suit any business or individual’s needs. Themes can change the look and feel of a website.

WordPress can be easy to install, and has many advantages over other website builders. However, it can be tricky to use properly, and if you don’t have coding knowledge, you may find it difficult to get started. Nevertheless, with the right support, you can create a secure and effective website. If you’re unsure of any particular feature, you can find it in the WordPress community. There is also a large community of experienced WordPress developers that can help you.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

You should not confuse WordPress.org (Real WordPress) with WordPress.com. WordPress.org is a self-hosted free to use open-source platform, whereas WordPress.com is a paid platform with less flexibility.

In short, we suggest you use WordPress.org

Let me answer this question with a stat: more than 40% of websites found on the internet are made with WordPress. 

Famous public figures from Snoop Dog to Katy Perry to top companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Tech Crunch, etc use WordPress to power their websites. Our website WP Tracer is also built on the WordPress framework. So, you can assume how popular it is.

Snoop Dogg's website
snoopdogg.com flexing on WordPress.org

Why do people love WordPress?

From web developers to less geeky ones, WordPress is popular with a large bunch of people due to its flexibility and ease of use.

People love WordPress because:

  • It’s free,
  • It’s secured
  • It has a huge library of themes and plugins to extend functionalities
  • It has a huge community of users; so its easy if you encounter any kind of technical problem
  • It’s easy to use
  • It’s saleable

With WordPress tough stuff like adding kewords & meta descriptions and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is made simple by using plugins like Rank Math SEO.

You can always modify your website to extend its features just with the use of plugins.  

For example, You have just started a WordPress site and installed a simple theme and now you need a contact form on your “Contact us” page; You can go ahead and install contact forms plugins like Ninja Forms. By the use of contact form plugins like Ninja Forms, you can build your desired form with just simple drag and drop or by choosing designs from the existing templates.

Another example: WordPress comment form by default has a “Comment”, “Name”, “E-mail” and “Website” field, but by using a simple plugin called URL Field Remover From Comment Box you can remove the website filed easily.

It’s not like WordPress is only meant for less geeky ones, web developers can use their skills to modify WordPress, create themes & plugins to extend its capabilities and earn money by doing so. There’s a ton of jobs available for WordPress developers in the market if you are thinking of becoming a WordPress developer.

Is WordPress secure to use?

Yes, WordPress assures top-notch security to its users as it has responsibility for more than 40% of websites on the internet. It provides regular updates with security patches and other modifications. Besides its own security firewall, you can always use third-party security plugins like Hide My WP Ghost to secure your website.

What types of Websites can I make with WordPress?

There is no boundary to what you can do with WordPress.org. You can create any websites ranging from simple blogs, news portals, review websites, hotels & restaurants, reservation & booking sites, wedding sites, photography and more. 

After you install WordPress on your site you can search for relevant free themes or buy one as per your need and customize it as per your requirement. Currently, WordPress hosts more than 50 thousand free plugins and more than 5 thousand free themes.

Personally, I use GeneratePress Pro in my WP Tracer blog because of its simplicity and blazing fast speed. I even suggest you to use GeneratePress pro for your blog.

Why should I use WordPress?

WordPress is the best platform for you if you are looking for the following things.

Free to use: WordPress itself is free open-source software. Unlike other platforms like Wix and Shopify, you don’t have to pay for the platform however you should pay for domain and hosting.

You can get cheap and fast WordPress hosting from here.

Dedicated dashboard

WordPress offers a fantastic easy-to-use dashboard, that you can use to monitor your website, posts, comments, traffic and more. It has never been this easy to manage posts & pages, comments, homepage layout and more; thanks to WordPress.

Expansion

At any point of time, you can always add new qualities to your website and extend its features using tons of plugins available on WordPress.

Example: You can add social share buttons to your posts in a minute with the help of relevant plugins.

Flexibility

WordPress is flexible. You can make any type of website you want even without knowing the technical skills. You can create any kind of website from a personal blog to news to reviews websites to music websites to forums to e-commerce websites and whatnot. You can always pick the right theme and plugin from thousands of freely available themes in the WordPress ecosystem. 

Easy to install and use

Even with less or no technical skills, one can set up WordPress websites in a few hours just by watching or reading some tutorials on the internet. The usability part of WordPress is also easy after a few experiments and tutorials. 

You can install WordPress on your computer: As a newbie to WordPress, you’ll surely like this feature. You can install WordPress on your computer, install themes & plugins and design your dream website. When you think your website is ready you can upload the file to your hosting and go online.

How to use WordPress?

After Installing WordPress on your site and setting up the theme and all the branding stuff it’s very easy to manage posts and pages. If you are familiar with MS Word then you won’t find the WordPress editor that difficult. With some touch, you will be used to the editor and working with the WordPress dashboard in no time.

Now, that’s a wrap. If you’re new to websites and stuff and want to start a website then WordPress is the right thing for you. I suggest you to start by getting a domain and hosting first. The rest is experiment and experience which you can get by experimenting and learning tutorials on the internet.

If you want to start a WordPress blog then here’s a detailed step-by-step tutorial to start a WordPress blog.

FAQ’s

What is WordPress used for?

WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS) built with PHP which is used for creating any type of website.

Is WordPress good for beginners?

WordPress can be overwhelming at first for beginners but it’s not that hard when you get used to it.

Is WordPress easier than HTML?

If you are asking from the customization point of view then WordPress is easier however maintaining an HTML site would be easier than that of WordPress one.

What is WordPress best for?

WordPress is best for small blogs to big websites.

What is the difference between a website and WordPress

Website is a commination of webpages containing information like texts, images, etc; whereas, WordPress is a software that helps you create a website.

WordPress resources you may like:

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