What Is WordPress?
WordPress is one of the most comprehensive and flexible content management systems (CMS) on the market. Read this article to learn about its key features.
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) for creating websites in general, including corporate websites, blogs, microsites, and portals.
WordPress has two versions: WordPress.com and WordPress.org. To learn about the features of each, read this article: The Difference Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
WordPress was originally created as a content management tool for blogs. Over time, however, its community grew and made this CMS much more powerful and flexible.
Because its community is extremely active, the learning curve for getting started with the platform and developing for it is very short.
Are There Other Blogging Platforms?
Of course! WordPress was not the first or only platform available, and it will not be the last. There are plenty of options, with a wide range of features for hosting a website, such as Tumblr, Blog.com, Weebly, Blogger, Blogspot, Typepad, and others.
Like WordPress, some offer the option to download the code and install it on your own server. Most, however, offer a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution and do not allow downloads, much like WordPress.com.
Technology and License
WordPress was developed using the PHP programming language and a MySQL database. Since its code is open source and it is released under the GPL license (General Public License), it quickly won over programmers around the world, who develop plugins and templates (themes) to enhance the platform's features and capabilities.
5 Key Features
1. Flexibility
This is one of its most fundamental features. You can customize a project to suit a client's business. You can create anything from corporate websites, blogs, and portals to e-commerce sites, intranets, and forums.
This flexibility is made possible by its wide range of extensions (plugins) and its code structure, which makes it easy to customize and develop new plugins, further expanding the platform's capabilities.
2. Easy Content Updates
Today, one of the best ways to stand out online is by using what we call Content Marketing.
Keeping a website regularly updated can go a long way toward improving its search engine optimization, including on Google.
For this reason, WordPress has made it very easy to create and edit content with a user-friendly, well-designed text editor. In other words, you can update a website through the platform's admin panel even without HTML or CSS knowledge.
In addition, the content publishing module lets you:
- Create drafts;
- Schedule posts;
- Review content;
- Make content private or public;
- Add a viewing password for people accessing content through its URLs;
- Use user and access profile management to assign content authors, editors, and reviewers;
- And much more;
3. Media Management
Media management is extremely easy thanks to a central library in the admin panel, giving you full control over images, videos, audio, and any other type of media published on the website.
3. Web Standards
All source code complies with the standards established by the W3C, the leading international organization for web standards.
For this reason, it is important to develop or choose themes and plugins that follow the same standards, ensuring greater compatibility with current and future browsers.
4. Plugins
You can add features to your website using third-party plugins or even create your own, depending on your needs.
There is a very active community and a list of thousands of plugin options, which you can browse at WordPress Plugins.
5. Themes
As with plugins, you can use third-party themes or create your own from scratch. Installing and switching between themes is very easy. However, choosing or developing the right theme can ensure your website's security and performance, whether technical and operational performance or business performance (conversions).
Who Uses WordPress?
There is a rumor that 7 out of every 10 websites on the internet run on the WordPress platform. Amazing, isn't it?
The WordPress website features links to several success stories showcasing the platform. You can see them on its WordPress Showcase page.
Here are some WordPress statistics, as published by the Torque website in 2016 and updated in 2021.
- Market Share: At the beginning of 2016, WordPress was used by 25.6% of all websites. By the end of the year, that figure had risen to 27.3%, an increase of 1.7%.
- Content Publishing: Blogs on the WordPress network published an average of 27 posts per second, totaling approximately 2.3 million posts a day.
- Page Views: These blogs received more than 20 billion views per month, indicating significant traffic.
- Comments: WordPress blogs received around 77 million comments each month, reflecting a high level of reader engagement.
- Translations: WordPress was available in more than 200 languages, demonstrating its global reach.
- Available Plugins: More than 59,000 plugins were available in the official directory, allowing extensive customization and functionality for websites.
- Downloads of Version 5.8: WordPress version 5.8 had been downloaded more than 75 million times, demonstrating the platform's popularity and adoption.
- WordCamps: In 2019, 142 WordCamps were held in 49 countries, with more than 36,000 attendees, highlighting the strong community around WordPress.
Statistics sourced and translated from: 13 Surprising WordPress Statistics
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