In the past, to create a website or a blog one would hire a professional but not anymore. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that helps one to host and create websites or blogs easily. It was developed by WordPress foundation in 2003. Most of the websites on the internet are powered by WordPress. WordPress is also used in different areas these days such as e-commerce stores, resumes, portfolios, business websites, etc.
Types of WordPress:
1.Wordpress.com-It is a web hosting company which allows one to set up a website for free but they won’t get the ownership for their website , have options to use advanced features or monetize their website.
2.WordPress.org- It is self-hosting and provides advanced customisation and monetisation opportunities to the user by paying a certain amount to WordPress.
Some key elements of WordPress to create a website are:
1.Posts– Posts are one of the most important element of WordPress as it is used to create all types of content.A writer spends most of the time in this section if they like to write on regular basis.On the WordPress dashboard menu, the ‘Posts’ option is there which when clicked has options such as All posts, Add New, Categories and Tags. With the help of these options,a writer can create any post they wish to.
2.Pages– The ‘Pages’ on WordPress are a lot like the posts in a number of ways. Posts can be used for any timely or regular content such as news, image galleries, articles, etc while Pages are mainly for static or timeless content that is unlikely to change regularly such as ‘About us’ page, information about a company or one of their products,etc
3.Media- For a content writer text is the most important thing and to enhance his writing or posts they make use of images, audio, videos, etc which are stored in the ‘Media’ section
4.Themes- The appearance of a site is very important and how it looks on the front depends on themes. Users can apply a theme by simply going to Appearance> Themes. One can find free themes in the WordPress theme dictionary too.
5.Plugins- Plugin is a part of software which one can install even with no technical knowledge.This element helps the users add more functions to their websites easily even for someone who has no knowledge of programming. Some hosting plans offer bundled-in plugins e.g DreamHost WordPress plans which help speed up one’s site. Free plugins are added from the dashboard by clicking on “Add New”, select “Install Now'” to add the plugin and click “Activate”.
6.Comments- This element helps the owner of a website to maintain a conversation with the visitors. Visitors leave their comments in the comment text box for the posts. Comments can also be disabled for any post or blog by the user.
7.Users- A site is nothing without a user. A user is a person who has access to the WordPress site. Every user has a profile along with their personal information and credentials. The user also has a role to play. They decide what each person is supposed to do on the site. For example an Administrator has complete access to doing things like posting content, installing plugins, changing the theme, etc whereas a Subscriber has the liberty to only view and manage their own profile information.
Creating a website was not an easy task for someone who was not well-versed with technology. People would look for experts to do it but with the help of WordPress anybody can create their own website , write their content and promote their business. Users can begin by using the free version and once they learn about it thoroughly they can also opt for the paid version to monetize their work. It is very popular as it is the easiest and powerful blogging and website builder in today’s time . It gives flexibility and offers a wide range of features to the user to create the kind of website they want. WordPress has not only given a platform to the common users to express their views through blogs,articles and thus reach out to the world but it also helps one to earn a good income by monetising their website.