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Is WordPress a programming language?
WordPress is not a programming language, but a content management system or CMS. However, WordPress is written in PHP, which its core programming language. As a result, almost all WordPress themes and plugins, are also written in PHP as well.
But, WordPress is so much more than any language or content management system.
WordPress is an ecosystem that enables practically anyone to create a website and have a presence on the internet.
WordPress by some estimates powers up to 40% of all websites on the internet today.
Although more accurately put, WordPress realistically powers between 29% and 40% of all websites on the web today, depending on the company or organization that has compiled the statistics
Either way, WordPress is by far the most popular content management system on the internet today. That is without question.
In this post, I’m going to talk about WordPress, the programming languages it uses as well as other related facts you should know about WordPress.
By the end of this post, you too will realize just how much more WordPress is than just a language.
What languages does WordPress support?
WordPress is built on the language called PHP.
However, to be a fully rounded WordPress developer you really need to know the four main languages that WordPress uses.
These are: the two declarative languages of HTML and CSS.
These two languages give your posts and pages the style and structure you see when it’s published.
For example, HTML and CSS is used for bolding, italics in texts as well as colors, bullet points, tables etc.
WordPress also is built using the programming language called PHP.
The fourth language of course is JavaScript which adds many functions to a WordPress website. However, the main language you really need to know is PHP.
Is coding required for WordPress?
To create a WordPress website and have it live on the internet, you do not need, nor is coding required.
Not needing to know how to code is the main attraction for most people looking to not only get a website that looks great up and running on the web, but also want the freedom and flexibility to do what they want with their theme and have a say on where that website is hosted.
However, if you want to build or develop a WordPress website or plugins from scratch, you will definitely be required to know some coding.
Even if you were to want to customize your current theme or plugin files, you will need to know coding, especially the coding that WordPress is built on, PHP.
Is it good to learn WordPress?
If you are interested in website development or if you simply want to create a website that you can have full control over, migrate to any hosting provider you like as well as give yourself the opportunity of one day, possibly selling your website, then WordPress is not only good to learn, but necessary.
Although there are other CMSs like Wix, Weebly, SquareSpace, Joomla, Drupal, Ghost etc. WordPress is still the most widely used CMS and has considerably more resources for you to build a great website with than all those other CMSs.
How difficult is WordPress?
You can’t just use WordPress right out of the box, there is a learning curve to it. However, the learning curve is not difficult.
The beauty of WordPress is you do not need to be a coder to set up a WordPress website and have it up and running on the internet within a day. Even with absolutely no website development experience.
However, as a WordPress user for over 10 years who is not a coder or developer, nor knows any programming language except possibly the very basics of HTML and CSS, which many don’t even consider to be programming languages, but that’s for another discussion. I’m still learning about WordPress.
However, I’m not the only one. There are WordPress developers who are highly skilled in coding languages like PHP and JavaScript who are still learning WordPress.
WordPress is a live ecosystem and as such, it is constantly growing and developing.
WordPress is like a breathing organism all on its own and ss such, there is always something new to learn or discover.
The beauty of WordPress though is that it is open source. So the community is very sharing of coding solutions for almost anything you want to do as well as new developments and advances in WordPress website development.
For example, in recent years WordPress came out with its own block editor called Gutenberg.
This is WordPress’s open source attempt to add the functionality of page builders to WordPress websites that are built in and free.
WordPress is constantly coming out with core updates and other developments to keep it fresh and safe.
Can I build a WordPress site without coding?
Yes, you can build a WordPress site without coding.
You can simply download WordPress onto your web host’s servers and get started.
There are thousands of WordPress themes both paid and free that you can use. You can simply download them onto your WordPress dashboard, no coding required.
You can customize the functions of your WordPress website through the use of plugins. There are well over 50,000 of them on WordPress.org. All of them have both free and paid versions.
You will find though that themes as well as plugins are much more customizable in their paid versions than in their free versions.
However, the good news is, you do not need to know coding in order to work with WordPress themes or plugins.
