WordPress is a content management system, meaning that users can build websites with its help. The project started back in 2003 as a collaboration between Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. Since it is an open-source system, many contributors have helped it to become one of the most popular CMSs that it is now.
WordPress has become so widely used since:
- it is free
- users need from no to minimum programming knowledge to create a website
- if website owners need more features on the website, they can always use a variety of plugins that will do the magic for them
- themes (website templates) may be free or paid, based on how complex, high-loading, and well-designed you want the website to be. Free themes are still working though
- it takes little time to create a website
- WordPress websites are SEO-friendly, meaning they rank higher in search results
- the maintenance of the WordPress website is easy: you will receive all the notifications about new versions and an update management system is already built-in
As for now, there are 64 million websites that use WordPress which is more than 35% of all websites. Fortune 500 companies use this content management system as well, for example, Microsoft (Microsoft News Centre), Sony (PlayStation.Blog, Sony Music), Target (Pulse by Target), The Walt Disney Company, etc.
WordPress can be used to create blogs, business websites, eCommerce websites, eLearning websites, or job boards.
