WordPress is an open-source Content Management System (CMS) used for creating websites, blogs, and web applications.
Open source means everyone is free to use it and even make modification to it.
WordPress is written in PHP and uses MySQL as its database.
Who Created WordPress?
WordPress was created by software developers Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little.
The first version, WordPress 0.7 was released on May 27th, 2003.
Now it is owned and operated by Automattic.
Why is WordPress so popular?
WordPress grew exponentially thanks to its open-source nature and the community of developers that contributed to it.
Currently, is by far the most popular content management system.
In the CMS market, WordPress holds a 62.1% share.
And is not only dominant compared to other content management systems.
Over a third of all websites globally, considering both the ones that use a CMS and the ones that don’t, use WordPress!
Source wpzoom.com
Let’s see why wordpress is so popular:
WordPress is flexible
Although WordPress was launched as a blogging platform, it quickly evolved to a versatile tool suitable for building professional, brochure, and even e-commerce websites.
What makes it so flexible is an extensive ecosystem of themes and plugins.
There is a theme for every need, be it a blog or/and e-commerce, and with over 50,000 plugins to enhance functionality, we can customize it as much as we want.
For example, there are plugins that enable us to support multiple languages, like WPML , or even plugins like AIOSEO that help to improve SE rankings.
WordPress is easy to use
Like all CMS websites, WordPress is catered to the non-programmer.
Anyone can modify it without needing to know programming.
No coding knowledge is required to manage content, and the management of images and videos is easy with the built-in Media Library tool.
Support and troubleshooting
WordPress has an active global community of developers and users who contribute to forums, blogs, and social media groups.
This powerful community behind WordPress ensures users and web developers can easily find help when facing challenges.
A great number of this support comes in no cost utilizing places like WordPress.org Forums, Stack Overflow, Reddit, and WPBeginner.
Documentation is great
WordPress.org has a detailed Codex and documentation that offers guidelines and references for users and developers.
Two different types of WordPress: WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com
When we refer to “WordPress” we usually mean the self-hosted WordPress software that is available for download in the WordPress.org organization. The free open-source website software that we have been talking about.
With WordPress.org, we are the ones responsible for downloading this software and uploading it to a hosting platform of our choice.
In this case, we own the WordPress website and its data. We can back it up and migrate it to another host if we wish.
We also have control over the themes, plugins and customization of our website.
On the other hand, WordPress.com is a for-profit, paid platform that is provided by the creators of WordPress.org, Automatic, and is powered by the same WordPress software.
Here, the options regarding customization are much more limited. And if we opt to stop using the service, we can’t take our website with us to another host.
This solution is better for someone who doesn’t want to invest the time to learn how to use and customize WordPress, and doesn’t mind the limited customization options.
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