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What is WordPress and how does it work?
WordPress is a “Content Management System”, or CMS for short. WordPress works by combining its core files, a database as well as files that you may add or install, like plugins and themes. WordPress allows you to manage all these components through a convenient a dashboard interface.
WordPress was first introduced in 2003 as a tool to allow users to create blogs and even websites, without the need to code them from scratch. WordPress lets you publish articles and other forms of media including images, video, etc. to a website, blog, portfolio, business website, eCommerce store, etc. In fact, WordPress was created for those who don’t know how to code at all!
In fact, WordPress was so revolutionary, it’s popularity has skyrocketed ever since to the point where it powers over 40% of all websites on the internet today, making it by far the most popular CMS in the world!
WordPress is also free and what’s called “open source”. Open source software allows anybody to study its code and write their own applications like plugins and themes for it. In addition, WordPress users can “self host” their WordPress websites or blogs almost anywhere they like.
Though if you want to self host it on the internet, you will need to pay a Web Hosting Provider to do so.
But, WordPress is so much more…
In this post, we are going to discuss WordPress and some frequently asked questions regarding how WordPress works. So you too, can see that if you are looking to create a presence on the web and make your mark, then there’s no better CMS to do it with than WordPress.
What is WordPress used for?
WordPress is used to build websites. But WordPress is so much more. You can start with a simple WordPress blog and build it into a full-fledged website with all kinds of functionality.
You can also use WordPress as a way to promote your business or create a portfolio to display your projects and work or your company’s work. You can add an ecommerce store to your WordPress blog or website and sell items from it.
You could promote your own personal products and services through your WordPress blog, website or even ecommerce store.
You can add a forum, a podcast and even add a membership only section for die hard fans and provide them with exclusive content.
But basically WordPress is used for building all kinds of websites.
How WordPress works step by step.
There are many ways that describe how WordPress works. But for this section, I’m going to briefly go over how to set up a self-hosted WordPress website on a Shared Web Hosting plan from a Web Hosting Provider.
If you are an absolute beginner, but want true flexibility and independence as well as control and affordability, then starting out with a Shared Hosting Plan is your best option.
- Pick a Domain Name and register it.
- Buy a Shared Web Hosting Plan. Follow the Hosting Provider’s instructions on pointing that domain name to your Web Host’s servers.
- Go into your Shared Hosting Plan’s Account through your Web Hosting Provider’s Dashboard.
- Go to Software (In the cPanel Dashboard, if your Web Host provides it. They usually do since cPanel is the most popular dashboard.)
- Choose WordPress.
- Go to installation and choose either the “one-click install” or “Softaculous” install.
- Follow their step by step instructions and download WordPress to your Website files.
- Sign into your WordPress Dashboard.
- Choose your Theme in the “Themes Section” of the Dashboard.
- Upload the Theme you’ve chosen.
- Go to plugins and use the search box to look for any plugins you feel you might need. Upload and activate them. If you’re not sure, don’t worry. Come back to it later when you are.
- Customize your theme.
There’s other details that I may have left out, but those are the basics.WordPress is best learned by doing.
Is WordPress good for beginners?
WordPress has gotten much easier for beginners. I know it’s certainly much easier for beginners than when I first started as a “beginner”.
With easy “one-click” installs, WordPress dashboards are getting much easier to use and customize along with more and more plugins, page builders as well as WordPress’s own block editor Gutenberg.
There’s no better time for a beginner to start and use WordPress than today.
Here’s a post that goes into more detail about WordPress and beginners, “Is WordPress easy for beginners? The real deal.”
What are the pros and cons of using WordPress?
Here’s a quick run down of my pros and cons of WordPress. This quick list isn’t exhaustive, but should give you a good idea of what to expect.
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Personally, I think the cons in this list could be considered Pros depending on how you see things.
Does WordPress require coding?
The beauty of WordPress is that it was originally created basically for bloggers who had no coding experience nor the desire to learn coding or programming, but simply wanted a platform that they owned and controlled so they could express themselves on the internet.
But in simpler terms, no, WordPress does not require any coding in order to set up a great looking and functioning website and get it on the internet.
