WordPress powers 43% of the web. That means there are more blogs, small businesses, and fortune 500 companies using WordPress than any other CMS on the internet.
WordPress is a popular website building platform because it is so easy to set up, it’s one of the top choices for people who just want to start building their websites.
Creating a website is a daunting task, especially if you’re not familiar with coding. You want to create something your customers will love but you don’t want to spend weeks or even months setting up the site.
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Table of Contents
WordPress History, How long Has It Been Around?
Usage Statistics Across the Web
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
What is WordPress?
WordPress started as a blogging platform, but it has since become a full-fledged Content Management System (CMS). WordPress is the easiest way to create your site or blog. It’s open-source software licensed under GPLv2 meaning anyone can download and use it for free.
WordPress offers many features that allow users to customise their site, including themes, plugins, and widgets. It also allows users to create custom pages, posts, and galleries. Users can even add social media sharing buttons.
WordPress History, How long Has It Been Around?
WordPress started as a small project in 2003 when two friends named Matt Mullenweg & Mike Little decided to start a blog together. WordPress was born out of a desire for a simple, well-architected personal publishing system written in PHP and MySQL and licensed using the GPL. So they started working on b2/cafelog, which became WordPress.org.
Since then, WordPress has grown into a massive platform powering millions of websites around the globe. Today, there are thousands of plugins available for WordPress, allowing you to customize your site exactly how you like it.
Matt Mullenweg has largely become the face and voice of WordPress. He also founded Automattic, which owns the for-profit WordPress.com service. The WordPress project has grown into the most popular solution for creating websites. Thanks to its contributions and huge community, WordPress has pushed forward to become the number 1 CMS system in the world.
Usage Statistics Across the Web
Usage Statistics Across the Web
Here are some interesting statistics about WordPress:
- 62% of the fastest-growing companies in the United States use WordPress.
- More than 500 new websites are created daily using the free version of WordPress
- Every month, 70 million new blog posts appear online.
- There are currently over 456 million websites that use WordPress.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is pretty clear-cut. WordPress.com is a hosted version of WordPress while WordPress.org is an open-source version of WordPress.
If you are just starting with WordPress, you should start with WordPress.org. WordPress.org is free software that allows you to create a website or blog. You can install WordPress on your server or host it through a web hosting service like Kinsta.
By default, your website‘s URL or domain will not include the word “WP” or “WordPress”. Instead, it will include the name of your hosting provider, like mysite.hostname.com. Paid upgrades include a custom domain name, Google Analytics integration, additional storage space, the ability to add your plugins and theme, and more.
Most web hosts like Dreamhost offer a WordPress quick install or done-for-me installation to help you get started. WordPress.org is the non-profit foundation of Automattic, Inc., which owns the WordPress trademark.
If you choose to host your site on WordPress.com, you get access to all of the premium features of WordPress. But if you want to build your site from scratch, you’ll have to install WordPress yourself.
If you decide to go with WordPress.org, you won’t be able to use any of the premium features, but you’ll gain access to a large community of developers who can help you fix bugs, improve functionality, and make changes to your site.
The Benefits of Digital Marketing
Digital marketing has become one of the key methods through which companies can benefit from their online presence, as well as build brand awareness and increase sales. It also helps to keep track of customers’ behaviour to increase the conversion rate while decreasing the abandonment rate.
These are some of the benefits of digital marketing:
- Digital marketing allows your business to compete on an equal footing with larger companies.
- Digital marketing tactics are the most cost-effective way to market your business because they allow you to reach more people for less money.
- Digital marketing allows you to target your audience effectively.
- Digital marketing helps you reach your customers through social networks.
- SEO and local SEO can help you reach more qualified customers through the internet.
- Most people begin their buying journey online.
- Digital marketing helps you reach potential customers who access the internet through their smartphones and tablets.
- Digital marketing is the best way to measure the success of any type of marketing campaign.
- You can easily and rapidly adapt your strategy and tactics to achieve the best results.
- It provides you with valuable insights into how well your marketing is performing. There are plenty of tools available to help you monitor and improve your overall digital marketing strategy.
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Who uses WordPress?
WordPress powers millions of websites around the globe. It’s an incredibly popular platform, powering many of the most visited websites on the internet. You may not realize it, but the WordPress website showcase shows just how many big names use WordPress to power their sites.
Here are some example of popular WordPress powered website:
TechCrunch
Tech Crunch, which reports on business related to tech, news, technological advances, emerging tech trends, startups, and new products is another great example of a famous WordPress website.
Microsoft
Microsoft uses WordPress to power its Official Microsoft blog.
TED
The TED Blog, which is powered by WordPress, shares the most popular TED talks in written form for everyone who prefers reading instead of watching videos.
