What is WordPress? A 2024 beginner's guide

WordPress has become a household name in the world of website creation. It is an incredibly popular platform that is used to power millions of websites around the world.

Whether you are a beginner blogger just starting your online journey, a small business owner getting online, or a seasoned developer with years of experience, WordPress stands out as a platform that provides a versatile and user-friendly solution to building and managing a site.

In this article, we’ll break down the basic information you’ll need if you’re thinking of using WordPress to launch your own website.

What is WordPress?

In simple terms, WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS). It was first released in 2003 as a blogging platform but has evolved since then to become one of the most popular, fully-fledged website platforms available.

WordPress is capable of supporting a whole host of website types, including blogs, ecommerce websites, business websites, photography portfolios and much more.

It offers a flexible and extensive range of themes and plugins that make it an excellent choice for individuals and organisations looking to establish their online presence. While it might not be as simple to use as some of the best website builders, it does offer a level of customisation that is ideal for a huge number of users.

Visit our how to set up WordPress hosting or how to start a WordPress website pages for more information on how to use the platform.

WordPress features

There are a number of reasons that WordPress has become such a popular tool for building a website. In the sections below, we’ll provide more information.

Ease of use
Themes
Plugins
Community
Search engine friendly

You can click any of the options in the list above to skip ahead.

Ease of use

One of the main reasons that WordPress has become so popular is the ease of use it offers.

You don’t need to be a web developer or have coding knowledge to create or manage a WordPress site. The platform offers a simple and intuitive interface that allows users to create and edit content, customise the appearance of their theme, and add on additional functionality.

Themes

Like website builders, WordPress works on a theme-based system that enables users to change the look and layout of their sites easily.

Themes provide a range of templates and stylesheets that will automatically define the visual presentation of your site. Users can choose from thousands of options for free or can pay for Premium themes in the WordPress store that may offer something more unique.

Once selected, these themes can be customised to match the specific needs of the business or person who is building the site.

Plugins

WordPress is home to an extensive plugin architecture that allows users to improve their websites with additional features or functionality.

Plugins are sets of code created by other people that can be installed and activated on a WordPress site, extending its functionality beyond the standard, core features. There are plugins available to add every imaginable form of functionality, with a range of free and paid options available.

These plugins might be designed to add contact forms to a site, to help with search engine optimisation (SEO), to add ecommerce functionality for those building an ecommerce website, or to integrate with social media marketing platforms.

Whatever it is you need to add to your site, you can be fairly certain that a plugin will be available.

Community

WordPress boasts an active community of users and developers.

As an open-source project, WordPress benefits from contributions by a global community of developers, designers and enthusiasts too.

This community works continuously to improve the platform, addressing security concerns, designing new themes, and developing and maintaining plugins.

Additionally, the community typically provides extensive documentation to help new users, along with taking part in forums where issues can be discussed.

Search engine friendly

WordPress has been designed to be search engine friendly.

It generates clean code that followed SEO best practices. It also offers a range of automated options through plugins and themes, with your need to manually maintain functions and designs lowered.

This level of search-friendliness can help users to build websites that rank on search engines like Google.

What is WordPress? Final thoughts

WordPress is a versatile and user-friendly content management system that is used by a huge portion of the online world.

With its intuitive interface, extensive theme and plugin library and active community, WordPress enables individuals and businesses to get online with confidence.

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, WordPress will offer the tools and resources you need to bring your online platform to life.

Bryn Glover

Bryn is the founder and editor of WebsiteJumpStart. He has worked in the digital field for over a decade and was editor for Startups.co.uk - the UK's leading small business website - and for NerdWallet UK before launching WebsiteJumpStart to help people and businesses get online with ease.

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