Check out this post, “The benefits of learning WordPress. No coding necessary!” for more details on the topic.
Why is WordPress so difficult?
Everybody’s learning curve is different. Learning WordPress is as difficult or as simple as you make it.
If you’re good at following directions and taking things step by step, then WordPress isn’t so difficult.
In fact, it can be quite easy. If you have any trouble setting up your WordPress website especially for the first time, then consult some YouTube videos.
There’s plenty on the subject that can walk you through, even the very basics of setting up your own WordPress website.
How quickly can I learn WordPress?
Learning WordPress can be a lifelong endeavor since it is constantly evolving, growing and improving.
However, you can learn enough about WordPress to get a website or blog up on the internet within as little as an hour.
Is WordPress worth the money?
You can create a WordPress website that doesn’t cost a penny. There are literally thousands of free themes and plugins. You can also spend just under a hundred dollars for a great prebuilt premium theme or even thousands on a custom built theme.
So I would say, WordPress is definitely worth the money.
As someone who has purchased a premium WordPress theme for example, it is one of the best investments I’ve ever made into my WordPress website.
That theme of course is GeneratePress.
Is WordPress the best way to build a website?
WordPress is the best way to build a website. Why? Simply, it’s about freedom and control. WordPress is open source.
It was created so that individuals weren’t stuck with a bunch of closed source proprietary CMS’s that have to be hosted on one single platform.
With WordPress, you can even build a WordPress website for free on your local computer.
You can then launch it either with WordPress.com or self-host it in any number of Web Hosting Providers.
If that’s not enough to convince you that WordPress is the best way to build a website. Then think of this, again just know that WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world for a reason, powering over 40% of all websites on the internet today.
What’s the best way to learn WordPress?
The best way to learn WordPress in my opinion, is like learning anything else, by doing. You can watch a ton of YouTube videos.
You could take any number of courses online and you can visit forums specifically for WordPress users. All those are great ways to learn WordPress.
You just need to choose the best way to learn WordPress for you. But there are plenty of resources out there, both free and paid.
What language do you need for WordPress?
WordPress CMS comes in a variety and languages. Although English is the predominant language of the internet, programming etc.
You could set up your first WordPress website in your own language. Just go to WordPress.org to find out more.
What skills do you need for WordPress?
There are no specific skills you need for WordPress. Unless of course, you consider reading and reading comprehension to be necessary skills.
But you don’t need any coding skills, nor knowledge of how to run or manage the servers your WordPress website will be hosted on etc.
You just need to know how to follow directions.
Is WordPress better than coding?
WordPress is much better than coding in my opinion. Especially, if you’re not a coder.
Being a non-coder myself, WordPress and learning WordPress was crucial in order for me to create an online presence.
In fact, I’ve created several online websites all without knowing a single line of code thanks to WordPress and you can too.
Here’s a post you should check out for more details, “The benefits of learning WordPress. No coding necessary!”.
Can I learn WordPress without hosting?
You can learn WordPress without hosting. In fact, you can download WordPress for free and choose from over 8,000 themes and 50,000 plugins.
Here’s a post that explains how to do just that, “Does WordPress need hosting? Hosting and No Hosting options.”
Is it hard to be a WordPress developer?
To become a WordPress developer you obviously need to know and understand the WordPress ecosystem.
A true WordPress developer also needs to know PHP which is the language that WordPress is built upon.
Of course, knowing HTML and CSS goes without saying as well. In addition, since WordPress is using more and more JavaScript, it might be a good idea for you to learn that too.
If you have the ability and the inclination to learn all that, then it is not hard to become a WordPress developer.
Here’s a related post, “What is WordPress theme customization? DIY or Developer.”
What is the best free website builder?
The best free website builder is, of course, WordPress. That goes without saying.
Is there a free version of WordPress?
Not only is there a free version of WordPress CMS, but WordPress CMS is actually free itself.
In fact, if you would like to try out not only WordPress CMS, but having that same WordPress website hosted for free on the internet, then you can also start out with WordPress.com’s free blog plan.
This way you can get to know WordPress and see your work live on the internet. All for free.
