If you want to become a blogger or you need a website, you have come to the right place! The first thing you need to know is – what is WordPress.
Today, everyone can have their own space of the Internet. To achieve this, you need to rent space, come up with a name and learn how to make a site. You can always pay a web designer to make it, but why not learn how to do it yourself?
What can you do?
With the right software, you can create a simple blog site or a demanding portal – it all depends on you and your wishes. WordPress provides this kind of flexibility. It sure is an important item when it comes to working on the site. It is a CMS software. People are using it to create and manage websites. But, why is it important for the functioning of the site?
Content Management System (CMS) software is used to edit the look and content of a site. In other words, a CMS allows you to create and publish pages on your site. There are several types of this program, and the most popular are: Joomla, Drupal and WordPress.
WordPress is popular because it is extremely easy to use. Yet, this is one of the many good features that make many people choose this CMS. Many large companies, such as Facebook, Disney, BBC, Mercedes-Benz, Vogue and many others, use WordPress (WP) for their sites. They use it because of its characteristics. If you want to check if a site uses WP, you can check it through the IsItWP page.
Still, there are two existing WordPress under the same name, but have different options. What exactly is this about?
Two types of WordPress – which to choose
Although it seems a bit confusing, there are two existing WordPress. They are quite different when it comes to their capabilities. One is wordpress.com, the other is wordpress.org. In the first case, it is an online platform, while the second option is CMS.
The first option – wordpress.com – offers a quick solution where you do not need to choose hosting or register a domain name. Although this seems to be a simpler solution, it contains a lot of limitations that prevent more serious work. If you want to have all the options offered by WordPress for your site, then wordpress.org is the right choice.
In this case, there are no restrictions. You can dedicate yourself to content creation, SEO optimization, advertising, etc. It takes a few steps to get to a functional site. The complete process is not complicated. This ease of use is one of the main reasons why this CMS is the most popular in the world.
Why WordPress is the most popular CMS?
WordPress is easy to use and flexible enough to be used for a variety of purposes. It was created with the idea of making things easier for bloggers. The further development has enabled the implementation of features required by sites with specific purposes. Given that 34% of sites in the world use WordPress, it is clear that this is the most popular CMS in the world. There are many reasons for this:
Content control
All material you use on the site is located on the server you have leased. Thus you have maintaining complete control of the content. Although you may think that this is implied, if you use e.g. wordpress.com, these options are not possible. In that case, you are a guest on someone else’s site. There you are on only one subdomain with limited space and opportunities for work.
SEO-friendly
To be able to put in place SEO strategies, it is necessary that the CMS platform offers the possibility of implementing certain add-ons. This is exactly the case with WordPress, where it is possible to control all aspects of the site. Applying SEO rules using plugins in this case provides the ability to rank the site at the very top of searches on the Internet.
Site responsiveness
Special attention is paid to the behavior of the site on mobile devices. Also it is the speed of page opening. This is very important because an enormous number of users use mobile devices to surf the Internet. In this case, it is crucial how the site behaves on “small screens”, whether it is viewed, clear to use and how fast the pages load.
Modifiability
Although millions of people use this software, thanks to many plugins and themes, your site can have a unique look and feel. Using already created themes (which are easy to install), you can completely change the look of the site. Depending on your needs, you can install various add-ons that will enrich the site’s capabilities. Best of all, these supplements and themes can be purchased completely free of charge.
Easy to use
You don’t have to be a professional web designer to create a website. Even a relative beginner can create a functional site. Advanced features, of course, always need extra knowledge.
It’s free
WordPress is an open-source project, which means it’s free to use and change. This means that no one is preventing you from installing it and starting to change things in the code itself. The only thing you will have to pay for is hosting and domain registration.
How to install WordPress?
Before your site can be up and running, you need to get a few things. To get started, you need to register your domain. Often with the same hosting companies you can register the site on the international .com domain, but also on many others.
The next step is to provide hosting for the site. This way, you choose on which server your site will be located. Then, how much space you will get and what additional options you get with it. For example e-mail accounts, technical support, free WordPress installation, SSL certificate. Hosting is usually paid annually.
Once you have provided hosting and registered a domain name, it remains for you to perform WordPress installation techniques. You can do this manually – by downloading the file from the official WP site or automatically. The second case is much more common and easier. Many hosting providers offer the possibility of quick installation by clicking on the icon.
After these techniques you will find the WordPress interface. The first step will definitely be to choose a theme that will suit your needs. Next is installing plugins, adding content to the site, and its SEO optimization. After all the vicissitudes, you will find a fully functional site that will meet all your expectations. You can find out more details about installing WordPress in our article How to make a website.
What are WordPress themes?
To make your site more user-friendly and easy to use, you need to decide what it will look like. This is solved with the help of WordPress themes, which often are free. This is not about an attractive look, but by choosing a theme you determine the functionality of the site.
For example, if your site is an online store, you need to choose a theme that contains e-commerce solutions. So, if you are creating a personal blog, then you will want it to be clear as soon as you arrive on the site. Themes are graphic and functional solutions created by various authors around the world.
Some offer their solutions for free, while others want to pay for their efforts. There are a lot of free options. But, for a more serious job it is still better to pay for the theme. You often pay for technical support and this way you will pay updates too. You can find a large number of themes on Theme Forest. It is one of the largest sources of quality WordPress themes.
You can always create a theme yourself, in collaboration with a graphic designer. He will create a visual part according to your ideas. You will need a web designer, who will implement these graphic elements as you imagined. If it is a large and specific project, this is a great option. Keep in mind that a theme is free (or costs ten dollars), while creating from scratch can cost you at least a few hundred dollars.
What are WordPress plugins?
In order to make the CMS as functional as possible, we recommend you to install plugins. These are applications that offer additional options to WordPress. Some are necessary, so it is often assumed that you will install them at the very beginning. These are Akismet, which is an effective spam filter, and Yoast SEO, which helps with Search Engine optimization.
Some other plugins will make it easier for you to manipulate images. Some to make it easier to create questionnaires. Next to connect to social networks, and implement Google Analytics services. This way you get new important functionalities of the site completely free or with (small) fee. It is definitely cheaper than the option to create the application yourself.
Learn to use it like a pro!
To better understand what WordPress is and how to make the most of it, learning PHP is a good choice. To fully understand how WordPress works and its capabilities, you need to know CSS and HTML.
Of course, you don’t have to understand these languages to use WordPress even at an advanced level. If you want to be a professional developer of sites, themes and plugins, you need to have some knowledge. The first step can be e.g. WordPress course, which will open the door to web design. This way, you will not only know what WordPress is. You will be able to dedicate yourself professionally to this profitable area.
It all depends on whether you want to know more about this CMS to make it easier to use it as a content creator (blogger, journalist, or copywriter). Or, you want to dedicate yourself to creating sites and applications. Whatever you decide, WordPress is there to make your job easier and be a great business partner. It is up to you to steer your career in the right direction and achieve a successful career by doing business online.