Are you new to WordPress and want to learn everything about it? You have landed right. We have created this beginner’s guide to help novice users like you who can learn about what is WordPress in detail.
WordPress is a simple, easy-to-use, and most favored website-building platform that allows users to create any kind of website effortlessly without knowing a single line of code.
WordPress came into existence on 27 May 2003, and today it is the widely used website building platform all over the world. One of the greatest things about WordPress is that anyone, whether professional or tech novice can effortlessly create a beautiful and responsive website in no time.
Let’s dive deeper into the details.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is the most simple, versatile, and flexible website builder that powers around 43% of all the websites on the network. This means that one in every four websites is powered by WordPress presently.
It’s a free and open-source website-building platform that means anyone can use or modify the software. Also, it’s a CMS that lets you easily manage all important aspects of a website without requiring any coding experience. WordPress emerged as a blogging platform initially but quickly became a vast CMS that can handle a variety of websites. It’s a versatile platform where you can create any kind of website, whether blogging, e-commerce, business, portfolio, or more. It’s the best user-friendly platform at present to create an attractive and interactive website before long.
WordPress was created with usability and flexibility in mind, which makes it a strong choice for both big as well as small websites.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
Since we are discussing the basics of WordPress, there’s something that you must know before going deeper. There are two different kinds of WordPress sites, WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org. Let’s dig out the differences between them.
WordPress.com is a managed service that helps you create a website using WordPress-managed hosting. On the contrary, WordPress.org is the source from where you download the WordPress software to create and manage your website on your own.
WordPress.com
In WordPress.com, your site is hosted by WordPress, and you will get a free subdomain with it. This means that by default, your domain name will have the word “wordpress.com.” For instance. “Yoursite.wordPress.com.” You can have your own custom domain by upgrading the plan.
With WordPress.com, you can start using your site instantly by filling in your details.
However, it comes with fewer customization options. Only limited themes and plugin options are available on WordPress.com. You can’t use custom themes and plugins on your site.
Moreover, your site’s maintenance, updates, and backups are all controlled by WordPress.com. You don’t have any technical control over your site. Additionally, you can’t monetize your WordPress.com website.
WordPess.com can be a good option for you if you want to learn WordPress and try its various functionalities.
WordPress.org
With WordPress.org, you need to self-host your website on your own. To get started with it, you need to get web hosting and a domain name and download the WordPress software on your hosting account. Set up your account, and then start creating your website. The platform gives you full control over your site. You can take advantage of plenty of plugins and themes to enrich your site’s functionalities and customize your site’s appearance. Additionally, your site’s maintenance, updates, and backups are all your responsibility. You have full control over your database, files, domains, etc. Furthermore, you can monetize your website with WordPress.org.
WordPress.org is the superior choice if you want to create a stunning website and establish your strong internet presence.
What makes WordPress so Popular?
1. The cost-free solution
WordPress is a free-to-use website solution that lets you create a beautiful website free of cost. With wordPress.com, you get hosting as well as subdomain free; however, with wordPress.org, you only need to pay for getting a domain name and web hosting. The platform WordPress itself is completely free.
2. Simple and easy-to-use platform
The WordPress platform is simple and easy to learn as well as use to create a beautiful and responsive website. Even a novice can easily build and manage a WordPress site.
3. Flexible platform
The platform is vastly flexible. You can build any sort of website using WordPress, including a blog, online store, business site, etc.
4. Open-source platform
WordPress is an open-source software whose code is accessible to anyone. Users can use, study, and modify according to their needs.
5. No coding experience is required.
WordPress users are not required to have any prior coding experience. Anyone can easily create a fully responsive and attractive without knowing a single code.
6. Plugins to add functionalities
WordPress plugins are software similar to an app that can be used to include add-on functionalities to your site. More features can easily be added to the site using the plugins, such as security features, contact form, SEO, e-commerce, and more. WordPress comes with a plethora of free as well as paid plugin options available on WordPress.org.
7. Themes to Customize the appearance
Another valuable WordPress feature is the WordPress themes. Themes decide the design and the layout of your website. You can easily customize the look of your website in seconds using the themes. WordPress includes plenty of theme options that let you customize your site’s appearance in no time.
8. The secure platform
Although no platform can guarantee complete security, WordPress is a significantly safer platform if users take security seriously.
The developers and security team are always working to improve security. In addition to the core security, there are plenty of security and backup plugins you can use to secure your website even more. Generally, the error arise due to the carelessness of the users rather than the software.
9. Vast community support
The platform enjoys extensive support from the WordPress platform itself as well as the other online resources. There are numerous how-to guides, step-wise articles, and video tutorials on WordPress that solve most of the user’s query. Also, there are various online forums that discuss WordPress in detail. You can get help from any of the platforms easily and solve your concern effortlessly.
10. WordPress-An SEO-friendly platform
WordPress comes with an SEO code base and has laid a solid SEO foundation as a content management system. SEO enables a website to be easily discoverable on search engines. There are various SEO plugins in the market that add up the SEO functionality to your site as well as most plugins and themes are created with SEO in mind and hence are SEO-friendly to use.
All media types supported
WordPress supports all media types, whether text, images, or videos. You can use the platform to express your creative ideas to engage users using text, images, and videos.
How to get started with WordPress?
Now, as you have learned about the basics of what is WordPress, you can easily get started with WordPress. You can build any kind of website based on your choice. Since you know it’s a free solution, you don’t need to spend a single penny on it. Till now, you might have well decided which WordPress platform you want to choose to create a website, whether wordPress.com or WordPress.org.
To get started with WordPress.com, visit the site and simply create a WordPress.com account. As discussed earlier, you don’t need to get web hosting and domain; these are provided by WordPress.com itself. Simply fill in the details and start creating your website.
Contrary to this, if you want to get started with WordPress.org, purchase a domain name and get web hosting from a reliable host. At first, select the basic cloud hosting option. Once your site is established and receiving a lot of traffic, you can upgrade to a VPS or a dedicated hosting plan.
Thereafter, download the WordPress software on your web hosting account. Most hosts provide a one-click installation of WordPress to their users. Next, set up everything and get started.
Whichever platform you choose, adjust your site’s appearance using the themes and enrich your functionality using the available plugins, and your WordPress site is ready to use.
Start posting unique content and optimize it for SEO to rank higher on SERPs.
To Conclude-
WordPress is open-source software that lets you create a website of your choice. It’s one of the most favoured and powerful website builders in the market that can help you turn your dreams into a reality. If you are willing to start creating your online presence, no other website builder can give you the comfort and flexibility that WordPress can. The only point to consider is that WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different platforms. WordPress.org gives you more control over your site, and you can utilize all the perks of the WordPress platform with a self-hosted website. However, if you just want to learn WordPress to begin your journey, WordPress.com can be a profitable choice. We have tried to explain what is WordPress here with utmost simplicity. Hope! This write-up has helped you learn about the basics of WordPress.
Make the right decision! A strong foundation is the future of a successful brand.