In this WordPress tutorial, you will find everything you need in order to create a website with WordPress. From installation to backups – we have covered it all. Be sure to check out the list of our newest WordPress tutorials at the very bottom of this page.
WordPress first saw the light of day on May 27, 2003. The founders of this software are Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. WordPress can be referred to as an online, open source site building tool based on PHP and MySQL programming languages. In more advanced terms it is called a content management system (CMS). When WordPress was first launched it had several users but over time grew into the biggest and most popular CMS in the world. Today, WordPress is powering over 75 million websites. A research carried out in April 2016 shows that this content management system was used by more than 26% of the 10 million best-ranking sites.
However, for more in-depth coverage, you may continue reading below.
Why is WordPress so popular?
WordPress is an open source Content Management System (CMS), which allows the users to build dynamic websites and blog. WordPress is the most popular blogging system on the web and allows updating, customizing and managing the website from its back-end CMS and components.
After finding out the massive number of users WordPress has, it may leave you wondering, why is it so popular? A mixture of several factors should be taken into account. The general viewpoint is that WordPress is a simple blogging tool, however, it is much more than that. Due to the fact that WordPress is free and an open source project, it allows anyone to improve and edit its code according to one’s liking. It also features thousands of free plugins, themes, widgets and other tools. All these features allow you to create any type of website, starting from simple blogs, personal websites or portfolios, ranging to e-shops, knowledge bases or job boards. Another factor is that WordPress is completely free and supports all hosting platforms with PHP and MySQL. On top of that, this CMS is constantly updated with new versions which improve security, include new features and improve overall performance. Last, but not least, WordPress has a huge community with dedicated forums and discussions all over the internet. The amount of data that is available and thousands of WordPress tutorials also make WordPress one of the easiest to use content management systems out there.
What is a CMS?
A content management system or CMS for short is an application with the ability to create, modify and publish digital content. In most cases, it also supports multiple users, allowing them to work in collaboration. For example, in WordPress it is possible to create several administrative users, each one having different privileges. Content management systems also include text and formatting features, the ability to upload videos, photos, audio, maps or even your own code.
A content management system consists of two major components:
- A content management application (CMA). The CMA can be referred to as the graphical user interface (GUI) that lets a user create, modify, remove and publish content without ever needing to have knowledge of HTML or other programming languages.
- A content delivery application (CDA). The CDA is responsible for the back-end services that manage and deliver content after it is in the CMA.
Other features worth mentioning are:
- SEO-friendly URLs
- Online support and communities
- User/group functions
- Various templates and designs
- Installation wizards and upgrades/updates
The three most popular content management systems in the world are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two ways of hosting a WordPress site. The thing that varies with these two methods is the actual host. By using WordPress.org, you may download the script free of charge and host it yourself on a local machine or with a hosting provider. On the other hand, WordPress.com takes care of all that by hosting the site for you. You don’t have to manage a web server, pay for hosting or download software, however, ads are shown on your site.
Both WordPress.org and WordPress.com have certain pros and cons.
If you are not interested in having your own hosting or managing a web server, then WordPress.com may be the way to go. It is free and can be quickly set up. You will also have various features and options for your site’s customization. However, it comes with a price. Your website will include WordPress.com in the URL and you will not be able to upload custom themes or plugins. The ability to edit or modify PHP code behind your site will also not be possible.
Using a self-hosted version from WordPress.org provides more flexibility and control over your site. You will be able to use your own domain name, upload themes, plugins and install them. You will also have the access to your WordPress files, database, and code, meaning that you will be able to modify it according to your liking. The most popular and powerful WordPress sites are self-hosted, as it provides greater flexibility and the ability to implement custom functionalities, codes, and designs. Last but not least, in case WordPress is not the CMS for you, having your own hosting account will allow you to test other content management systems such as Drupal or Joomla.
This WordPress tutorial will focus on the self-hosted WordPress version.