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WordPress is a CMS (Content Management System).
It allows you to publish and manage content on a website, without using a single line of code.
A CMS makes website creation accessible to all users, whatever their knowledge in development, web design or SEO for example.
Setting up a portfolio, an online store, a web portal, a blog or an online presence for any project becomes within the reach of any user, thanks to the use of a CMS.
62.8% of sites designed with a CMS use WordPress, or 43.3% of sites worldwide.
WordPress is the most popular CMS on the market. As you’ll see in the following lines, there are several reasons for this.
If originally, WP (as it is often abbreviated), was created to design blogs, it is largely its scalability and flexibility that make its current strength. Indeed, it is now possible to do everything with WordPress, thanks to a wide range of plugins that allow you to add almost all the features you might need on your site.
On the design side, the wide range of available themes and the page builders allow you to design advanced layouts and give your website the look you had in mind.
Overview
What are the features of WordPress?
- Creating and publishing content (two types of publications exist in WordPress: pages and posts).
- Classification of content, using categories and tags.
- Media management (image, video, audio).
- Comments management under publications.
- Customization of the design, through the installation and configuration of a theme.
- User management: several roles exist, with different access rights (administrator, editor, author, contributor, subscriber).
And to go further, WordPress allows you to add additional features through the installation of plugins.
Why build a website on WordPress?
- WordPress is free and open source (meaning that anyone can access and contribute to its code).
- It is easy and quick to install (it takes only 5 minutes to install, according to its official website).
- WordPress is a flexible solution:
- You can design any kind of site with it, and your site can evolve according to your needs (you can for example add a forum by using a plugin, transform it into a multilingual site if you want to diversify your audience, or manage a multisite network, etc.).
- A large choice of plugins exists to add the features you need.
- WP also offers a larger choice of themes than other CMS. Being more popular than its competitors, it is mainly on it that theme editors focus.
- Updates are available frequently, as many people are working on the constant improvement of WP and the associated tools (themes and plugins).
- Because of its popularity, WP has a very large and active community, present all over the world. In this sense, if you encounter a bug or any other problem with your site, it will be easier for you to get a quick solution from other users for example.
How to find help for your WordPress site?
If you need a hand with your site, you can look for solutions:
- In posts, tutorials and videos for example.
- In the WordPress documentation, or the themes and plugins you use.
- On forums or Slack.
- By contacting the support provided with the tools you use.
- By contacting a WordPress specialist.
Discover 100+ must-have tools for WordPress sites builders in this resource.
WordPress.com or WordPress.org: which version of WordPress to choose?
During your wanderings in the beautiful world of WordPress, you have probably already come across these two different sites, but with identical domain names.
WordPress.org and WordPress.com refer to two different ways of using the CMS:
- WordPress.com is a hosting platform, where you can create your site online. You can install a theme and publish content, but all technical aspects will be managed directly by the platform. A free package exists, but it is naturally limited. To add features to your site, you’ll have to pull out your wallet.
- WordPress.org is the free and open source software to install on your server or computer. If you use it, all you have to invest in is hosting and a domain name (or even advanced features, depending on your needs).
To know which version to choose, please read our dedicated post.
When was WordPress created?
Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, WordPress didn’t become the #1 CMS in a snap. The story of WordPress began like other well-known stories in the web world, with talented and passionate young people with dreams.
These young people are Matt Mullenweg, an American developer with a passion for jazz, and Mike Little, a British developer, who launched the first version of WordPress, 0.7, on May 27, 2003.
Version 1.0 of WordPress was released in January 2004. It was named “Davis” in honor of the trumpet player Miles Davis. From that point on, Matt Mullenweg decided to name all major versions of WordPress after famous jazz musicians.
To learn more about the WordPress success story, check out our dedicated page.
A large and diverse community
Thanks to its popularity, WordPress gathers a large community of users, on 5 continents. This community participates in updating and translating it, and meets regularly at various events to share their knowledge and passion for the open source tool.
Like WordPress, these events are often free, or at prices accessible to all. They bring together personalities and companies that are making a difference in the WordPress ecosystem through their contributions.
Get to know these people just below.
People
- Matt Mullenweg: co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic.
- Syed Balkhi: creator of the WPBeginner website and Awesome Motive, who publishes many popular WordPress products.
- Joost de Valk: creator of the Yoast SEO plugin.
- Chris Lema: famous blogger and speaker.
