WordPress is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

More simply, WordPress is what you use when you want to work with your blogging software, not fight it.

WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on hundreds of thousands of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

The GPL from the Free Software Foundation is the license that the WordPress software is under.

The WordPress platform is easily adaptable to all types of websites, from blogs to e-commerce storefronts. Here’s what you need to know about the world’s most popular Content Management System (CMS).

If you want to create a successful website, you’ll need to start with the best platform you can find. This is easier said than done — since there are so many options available for building your new site, it can be hard to know what platform to choose.

While there’s no one perfect platform, WordPress comes very close. It’s easily adaptable to all types of sites, from simple blogs to booming e-commerce storefronts. The benefits of using WordPress are numerous, and it’s surprisingly easy to get started with.

While WordPress was originally designed for blogs, it’s now suitable for all kinds of websites. In fact, it powers over 28 percent of all sites on the internet. You can use it to create business sites, online portfolios, e-commerce stores, and much more. For a clearer picture of what WordPress can do, check out some of the biggest and most popular sites made with it.

Before we move on, let’s address one common point of confusion. There is a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com is a website that allows you to create a site using the WordPress software on their site, and is good to practice and learn with. You can create a site online for free at WordPress.com. WordPress.org supports people who use the software you can download and use to create your site, which will require your own web hosting and domain name. Installing your own copy of WordPress on your own domain name and your own hosting  is a more flexible and powerful platform. You have total control over everything this way.

WordPress.com has some restrictions. As they should. They have to protect their site and their servers so they limit plugin use and other enhanced features you can use on your own hosting.

It is always better to get your own hosting account and buy your own domain name than to go with the free version on WordPress.com

But… I do tell my clients if they want to practice and learn the basics for free before they take that next step, sign up for a free blog/website on WordPress.com

You can always export your content to your new self hosted site later.

If you need help getting started, let me know.

I can help you with your domain name, website hosting and installing and setting up your WP website.

Just fill in my pre-planning form, or send me an email.

Pre-Planning Sheet