WordPress: An Introduction

WordPress is a free and open source CMS or web solution which can be used for creating website, blog and app written in PHP. It was released on 27 May, 2003 by joint efforts of its founders Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. WordPress has become the most popular CMS (Content management system) blogging tool used on the web, which is the first choice of many bloggers today. It allows its users to create websites from the control panel for text modification changing design elements (which require text editor and menus). It can be downloaded and installed on any server with PHP installed. It also provides number of plugins in WordPress plugin directory which is very simple and easy to upload. Using WordPress is cost effective and also allows its users to make updates in their websites fast and easy, it can be modified, extended and can be used for any project (commercial as well) without any licensing fees.

Features and Benefits of WordPress

1. Easy and simple to use: WordPress has a simple interface, which can be easily used or modified. You can easily make changes to your website, can add pages, images, blog posts and editing of the content via text editor also. WordPress doesn’t require complete knowledge of PHP and HTML; all you need to do is to select the template or plugin and install.
2. Content Management System: WordPress as CMS allows its users to manage their content in organized manner. It allows its users to add, edit, delete, retrieve and publish their content easily and quickly. It allows multiple authors to access, manage and publish the content.
3. No license fee: WordPress is free which means that you can run any program for any purpose, can make changes as per your requirements, freedom to distribute your own modified versions to others. There are no license fees, no update fees, no usage fees, no pro (advanced) version fees. In short, you can use WordPress totally free of cost.
4. Flexible: Using WordPress, you can create your website, personal blog, a business website, portal site, e-commerce site, charity site, government site, a portfolio, photo blog, magazine, or any online community etc. You can also add any themes and can extend it with plugins to look your website unique and beautiful.
5. 100% Customizable: WordPress is an open source with pre-designed themes and templates, you can make changes or can easily customize it. But if you want to add your own stuff along with the pre-designed theme, you can keep what you want and remove what you don’t, it is fully customizable.
6. Comply with W3C standards: If you are a developer or a designer, writing code or creating design for your client, who wants you to create a website which must comply with the standards, then, you should not get worry about it, because WordPress code is in full compliance with World Wide Web (W3C)
7. Easy Search Engine Optimization: If you are using WordPress, then SEO of your website becomes very easy and fast. As it offers many tools and plugins for the SEO that are built into WordPress
8. Retina ready themes: There are number of devices have come to an existence with various amazing features like devices with HD and retina display which require high quality of pictures, images and videos. WordPress offers themes which are retina display ready that provide sharper images, pictures, visuals and fonts also. Retina display themes makes your website look more beautiful and high in quality.
9. Responsive themes: WordPress offers responsive themes which means, whether you are using laptop, desktop, iPhone, iPad or any other mobile devices your site automatically adjusts to any screen resolution. Using WordPress responsive themes or a plugin that converts your website to mobile responsive, you need not build second website for mobile users
10. Social sharing: Monarch, Social Warfare, SumoMe, Image Sharer, Shareaholic, WP Social Sharing, AddToAny and Share are some of the social sharing plugins of WordPress. These social sharing plugins make it easy for people to share their content on social media quickly.
11. Blogging tool: WordPress is known to have a best blogging tool; you can build a website including blog on it. It provides best functionality for blogging like user management, nested commenting, comment moderation, theme integration, content management, tabs, categories, tags, widgets, plugins, labels, permalinks and media management like uploading files, images, audios and videos.
12. Templates and plugins: WordPress itself is a complete package, as it comes with a wide range of templates and plugins. It is not only a blogging tool, but also offers a number of plugins available in plugin directory and number of templates like graphic templates which can provide a complete new and beautiful look to your website. Both plugins and templates are available as per your requirements which are both paid as well free.
13. Community support: WordPress is an open source CMS today, which have a very intellectual, innovative and supportive community. Community offers every kind of help to its users. You can ask any question on the support forum and you can get every kind of help from them, you can also read blog posts, articles and tutorials about WordPress which are very beneficial.
14. Media management: Another benefit of using WordPress is that you can manage media as well. If you want to add media like images, audio-videos, you just need to drag and drop it into uploader and you can easily upload images, audio-videos into your website. Then after uploading simply add captions, description, alt text and titles for the same.
15. Tools for publishing: Using WordPress tools, you can easily manage your content, create drafts, can revise your posts and even can plan your publications. You can also create, edit, modify, insert media and even can format it easily. WordPress allows you to secure your page or post content via a login with a secure password and you can make your content private as well as public.
16. Multilingual: WordPress provides another feature which is very useful is that it is available in more than 50 languages or you can use any other language other than default language i.e., English.
17. Multi-user Capability: There are number of people who work to build a website like admin (manage the site and access to all admin features), editor (work with content, publish and manage own posts and posts of other users), author (write the content, manage his own posts), contributor (Can write and manage content but cannot publish) and subscriber (manage their own profiles). In this way, it allows everyone to contribute a bit and everyone need not to have access to your website. It provides management at ease to manage the whole website efficiently.
18. Ease in printing: Using simple plugins, you need not to worry about websites that are too wide to print. You can easily print your WordPress blog site content in readable format without any duplication.
19. New beautiful look: Simply by changing or switching themes used in your website, you can give your website a complete new and fresh look.
20. Lowers cost, more functionality: Ready to use or pre-written plugins can be used to avoid extra cost and increases the functionality of your site.
21. Better communication: Using blogging facility in WordPress, you are not restricted to one-way communication with visitors of your site. Users or readers can add comments in your blog comment section and can initiate communication which in turn becomes a two-way communication. Two-way communication improves your site’s ranking as well as number of visitors because, readers can add their suggestions and views about your site.

Conclusion

WordPress is very helpful to create a simple website as it allows greater accessibility, design flexibility and consistency, save money and time, easy to use, social network friendly, responsive and secure to use. There are just so many reasons to use WordPress and another benefit is it is less costly than other commercial alternatives.