Vogue
It was originally a weekly magazine in the U.S. in 1892 and has now become one of the most well-established fashion and lifestyle online magazines. Vogue is a magazine that focuses on fashion, beauty, culture, lifestyle, and more. It includes every single print magazine from the beginning – online – which is powered by WordPress.
What is a WordPress Website?
At first, WordPress was mainly used for creating blogs. Today, the software has improved so much that you can create any type of website you want. You can build any kind of blog, portfolio, website, e-commerce store, mobile application, or membership site.
Here are just a few examples of the types of websites you can build with WordPress:
Blog
A blog is a type of website where you write articles and share information. Blogs allow you to publish regular updates that people can read. They’re great for sharing ideas, news, opinions, and other things that you think would interest others. A blog might be a good place to start if you’re looking to launch a business.
Professional Portfolio
A portfolio is a collection of work. A portfolio website lets visitors see what kind of projects you’ve worked on in the past. Online portfolios are often used as marketing tools because they show off your skills and experience.
Ecommerce Website
Ecommerce Website An eCommerce website sells products online. Ecommerce websites let you sell physical items (like clothing) or digital items (like music). An eCommerce website can also be useful for selling services. For example, you could offer freelance writing services. People could visit your website and learn about your services and prices before contacting you directly.
Business website
A business website is designed to promote your company’s brand and provide helpful information about your products and services.
Most businesses will benefit more from having their website than they would by simply using social media. If your business needs to create a website for customers to view, then WordPress is an excellent choice.
Businesses often use websites to display contact details, product descriptions, testimonials, and other information. You can interact with your customers by providing quotes, scheduling appointments, and more.
Personal website
A personal website is a website created for fun or pleasure. Personal websites are usually built using WordPress, and they’re also known as “personal blogs.” People use personal websites to share photos, videos, music, and other media. Some people even create personal websites to keep track of their favourite hobbies.
Membership Website
A membership website lets users join together to form groups. Members pay monthly fees to become part of these groups. A membership website allows you to create content behind a paywall or requires a login to access the content. Users must log in or pay for access to pages or posts. WordPress can also handle membership sites with additional plugins.
Why use WordPress?
WordPress is an affordable solution and open-source platform. This means anyone can download the code and modify it to suit their needs. There are thousands of developers who have modified WordPress to make it better than ever. It’s one of the most powerful platforms available today.
1. WordPress is Open Source
WordPress is a free and open-source CMS platform designed to help you easily publish websites. Anyone can modify the source code, and share it with others. It’s designed to allow people to add their ideas to improve the platform, and there’s an open-source community that supports them.
2. WordPress is Flexible
It is very flexible and easy to use, allowing you to customize almost anything about your site. There are many plugins available that allow you to extend its functionality even further. If you need a simple blog, there is the ClassicPress theme. For something more complex, there is the Brizy layout builder.
3. WordPress is Easy to use
WordPress is an easy-to-use, free, and open-source CMS platform. WordPress allows users to create websites using simple drag & drop tools. Adding features to existing sites is also very easy. You can change themes, plugins, and even code if you have the time. However, there are many third-party extensions available that allow you to extend WordPress functionality. For example, you could write a custom plugin to send emails directly from your site.
4. WordPress is Free
WordPress is completely free to install and use. There are no costs associated with installing WordPress on your web server. The only cost is hosting, which is typically paid annually. You don’t need any special skills to set up a WordPress website. Anyone can do it!
5. WordPress has Thousands of Extensions
There are thousands of extensions The interface is intuitive and user-friendly. The admin panel makes adding new features and managing your site quick and easy. It has a drag-and-drop editor that makes creating web pages fast and easy. All you need to do is click and type!
6. WordPress is SEO-friendly
The SEO-friendly nature of WordPress makes it ideal for search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines such as Google love WordPress because it provides great content and is easy to update. It’s also mobile-friendly, meaning it looks good on all devices.
7. WordPress is Mobile-Friendly
WordPress is fully responsive so it will look great on any device. You can edit posts and pages right from your phone or tablet. It also works well in landscape mode, making it perfect for viewing on WordPress is search engine optimized (SEO) by default. That means that when someone searches for your business name or product online, your site will come up in the results.
8. WordPress is Scalable
Scalability is another benefit of WordPress. Because it is an open-source content management system, it is highly scalable. This means that it can be used to build large websites. It is also extensible, meaning that you can add additional modules to increase scalability. These include things like eCommerce, membership, social media integration, etc.
9. WordPress is Secure
WordPress is secure by design. It uses strong encryption technology to protect data. It also comes with built-in security measures to prevent hacking. It is also PCI compliant, ensuring that credit card information is kept safe.
10. WordPress is Reliable
WordPress is reliable. It is backed by a team of developers who constantly work to make sure that it remains bug-free and stable. They also provide updates to keep it current. If something goes wrong, they fix it quickly.
