What is WordPress?

In simple terms, WordPress is the easiest and most popular way to create a website today. As it stands in 2021, WordPress powers nearly 43% of all websites on the internet, and 65% of all CMS websites are built on the platform (W3Techs).

A more technical definition would be that WordPress is an open-source content management system. Open source means it is released under a license that allows anyone to use it for free. A content management system is essentially a piece of software that gives access to a admin area that allows users to update content with little technical knowledge.

It's only for blogging though, right?!

When WordPress was first released in 2003, it was purely for use as a blogging platform.

That hasn't been the case for at least the last decade, though. With its huge community of developers, the core code has evolved over time to make extending and manipulating the code much easier, so that it can create any type of website.

Combined with its own e-commerce extension, WooCommerce, it is also the most popular e-commerce solution with 27% market share.

Themes

A key aspect of your website is obviously how it looks. In WordPress (and most CMS platforms), this is done via themes.

Themes come in many different varieties, from simple to those with page builders, that allow you to build the structure of your website pages to meet your needs. There are several options when it comes to choosing a theme for your website; free, premium or custom.

WordPress has a large collection of themes that can be installed for free, but it's likely that these will be basic and limited in what they allow you to do.

Premium themes are generally purchased from third party developers, and whilst there are some themes that are good quality, unfortunately many aren't, so be cautious when opting for this.

The final option of the custom theme is the best way to get a well built, efficient theme that works exactly how you need it to. While they will be the most expensive option, they will give you the best end product in the long run.

Plugins

Plugins are the main way to add new functionality to your WordPress website, with no technical knowledge. Currently in 2021 the WordPress plugin repository has close to 60,000 free plugins!

A plugin can do pretty much anything, from the simple to the complex. There's a good chance there is a plugin out there to achieve whatever you want your website to do.

As with any third party software though, you need to be careful what you install on your website. Not every plugin can be trusted (link to security blog). Issues can also arise with conflicts between plugins.

Why use WordPress?

So what is WordPress? It’s the best way to build a website.

Ultimately, WordPress is the most popular way to build a website for a reason. No matter the type of website, whether it's a simple DIY blog or a more complex, e-commerce store using a WordPress expert, it is a great option.

When used correctly, it is an incredibly powerful tool that powers some of the biggest websites on the internet and with its thriving community, it has adapted to work in almost any situation.

Get in touch today to see how WordPress can help you grow your business.