You know you need a website, a presence online, and you’ve thought about different ways to publish content, so does the method matter? We think it does. We hope you choose WordPress.
What is WordPress?
Before you consider using WordPress, the first question you may ask yourself is “What is WordPress?” Simply put, WordPress is a website building and content publishing tool. While WordPress began as a blogging tool, it evolved to become a full-fledged content management system, as well as retaining the blog functionality that made it so widely used. Through the addition of thousands of plugins and themes, created by the user community. WordPress is extensible This is the ability to add additional functionality to the code. Plugins extend the WordPress core software. and can be used as a platform. As an open source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. platform, WordPress is constantly updated against new security threats, keeping your data safe and secure.
If you have a desire or passion to share, discuss, or connect with the world, WordPress allows you to create a platform to do exactly that, all while requiring very little web development knowledge to start. Due to its overwhelming popularity, content creators expand the use and extensibility of WordPress daily. For users, this means you can easily find massive amounts of information on how to build, promote, and extend your WordPress website.
Why Use WordPress?
Whether you are looking to create a simple information site, a food review blog, a niche community resource, or an online store for your business, WordPress can be used to easily build your website. The functionality of your site can be extended using WordPress plugins increase functionality, allowing automatic posting of articles to social media, growth of email subscription lists, set up password-protected content, and much more. When it comes to using WordPress to create your online presence, you are only limited by your imagination.
For example, if you are a sports fan, you could set up your own blog about your favorite team and gradually add additional functionality to track stats, make an online store for your brand, and even create a place for other fans to discuss certain games and players. This is exactly the story of fansided.com, who grew from a small blog to a large scale media site using WordPress.
Perhaps you may be interested in eCommerce. WordPress allows you to scale very easily, allowing you to power both small shops or very large eCommerce websites alike, using WooCommerce, among other eCommerce tools. A great example of this is Clickbank, who grew to become one of the largest eCommerce sites online utilizing WordPress.
Getting Started
There are multiple ways you can get started with WordPress. On WordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ you can download and install the open source software on web hosting of your choosing. Many web hosts offer a WordPress ‘one-click install method’ which makes it much easier for the non-technical user.
Alternatively, there is also a web hosting service called WordPress.com An online implementation of WordPress code that lets you immediately access a new WordPress environment to publish your content. WordPress.com is a private company owned by Automattic that hosts the largest multisite in the world. This is arguably the best place to start blogging if you have never touched WordPress before. https://wordpress.com/, where you can set up an account for free and have your website or blog up and running within minutes. Both methods all you to easily connect with millions of other users in the community with either regardless of which route you choose.
Whichever path you decide upon for hosting your website or blog, WordPress helps you grow. The WordPress.com service is great for true beginners while allowing you to move to a self-hosted installation as your site and business grows in the future. The WordPress.org self-hosted path gives you more flexibility and control of your website, with fewer limits on your ability to expand the functionality and design.
We have some great resources to help you get started, so head over to WordPress.org and grab a copy now or check with your host to see what installation methods are available to you. If you need web hosting you may want to check out WordPress.com; we also have a list of suggestions for web hosting companies to use. With so many people using WordPress, it’s tremendously easy to find help when you need it. If you run into problems while setting up your website, feel free to drop by our Support Forums for assistance.
On behalf of everyone involved, we would like to welcome you to the WordPress Community, where Code is Poetry! Happy Building!
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