Can you get WordPress for free?
You can get WordPress for free on WordPress.org where you will find loads of free WordPress themes and plugins as well as tutorials.
You can also get WordPress for free from your hosting provider. Most hosting providers do have free WordPress downloads since it is the most popular CMS for websites on the internet today.
Does WordPress use HTML?
WordPress does use HTML as well as CSS.
These are basically the code scaffolding that’s used to design the look and feel of your WordPress posts and pages.
But don’t worry, you don’t need to personally use HTML or CSS unless you want to of course.
You can simply use the options in your WordPress editor to give you all the functionality of CSS and HTML without having to hard code your individual posts and pages yourself.
WordPress built-in page editor’s simply convert what you put into it into HTML and CSS automatically through their WYSIWYG editors.
Should I learn PHP for WordPress?
If you want to become a WordPress developer then you should definitely learn PHP. In fact, you really have no choice since WordPress is built on PHP.
However, if you simply want to have a WordPress website, be able to design it and include the functionalities that you’re looking for in either a professional website or a personal website, then you don’t really need to learn PHP.
WordPress themes and plugins have evolved so much that even an absolute novice can put together a pretty decent looking and well functioning WordPress website and have it self-hosted in no time with no coding skills required.
Is PHP a dead language?
Many in the programming community have declared PHP a dead language. But I find that hard to believe since there are more websites powered using PHP through WordPress than any other programming language on the internet today.
Now, PHP perhaps isn’t as flashy, glamorous or modern like Ruby, Python, Liquid or any other programming languages coming out on the scene.
But, since PHP has been around for such a long time, there are numerous things that have been built with it including huge repositories filled with code for every little thing you would want to do with a website.
In fact, PHP has literally more resources than most other programming languages today.
So, I wouldn’t be making any funeral arrangements anytime soon for PHP.
Does WordPress use Python?
WordPress does not use Python nor does it use any other programming languages except the 4 programming languages that I have mentioned in this post.
Is PHP a CMS?
PHP is not a CMS, but is a programming language. In fact, PHP is the programming language that WordPress is built upon.
What language are WordPress plugins written in?
WordPress plugins are written in PHP. However, some plugins may also contain files using JavaScript as well.
But you can’t build a WordPress plugin without PHP files.
Where can I find a WordPress programming tutorial?
You can find WordPress programming tutorials on quite a few online education platforms such as SkillShare, and Coursera.
You can also find tutorials on WordPress.org of course. YouTube is filled with WordPress programming tutorials as well.
There is literally no shortage of WordPress programming tutorials. Many are free, some are paid.
However, before you brush off the paid WordPress programming tutorials, please note that many of them are very high quality and professionally put together. They do a great job of breaking up the content into very manageable and easy steps.
Many WordPress programming tutorials on paid platforms are also reviewed and highly critiqued. So although you may save money by going the free WordPress programming tutorial route, what you sacrifice in saving money, you will give up in time.
By giving up your time, I mean you will need to sift through many, many free WordPress programming tutorial videos in order to possibly find one that resonates with you, if ever.
WordPress is much more than a language, conclusions.
As you can see WordPress is far more than just a language.
WordPress is a creative Content Management System as an entire ecosystem.
Although WordPress is built mainly on the language of PHP, it does use other ancillary languages such as JavaScript as well as HTML and CSS.
In addition, you don’t need to be a coder or know any programming languages to create a beautifully functioning WordPress website for yourself and get it up live on the internet.
WordPress was created and has evolved for bloggers as well as other content creators to have the ability to put their stake in the internet landscape.
However, if you are a developer or an aspiring developer, trying to decide which language and direction you should go into, don’t let WordPress’s age nor it’s foundation language of PHP put you off.
There’s plenty of work and plenty of creativity involved in creating and developing WordPress websites as well as plugins and other tools for the WordPress ecosystem.
You should know this, since it powers up to 40% of all websites on the internet today big and small, it’s not going anywhere soon.
