WordPress and types of websites you can create
In the last post on what you need to build a website , I listed WordPress as the most popular CMS (Content Management System) on the Internet with 33.8% usage and 60.6% market share. In this post, I will go into the types of websites you can create with WordPress. Before then, let’s look into what WordPress is and how it came about.
WordPress is a software that powers about 34% of websites on the internet, it was designed to make it easy and straightforward for anyone to publish online contents. It focus on accessibility, performance, security and ease of use with great features and extensions for just about whatever you need your website to do. WordPress was created as an open-source software in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little, a fork from the original blog platform b2/cafelog, which was created by Michel Valdrighi. WordPress started out as a blogging platform and it has since evolved over the years into a fully-pledged CMS that powers just about any type of website.
Features
WordPress is an easy to use software with powerful features that makes it both easy and flexible to use by anyone to power any type of website as it is or customised as may be required. Some of the features that makes WordPress popular with users are:
- Simple: Just about anyone can use WordPress because of it simplicity. It is simple, easy and straightforward to install, set-up and use. Getting your brand new WordPress up and running is just a few clicks away.
- Flexibile: The flexibility that comes with WordPress lend it to be useful in various context. The same WordPress that allows you to create a blog about your latest cooking, is the same that allows you to create a cooperate website for your business, your online shop, a portfolio for your crafts, a news magazine and so many more.
- Easy to publish contents: If you have the very basic skills of creating a document using your computer, then you can publish on WordPress with ease.
- Tools for publishing: All the tools you need to publish your contents is available in WordPress, such a drafting, scheduling and publishing private or public.
- User Management : You can restrict access to your website from the admin end by giving access levels to users based on their contributions.
- Media Management: You can upload and use media contents including videos and images on your WordPress site with ease.
- Themes: This is the layer of WordPress that shapes the look and feel of your WordPress site, which also allows you to be able to use your WordPress in varied ways from ordinary blogging to a cooperate website. WordPress comes with three default themes that you can use as it is or modified for your purpose. There is also a directory of both free and premium community created themes that you can use on your WordPress site, accessible from within the dashboard. You can also create your own theme from scratch and upload it as easy as a few clicks. If you like, you can contribute your self-designed theme to the community for others to use free or paid.
- Plugins for extention: Plugins extends the features of the core WordPress for more capabilities that you may need but not already in the core WordPress application. There is an easy to use directory of plugins you can access for just about anything you might need your WordPress site to do. There are plugins for social media integration, mailing list, security and a lot more. If you have the skills, you can also develop and use your own plugins, as well as contribute to the community.
- Comments: WordPress allows your website visitors to contribute to your website blog by posting their comments to facilitate community building and networking, which is essentials nowadays.
- SEO: WordPress is Search Engine Optimisation ready and you can enhance this with plugins.
- Easy installation and upgrade: It is very easy and straightforward to install and upgrade WordPress on your server by uploading with FTP or using a one-click install service provided by most hosting service providers. You can also upgrade to the latest version of WordPress right from inside of the dashboard with a click.
- Import contents from other platforms: If you are currently using a different platform for your blog or website and wish to migrate to WordPress, it is easy to do this through the importer feature of WordPress. You can move contents from blogger, Typepad, plone, drupal, magneto, static html website and many more. You can also move from WordPress to WordPress for reasons, such as migrating to a different hosting service.
- Your Data is yours: With a self-hosted WordPress site, you own your website, data and contents with full control and access.
- Secure and reliable: WordPress is very secure and reliable out of the box and this security can be enhanced easily with various security plugins available from the plugins directory, free to use or paid.
- Mobile friendly: Majority of the people these days access the Internet through their mobile phone, right out of the box, WordPress is mobile friendly and there is also a WordPress mobile app you can download to access your WordPress Website on the go, create and publish your contents.
- Easy customisation: When it comes to customisation, WordPress gives you a free hand to do this, you can customise the look and feel of your WordPress site as much as you like just as you can customise the core functions with plugins to meet your specific goals.
