WordPress – Everything you always wanted to know.

What is wordpress?

WordPress is an open source website and blog management tool that is extremely popular right now.  WordPress was first released as a blogging tool in 2003, and has since evolved into a full featured content management system with amazing functionality. It is coded in .php and runs on a mySql database, which means it is compatible with virtually any web hosting service.

What are the benefits of using wordpress to manage your website?

The biggest benefit of any open source software application is that there is a massive community of developers working continually to improve and expand the platform. In addition, most open source software (like wordpress) are free-of-cost to anyone who wants to use them. What this means in the case of wordpress is that there are literally thousands of free templates available on which to build a website. The only cost for anyone who wants to use wordpress to manage their site is to have a wordpress developer design and customize a template so it works for you.

WordPress also benefits from an active community of plug-in developers. Plug-ins are small software packets that extend the functionality of the platform. For example, if you want to have a calendar function on your site, there is a plug-in that will allow you to easily implement it. If you want an image gallery, contact form, or survey, there are plug-ins that allow that to happen. In addition there numerous back-end plug-ins that can help ensure that you’re ranking on search engines (like google, msn, or yahoo). A wordpress developer can help you choose which plug-ins are best for your website.

Are there any drawbacks?

Worpress is not appropriate for every website. Sites that are extremely complex with custom applications and and large numbers of pages might not be the best fit. Also, worpress sites are extremely flexible as far as custom designs, but certain designs might not be right for this platform. A qualified wordpress developer can help you evaluate if it’s a good choice for your website.

For information on how to get a customized worpress site at a great value check out my forum post on SmallerIndiana.