What is WordPress?
I gave a talk recently at a WIRE (Women in Rural Enterprise) event in Telford and several people asked me this question.
So here is the answer.
WordPress is a framework used by business people and web designers to create websites. These websites can include an integrated blog if required.
This framework is actually made up of some files, referred to as the “core” and a database. These files have HTML, PHP and CSS code in them if you are interested. it is a MySQL database – some people will want to know that too.
Database
Why have a database I can hear others saying? Well, WordPress can be used to create dynamic websites where what you show on it changes. So, on a WordPress website when a new page is added the text and images are stored in the database. To do this the information or data needs to be stored in an orderly manner in the database.
The database feature of WordPress means that what you have access to is a content management system or CMS for short. So, you can create, edit, delete and manage digital content with a WordPress website. This means that less technical people can manage the content on their websites without have to call upon their web designer every minute of the day.
Small business owners like using WordPress as it means they can get a basic website up and running themselves without have to do any programming.
Web designers use WordPress as the foundations for more feature-rich web sites. I use WordPress as it saves me from reinventing the wheel each time I create a new website. And as an added bonus, it means that my customers can make changes to text and images for themselves when they need to.
Which WordPress version is right for you?
There are two versions of WordPress and this does cause some confusion:
wordpress.com
- Your website can be hosted here
- The maintenance is done for you
- It is free to start with very basic features
- You can pay extra for a few extra features
- Other features are not available
- Your website will have adverts on it (you can pay to remove them)
wordpress.org
- You need to arrange your own web hosting, or your web designer will do that for you
- It is still free
- You have full control over the software and the website
- Extensive documentation and community forum for help
- You can have as many features are you want or need. Some will be free, others will have a small premium
- There is a large group of web developers working to make it better for your business
- You can upload your own template, or theme as they are called in the WordPress world
A website on the basic wordpress.com plan is the cheapest option open to you to get started online particularly if you don’t mind not having your own domain name (www.wickedspider.com for instance).
If you want a website with all the bells and whistles, unlimited space for your images and videos and without advertising then a site built on the framework from wordpress.org is by far the most cost effective.
Ultimately you and your web designer would have full control of a website built from wordpress.org and limited control over what you can do on wordpress.com.
Who uses WordPress?
WordPress websites account for approximately 25% of the market share (updated in Feb 2023 – 43% of all websites use WordPress). This makes WordPress way ahead of its competitors as the framework of choice for websites.
Are you still asking “What is WordPress”?
Should you use WordPress?
If you wake up one morning and decide you want to start a business and have a shoestring budget for marketing then start off with the free plan on wordpress.com and get a blog going at least. If you wake up that morning and have £300-500 (updated 2023 – £1500) in the marketing budget then come and ask me to make your website for you -being cheeky I know.
And Why is WordPress Good for your Business?
Scalability.
I’ve never met a business owner who doesn’t want to get bigger – not them personally, but you know what I mean. And scalability is why WordPress is good, no great for your business – it is a framework that is built with growth in mind. You can start off with a small website with basic features and as your business grows and you want to do more online WordPress can accommodate you.
So, what is WordPress? It is the business owner’s best friend. It’s certainly mine.
If you want to know more let me know.
