WordPress. What is it? Why does it matter?

You don’t have to look far to realise that WordPress is one of the most popular ways to build a website.

According to W3techs WordPress powers 34.5% of all websites. This makes it the largest website platform currently available, and in fact powers tens of millions more than it’s nearest competitor.

But what makes it so popular?

WordPress is an open-source content management system licensed under GPLv2, which means that anyone can use or modify the software for free.

A content management system (CMS) is basically a tool that makes it easier to manage important aspects of your website. So creating a website with a CMS speeds up the development and maintenance of your website dramatically, saving both time and money.

Plus on the other hand, because it is open source that makes it far more versatile than website builders. This means that your website can have far more features than you could ever think of, and because of the massive support out there for WordPress, adding these features could be simpler than you think.

So just what types of websites can you make with WordPress?

Originally, it was designed to create blogs, rather than more traditional websites. But thanks to development on the core code, as well as a massive support community, WordPress can create any type of website.

It is even one of the most popular ways to make an e-commerce website!

From simple web displays to complex takeaway ordering systems the sky is really the limit. See some of our recent projects

How does it do this?

The clever people that created this system have allowed you to install things called themes and plugins.

Themes can change the whole design and functionality of your website whereas plugins usually only add more specific features.

This means that without any knowledge of programming you can buy the features you need through these themes and plugins.

Note of caution: It is best practice to use high quality/premium plugins as others are generally unsupported and may break your website.

Do only lots of small businesses use WordPress?

Many feel that WordPress is only for lower traffic websites and not for the big players.

See some of the top websites using WordPress, you’ll realise just how powerful it is:

Microsoft

Angry Birds

Mercedes-Benz

BBC America

And far more!

Are you ready to create your first WordPress website?

Take a look at our WordPress Hosting plans and start creating the website you’ve always dreamed of today.