However, if you are just interested in learning and getting to know the WordPress CMS ecosystem and interface, you can download WordPress as well as any theme or plugins you’d like to try out on your local computer as I’ve mentioned above.
If you’d like to start out right away and self-host your WordPress website from a Web Hosting Provider, you can do that for free as well.
You can download WordPress CMS, themes and plugins for free from your Web Hosting account’s dashboard through a free WordPress “one-click” install.
How does WordPress make money?
WordPress.org is a non-profit organization that was created to promote open source website creation for bloggers and other internet enthusiasts who want a presence online without having being dependent on a closed source CMS and proprietary platforms.
WordPress.com, however, is a for-profit arm of the company called Automattic. Automatic was founded by Matt Mullenweg, who was also one of the original founders of the entire WordPress ecosystem including WordPress.org.
WordPress.com and Automattic make money by providing hosting and selling other WordPress related software, products and services.
WordPress theme and plugin developers make their money from creating and selling their themes and plugins, but many usually have free versions of themes and plugins that you can use as well.
You can read a post here about how WordPress makes money and more detail, “This is how WordPress makes money and how you can too.”
Does WordPress own your content?
WordPress does not own any content you create. In fact, WordPress does not even own the theme of your website nor any of the plugins you have installed. That’s the beauty of WordPress and open source.
Is WordPress user-friendly?
WordPress is very user-friendly and was created in 2003 for bloggers, not programmers or coders.
With its quick and easy installation, easy to use dashboard, it’s themes and plugins, you will find WordPress is very user friendly.
Is WordPress good for SEO?
WordPress is great for SEO! In fact, WordPress has many different plugins that you can use to help optimize your WordPress website even more for SEO.
How do I get a free WordPress domain?
You can get a free WordPress domain by signing up for WordPress.com free blog plan. However, you should know that WordPress.com will be included with your free WordPress domain’s URL.
How do I install WordPress for free?
If you are going to get a self-hosted hosting plan from a Web Hosting Provider, you can install WordPress for free through their dashboard by using either the “One-click WordPress quick install” or “Softaculous” WordPress installation. They’re very easy to use and they are both free.
Can I create a website without hosting it?
No, you can create a WordPress website, for free, right on your own local computer without hosting.
Here’s a post which goes into more detail on how to do just that plus other options for creating a WordPress website for free, “Does WordPress need hosting? Hosting and No Hosting options.”
Should I use WordPress or make my own website from scratch?
If you are a non-coder, nor have a desire to learn programming or coding, but still want to have a great looking and functional website on the web, then you should use WordPress.
However, if you’d like to custom build your own website from the ground up, then you should make your own from scratch. He’s a post that discusses that topic more in detail, “Using WordPress vs coding from scratch. FAQs.”
Should I learn web development or WordPress?
This depends on your Website development goals and skills. Here’s a post that goes into this subject in much more detail, “WordPress vs Web Development, which is best for you? FAQs.”
How can I install WordPress?
There are a few ways to install WordPress. If you would like to work on and learn about WordPress without hosting, you can download WordPress, plus WordPress themes and plugins onto your local computer for free. Here’s a post on how to do just that, “Does WordPress need hosting? Hosting and No Hosting options.”
If you would like to have your WordPress website hosted on WordPress.com, you can download and install it directly in your WordPress.com’s hosting account’s dashboard.
If you would like to self-host your WordPress website, then you can download and install it directly in your Web Host’s dashboard as well.
Where can I get a free WordPress download?
You can get a free WordPress download either from WordPress.org, WordPress.com or any self-hosting Web Hosting Provider.
Are WordPress themes and plugins free?
Yes, there are over 8,000 free WordPress themes and over 50,000 free WordPress plugins you can use. You can find them either through your WordPress website’s dashboard’s search bars in the appropriate sections i.e “themes, plugins” or from WordPress.org.
What is WordPress and how does it work? Conclusions.
There you have it, “What is WordPress and how does it work” along with some FAQs on WordPress itself.
If you are interested in having your own website and presence on the internet plus owning that presence without being subject to any one closed source proprietary CMS or Hosting platform, the WordPress is best!