- Community: WordPress is supported by communities of developers and users who contribute to making the software the most popular open-source CMS on the web. Anyone can contribute to the efforts of the community by volunteering in the capacity that suit their interest and skills.
- Technology: WordPress was developed with PHP and MySQL. To use WordPress as your web platform you will need a web server that supports PHP and MySQL or MariaDB with Apache and Nginx servers recommended as the best. You will need the server to support PHP version 7.3 or later, MySQL version 5.6 or later or MariaDB version 10.1. You can always request these requirements from your web hosting service provider before you make a purchase to be sure.
- Open source: WordPress is free and open-source software licensed under the GPL from the Free Software Foundation with four core freedoms as follows:
- Freedom to use the software for any purpose.
- Freedom to change the software to suit your needs.
- Freedom to share and redistribute the software.
- Freedom to share the changes you make.
Types of websites you can create with WordPress
With all the features listed above, WordPress is a very versatile software that can support just about any type of website you might need.
- Blog: WordPress was originally a blog platform but has since continually evolved over the years with features that makes it more than a blog. There are many different types of blogs that lend itself to the power of WordPress, from personal and travel blogs to corporate and professional blogs. Blog website that uses WordPress among thousands of others include Microsoft Europe Policy Blog, The Bloggess, a blogging platform by an American journalist, author and blogger, and TED blog, Facebook newsroom, The 4 Hour Work Week , a blog by Tim Ferriss that teaches about productivity, Etsy blog.
- Business and Corporate website: Many companies are building their corporate websites on the WordPress platform such as Ogilvy & Mather South Africa, an advertising agency based in South Africa, The New York Times, a newspaper publisher based in New York, Marks & Spencer for Business, a UK based High-Street brand, Tilda Rice, a worldwide Rice brand. The UK national archive website.
- E-commerce website: WordPress lend itself to a very robust and versatile e-commerce platform for just about any online shopping you may need both for physical and software products. Some e-commerce website built on WordPress are Entrepreneur Book store from the famous Entrepreneur website we love to learn from. Bata, a well known brand reserved for quality-made shoes drives its e-commerce website with WordPress.
- Educational websites: Many online courses and Educational websites are powered by WordPress due to it being robust, versatile and scalable. Examples are: Smithsonian National Museum of African Art , private educational institution that promote cross-cultural understanding in the social sciences and arts. University of Washington, a research University based in the USA. Skillcrush, provides online classes in web design, coding, and other super marketable digital skills.
- News and Magazine websites: WordPress is a perfect plaform to run a Newspaper and Magazine website like the famous wired websites with news and update on the latest technologies and trends in the Tech world. Techcrunch, another Technlogy news website is also powered by WordPress. Fortune is a multinational business magazine published and owned by Time Inc. Vogue, provides the latest news on beauty and fashion, all powered by WordPress.
- Non-profit and Foundations website: If you run a non-profit or foundations, WorldPress is perfect to power your webiste with various tools and features to enhance your reach and functions to meet your goals. Examples of organisation’s website powered with WordPress are Economic Policy Institute, an American non-profit think tank. Platform, works on projects that push for social & ecological justice.
- Membership website: Membership websites allow you to section off a part of your website for members only. Users will need to register and login in before they can have access to the membership section of your website. This allows you to charge users for access or just to make it exclusive to build a community for your niche online. A good example for this is Solo Practice University, a premium membership site for educational and professional networking community for lawyers and law students.
In conclusion, WordPress CMS is very powerful, popular, flexible, secure, reliable and trusted by well known big brands around the world. It is used extensively to power about 34% of websites on the Internet. WordPress can power almost any type of website you might want to create not limited to the list above, among others are real estate, portfolio, photography, job board, pod-casting and business directories just to name a few. Webhostville Services provides WordPress website service, don’t hesitate to contact us for your next website powered by WordPress. You can also order for your hosting service here.