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WordPress Features
WordPress is a powerful tool for creating websites because it comes with all of the tools you need to create a professional-looking site. It also has a lot of free resources available to help you get started. However, if you plan on using WordPress for any kind of serious project, you will probably want to invest in a premium plugin or theme. These add-ons give you access to additional features that allow you to customize your site even further.
Speed – WordPress is a lightweight website framework that strives to remove code bloat that slows down the loading speeds of websites. As a result, it loads much faster than other platforms.
SEO – WordPress was designed with SEO in mind. It includes many features that make it easier to optimize your site for search engines.
Mobile-Friendly – WordPress is fully responsive. This means that no matter what device you use to view your site, it will display properly.
Media file library – WordPress allows users to upload images, videos, audio files, and more directly to their sites. This eliminates the need for third-party image libraries.
Custom menus – WordPress offers custom menus that allow users to organize their menu items in a way that best suits them.
Plugins – Plugins are extensions that allow users to extend WordPress beyond its core functionality. There are thousands of plugins available to download. Some are free while others cost money.
Theme Customization – WordPress themes offer complete control over how your site appears. Users can change colours, fonts, layout, and more without having to learn HTML.
Multisite – Multisite allows multiple blogs to exist within one account. This makes managing multiple blogs much easier.
Social Media Integration – Social media integration allows users to share content across various networks.
Security – WordPress is extremely secure. It does not store user passwords, which makes it safer than most other platforms.
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What is a WordPress Plugin?
WordPress plugins are like apps for your blog. You can install them directly from within your WordPress dashboard. A WordPress plugin is an extension of your site that adds new features, and functionality or integrates other services.
When you download a WordPress plugin, you get all the source code. So you can customize the code to suit your needs. There are thousands of plugins available for WordPress, and many of them are free. Some plugins cost money, but there are also free plugins available.
Must-Have WordPress Plugins
All WordPress websites will be able to benefit from these essential WordPress plugins.
WordPress backup plugin – WordPress doesn’t have a built-in backup function, so having a backup solution in place will help you avoid losing any data if you ever accidentally delete something from your site.
A backup plan is also crucial when it comes to mitigating a security breach or hack because if something goes wrong, you need to be able to recover from it. BackupBuddy is the original WordPress backup plugin to backup, restore or even move your website to a new host or domain.
WordPress Security plugin – The WordPress Security plugin helps keep your site safe by blocking known malware, stopping brute force attacks, and preventing spam comments. It also provides a detailed report on your site’s security status. Like Stellar WP Firewall, this plugin is easy to set up and configure.
WP Super Cache – WP Super Cache caches pages on your server, making them load faster. This can save bandwidth and improve performance, especially on mobile devices.
WordPress SEO plugin – Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for getting traffic to your site. Having a good search ranking is essential to getting visitors. The WordPress SEO plugin like AISEO (All in One SEO) gives you tools to make sure your site gets found.
Check out this HubSpot video of five tips for building your WordPress Website:
Making Money with WordPress
New industries have sprung up around WordPress. There are many ways to make money with WordPress today, ranging from running an online store to building websites for clients to WordPress consulting.
Build WordPress websites for your clients – If you are an experienced web developer or designer, then you can specialize in building WordPress websites. As WordPress is so easy to learn, it makes sense to train clients on how to use their websites.
WordPress maintenance – Many WordPress site owners don‘t have time to maintain WordPress sites. WordPress maintenance includes important tasks such as updating the software, backing up the site, securing it, optimizing it for search engines, and more.
The Essential WordPress Maintenance Checklist
WordPress SEO – WordPress search engine optimization can be useful for many businesses hoping to generate greater organic search traffic and outcompete their competitors. You can specialize in website auditing, keyword research, content creation and more.
WordPress consulting – Some business owners need help designing, building, growing or improving their websites. WordPress consultants know all about WordPress optimization, functionality, plugins and features.
Content Writing – Being able to use WordPress makes you a strong candidate for many businesses that need content creation services.
Key Takeaways
I hope that you have enjoyed this overview of the WordPress platform. By this point, you should appreciate what WordPress can do and have a better understanding of the differences between the self-hosted version of WordPress found at wordpress.org and the hosted WordPress.com version.
WordPress has become one of the most popular platforms for creating websites. With its ease of use, scalability, flexibility, and affordability, there are many reasons why WordPress continues to grow in popularity.
New WordPress themes and plug-ins are being added every day and the platform is well maintained by all web hosts.
I have used many other applications to build websites however WordPress is the website building solution I turn to again & again as creating and updating a WordPress website is so straightforward!
If you’re looking to create a website using WordPress, we recommend starting with Kinsta or one of the listed web hosting options below.
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