Are you new to WordPress or you just Googled how to build a website and WordPress was one of the search results that appeared. You are in luck – this article explains what WordPress is and why you should consider using it to create any type of website.
This article gives an overview of WordPress. It doesn’t discuss installation details of WordPress but here is “How to install WordPress on localhost” with a step by step procedure.
So, what exactly is WordPress – you may be wondering.
WordPress (WordPress.org) is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database. In simple terms think of it as a software you can use to create a beautiful website, blog, or app. Just like your smartphone needs either Android or iOS to work, your website needs WordPress.
WordPress is open-source and licensed under the General Public License (GPLv2 or later), therefore anyone can use or modify the WordPress software for free.
WordPress was primarily a tool to create blogs but with changes to the core WordPress code and its capability to use plugins and themes, WordPress is now able to create pretty much any kind of website. Using WordPress, you can create Business websites, eCommerce stores, Blogs, Portfolios, Resumes, Forums, Social networks and pretty much any kind of website you can think of.
WordPress is certainly not the only CMS used to create websites. There are other content management systems and these include Joomla, Drupal, Squarespace, Wix and many more.
At the time of writing, 36% of the web is built on WordPress, Oh yeah, that’s how big it is. One may ask why does it take that much percentage of the web? I may have a few reasons to explain this.
1. WordPress is free
You don’t need to pay for it to use it. WordPress was made open source and free to use by anyone. However, there are two different platforms – that’s wordpresss.org and wordpress.com and you may be wondering, what’s the difference between the two.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
Due to their similar names, WordPress.com and WordPress.org are often confused for each other. The main difference between the two is that WordPress.org hosts and creates the WordPress software, while WordPress.com provides freemium (“free” and “premium”), hosting using the WordPress software. WordPress the software is able to be self-hosted or hosted with assistance on any website or server, while WordPress.com is simply one such provider for WordPress software hosting.
WordPress.com has several content stipulations due to how the platform works. For example, content hosted on their service isn’t able to be copyrighted with an All Rights Reserved license, otherwise content hosted on WordPress.com would not be able to be shown by the hoster. Advertising is also limited on WordPress.com, whereas self-hosted websites using WordPress from WordPress.org don’t have such limitations. Themes and plugins are similarly limited, with some requiring specific hosting plans to be used on WordPress.com. Read more on Wikipedia.org
Now that you know the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com lets proceed.
2. WordPress can be self-hosted.
WordPress can easily be self-hosted, either on a local machine (Localhost) for testing purposes or on an online server which you will be required to pay for of course but you will never have to pay just to use WordPress, which isn’t the case with alternatives like Squarespace. Hosting it locally would require installation of a local server on your computer and this can be archived using applications like XAMPP (for Windows, macOS and Linux computers) or WAMP (for windows). Here is a step by step procedure on How to install XAMPP on Windows 10.
3. WordPress is open source.
You can use or modify WordPress according to the website you intend to design. Open source is a term used to describe computer programs whose source code is available for everyone to study. WordPress is open-source software and anyone can use, study, change and redistribute its source code.
4. WordPress can run any type of website.
Whether it’s a simple business site, a blog, a photo site, a professional corporate site, a portfolio site, a directory site, an e-commerce store, WordPress can easily manage it all. Be rest assured that any feature that is considered “standard” in website design, WordPress has it.
5. WordPress has beautiful and crafty features
There are thousands of free and premium design packages (called themes) and plugins available for WordPress. You can install these in a single click. Developer or not, you can easily modify website thanks to WordPress’ huge ecosystem of themes and plugins:
Themes – these primarily change how your website looks.
Plugins – these primarily change how your website functions. Plugins can be something small, like a contact form, or huge, like creating an eCommerce store.
6. WordPress Is Easy to Install
You don’t need to be a tech genius to create your own website – This is not rocket science we are talking about, if you can click a few buttons, you can install WordPress on your site. Here is a detailed article on How to install WordPress on localhost.
7. Lastly, It’s Easy to Find WordPress Help
Since WordPress is so popular, it’s easy to find help if you ever run into any issues. Here is a list of how you can acquire WordPress assistance. Through: WordPress.org support, Blogs, Tutorials, Forums, Facebook Groups and Developers you can go to for free help and paid help if needed.
So, how do you get started with WordPress?
Now you’re probably wondering – Now that you now all this what next? Here is How to install WordPress on localhost to get you started with creating websites using WordPress.
What are you waiting for? Go get WordPress today to start creating your amazing website.
