What is WordPress?

WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS), used to create and manage all kinds of websites: blogs, online stores, institutional websites, portfolios, and more, without the need for programming.

What is a CMS?

CMS stands for Content Management System: a program used to create and manage everything displayed on a website. That “everything” is the content: text, images, videos, buttons, forms, and any other element you encounter while browsing the Internet.

To work, WordPress needs two external components: a domain (the site’s address, such as misitio.com) and hosting (the server where its files are stored). You can read more in What is a domain? and What is hosting and what is it used for?.

How does WordPress work?

WordPress is written in PHP, a programming language designed to create dynamic websites. Like WordPress, PHP is open source: anyone can download and review its code.

A static website displays its content exactly as it is stored, like a Word document that always shows the same thing when opened. A dynamic website, on the other hand, gathers information from different files and builds the page when you need it. When you search for “cat” on YouTube, the platform instantly gathers the videos, titles, and descriptions related to your search: they did not exist as a single page, but were built for your query. The same happens when you visit Facebook, where the wall, stories, and advertising are generated when you access the site.

WordPress also lets you create static content, such as online catalogs, showrooms, or portfolios.

Themes: your site’s design

WordPress does not work without a Theme (also called a template). The Theme is the site’s visual presentation: its color palette, structure, and personality. A restaurant, a supply store, and a rock band’s blog do not look the same, and the Theme is what makes it possible to differentiate them.

WordPress comes with several free Themes installed, and changing Themes takes just one click. If you are not convinced by the included ones, there are thousands of free Themes to download from WordPress.org and many more paid options at a wide range of prices. The Theme you choose depends on your needs, preferences, and how much time you want to dedicate to it.

Plugins: functionality with one click

Plugins are small programs that add specific functionality to a WordPress site. There are plugins to speed up the site, filter aggressive comments or spam, measure user statistics, create custom forms, build forums for registered users, or display booking calendars.

Most of them are free (50,000 free plugins and counting), although many reserve premium features for an additional fee. A site works better when it is lightweight, so it is best to install only the plugins your site really needs.

For online stores, the most widely used plugin in the world is WooCommerce. Once you have it activated, follow the guide Guide to creating products in WooCommerce.

Widgets: ready-to-use modules

Widgets are manageable modules that you place by dragging and dropping them onto the area of the site where you want them to appear. They are usually used in sidebars and footers, but depending on the Theme or plugin, they can be placed in other areas.

WordPress comes with built-in widgets such as Categories, Tag Cloud, Navigation Menu, Calendar, Search, and Recent Posts. Many Themes add their own, and there are plugins that provide a wide variety of others: weather, Google Maps, customer reviews, or event calendars. With widgets, you can add useful functionality without touching a single line of code.

User roles: who can do what

WordPress lets you create users with different permissions so that many people can work on the same site without interfering with one another. There is always at least one Administrator, who installs and manages the site, and from there you can create as many users as you need:

• Editor: creates and edits their own content and that of other users, as well as categories and tags. They do not have access to Theme, plugin, or widget settings.

• Author: can create and publish their own Posts, but cannot modify content created by others.

• Contributor: writes content but cannot publish it; they need approval from a user with a higher role.

• Subscriber: logs in, edits only their own profile information, and accesses content reserved for registered users, without permission to modify anything.

If one person is editing content and another tries to do the same, WordPress warns them of the situation so that no one’s work is overwritten.

Pages and Posts: the two types of content

In WordPress, content is created in two ways: Posts and Pages. WordPress began as a “blog factory,” which is why Posts (articles) were its first format.

• Post: an article with a visible creation date that belongs to a Category and is organized with Tags. When published, WordPress adds it to the site’s RSS feed so subscribers receive a notification about new content. Ideal for news, launches, or current topics.

• Page: more institutional and timeless content, such as “About us,” “Website usage policies,” “Contact,” or the home page itself, which is a Page in WordPress. It does not display a date, have Tags, or belong to any Category, and it does not display sidebars.

WordPress.org and WordPress.com: two different sites

WordPress has two official sites with completely different purposes. On wordpress.com, you purchase a hosting service from WordPress itself to build the site there: by default, the address is yoursite.wordpress.com, and using a custom domain, plugins, or Themes requires payment. On wordpress.org, on the other hand, you download the platform for free with all its features.

The advantages of WordPress

• It is free and open source.

• No programming knowledge is required. With Themes, plugins, and widgets, you can build a sophisticated site without writing code.

• It adapts to phones and tablets. Most Themes are responsive: their design adapts to small screens.

• It includes a media library. You can upload photos, videos, and audio to use wherever you want, and simply pasting a YouTube link is enough for WordPress to generate the player automatically.

• It includes native comments. You decide which messages to publish, which to delete, and you can even edit them.

• It includes Gutenberg, its block editor, for designing and rearranging content by dragging and dropping elements.

• It can be optimized with plugins. For search engine optimization (SEO), there are free plugins such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and SEO PRESS; to speed up loading, there are caching plugins such as LiteSpeed Cache, and you can find more tips in How to optimize your WordPress for better performance.

• It has a huge community of users, forums, and free documentation, and Theme and plugin creators maintain their own support spaces.

• It is maintained by the WordPress Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by Matt Mullenweg, the developer behind this CMS.

How to get started with WordPress

With a Duplika hosting plan, you do not need to download or install anything: activate WordPress with one click and get to work. Follow the guide How to install WordPress easily, or build your complete site from scratch with How to create a website step by step with WordPress.

If you prefer to install it yourself, download WordPress for free from WordPress.org, upload it to your server, and run the installer by following the official installation guide.