- Cory Miller: founder of the iThemes store and owner of Post Status, a community of WordPress professionals.
Companies
- Automattic: the company that contributes the most to WordPress
- Awesome Motive: the company behind many WP products (OptinMonster, WPForms, MonsterInsights, SeedProd, etc.)
- Yoast: the company behind the number 1 WordPress SEO plugin, Yoast SEO
- Elementor: the most popular page builder editor
- Brainstorm Force: the creators of the famous Astra theme and other WordPress plugins.
Events
- WordCamps are the reference events dedicated to WordPress, organized on a national or international scale, where participants attend conferences and can contribute to the software.
- Meetups are regularly organized so that people who love the CMS can meet and talk about it.
- There are also online summits, such as the Page Builder Summit (dedicated to page builders), WPMRR (focused on business and generating monthly recurring revenue with WP) or WooSesh (a summit dedicated to WooCommerce).
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Design easily the look and feel of your WordPress website with the famous page builder.
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WordPress facts and figures
43.3%
of websites use WordPress worldwide
62.8%
of websites with a CMS use WordPress
23.8%
of WordPress websites use WooCommerce
21.2%
of WordPress websites use Elementor
More statistics about WordPress
- The latest version (6.5) is used by 52% of WordPress sites and has been downloaded 47,135,079 times.
- 35% of the 100,000 most popular websites run on WordPress. Among its most prestigious users are: The White House, The New Yorker, TED, etc.
- In total, 12,146 themes and 59,568 plugins are offered on the official directory.
- The term “wordpress” is searched about 2.3 million times per month on search engines worldwide.
- Version 6.5 has been translated into 131 languages.
The different versions of WordPress
In order to offer new features and improvements, several new versions of WordPress are released each year.
Make sure you always install the latest version to ensure optimal security and the latest features and improvements.
The frequency of new releases also allows the number one CMS to evolve with new practices and user requests.
To date, 6 major versions of WordPress have been released, as well as 49 minor versions.
Each major version of WordPress is named after a jazz artist, except for version 0.7.
Glossary
- Major release: adds new features.
- Minor release: fixes existing bugs and makes small improvements.
- Beta: temporary version, made available to users who wish to test it in order to correct it and make it stable before its official release.
- Release Candidate: often abbreviated “RC”, this version is more complete than the beta, but still contains some bugs to be fixed. In the release process, it is located between the beta and the final version.
What are the latest versions of WordPress?
| Version | Name | Release date | Downloads |
| 6.5 | Regina | 04/02/2024 | 46M |
| 6.4 | Shirley | 11/07/2023 | 123M |
| 6.3 | Lionel | 08/08/2023 | 92M |
| 6.2 | Dolphy | 03/28/2023 | 111M |
| 6.1 | Misha | 11/01/2022 | 110M |
| 6.0 | Arturo | 05/24/2022 | 138M |
| 5.9 | Josephine | 01/25/2022 | 126M |
| 5.8 | Tatum | 07/20/2021 | 136M |
| 5.7 | Esperanza | 03/09/2021 | 94M |
| 5.6 | Simone | 12/08/2020 | 80M |
| 5.5 | Eckstine | 08/11/2020 | 103M |
Where to download WordPress?
So, are you convinced by the power of the number 1 CMS on the market? To download the latest version of WordPress, click down here:
You may have heard about the famous 5-minute installation, praised by WordPress.
I can tell you: it’s not just a marketing argument, it’s true. It’s even faster with the automatic installation offered by most hosting companies!
That said, there are several ways to install the CMS:
- With your host
- Manually
- Locally (on your computer)
We detail the three processes step by step in our WordPress installation guide.
Your best WordPress projects need the best host!
WPMarmite recommends Bluehost: great performance, great support. All you need for a great start.
Try Bluehost
How to create a website with WordPress?
If you are new to website creation, WPMarmite can help you create your first WordPress website. This will work regardless of the type of site (showcase, portfolio, blog…) and the industry.
To do this, you will need to follow 5 steps:
- Get a domain name and hosting.
- Install and set up WordPress.
- Add and edit content.
- Customize the design.
- Add features.
We detail these 5 steps in a complete and free guide written especially for you.
Learn to use WordPress
Wondering how to properly configure a plugin? How to customize your site? How to solve a specific problem?
Browse WPMarmite content, we regularly publish tutorials, comparisons and in-depth tests. The solution to your problem is most probably there.
These contents are classified in 3 main categories and 5 topics.
