WordPress.com is a hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that allows you to create a website using WordPress building blocks. With more than 38% of all websites on the internet being created with WordPress, it's clear that the platform can be used to create almost any type of site you need. So, what is WordPress? In essence, it's the simplest and most popular way to create your own website or blog. In fact, WordPress powers more than 43.0% of all websites on the internet.
Yes, more than one in four websites you visit is likely to be built with WordPress. On a slightly more technical level, WordPress is an open source content management system (CMS) licensed under GPLv2, which means that anyone can use or modify the WordPress software for free. A CMS is basically a tool that makes it easy to manage important aspects of your website, such as content, without needing to know anything about programming. The end result is that WordPress makes creating a website accessible to anyone, even non-developers. Many years ago, WordPress was primarily used for creating blogs rather than more traditional websites. However, that's no longer the case.
Thanks to changes in the core code and the huge ecosystem of WordPress plugins and themes, you can now create any type of website with WordPress. To get started with self-hosted WordPress, all you need to do is buy web hosting and a domain name. If you're looking for fast, secure, and easy-to-develop hosting for your customers' sites, Kinsta provides plenty of tools and a powerful control panel. Check out our plans!WordPress was originally created as a collaboration between Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. But today it is made by a large community of contributors and has become the most popular solution for creating any type of website - with more than 43.0% of all websites on the internet using WordPress, including entities such as the White House and Microsoft. One of the biggest benefits of WordPress is that it's free and open source software.
While you'll have to pay a little for hosting, you'll never have to pay just to use WordPress software - which isn't the case with alternatives like Squarespace. WordPress is great because it allows you to create virtually any type of website - from a blog to an e-commerce store - and your website can also evolve with you. Still not convinced that WordPress is the best way to create a website? Read this post for a deeper look at ten of the best reasons to use WordPress. If you want to create any type of website with WordPress, you just need to find the right theme or plugin to help you do it (more on that later). For most beginners, I think a managed WordPress hosting company is the best option as they provide specialized support for WordPress, daily website backups, website security, WordPress updates, and more. You can customize your WordPress website using many themes and templates - each containing a multitude of layouts, formatting styles, colors, fonts, and other visual options.
There are also several useful plugins available - such as those for improving SEO, addressing spam, automating website backups, improving website security, integrating social media, adding contact forms, inserting pricing tables - as well as Google Analytics software. Installing this plugin will add a lot of what you need to build a store and sell products through WordPress. Developers can also use tools such as WPScan, WordPress Auditor, and 0PC0DeFR's WordPress Split Framework to analyze potential vulnerabilities. Use online support for any questions or concerns you may have when creating or using your website.
If you're new to WordPress, you might be confused by the fact that there are two versions located under different domain names. Finally, there are several maintenance tasks that should be done regularly in order to keep your site running smoothly - but managed WordPress hosting companies take care of most of these administrative tasks for you.
