WordPress
WordPress is best known as blogging software but it has now developed to the point where it can be used to create more advanced websites. As such, we should really call it a Content Management System (CMS). A blog (web-log) is an online journal, diary or commentary, presented as a website. Generally, one or more contributors (bloggers) add new content to the top of the website on a semi-regular basis.
WordPress is very sophisticated and is often used to create and manage websites. However, you should be aware that WordPress was not originally built for managing websites with large numbers of users. It may sometimes require a bit of creativity to get it to do what you need.
WordPress has a reputation as being easy to use and flexible. It is particularly interesting for its enormous additional list of plug-ins. These are small additions to the software that add extra features. Using plug-ins you can turn WordPress into a social networking site, add Testimonials, generate visitor statistics, and much much more.
There are two basic ways in which you can start using WordPress:
- Sign up for an account on WordPress.com or a similar site that offers free blogs.
- Install your own WordPress CMS on a server that you have access to.
The first option is the easiest, but if you wish to have more control over how WordPress is configured and be able to add more functionality, then you may wish to choose the second option of installing WordPress yourself. If this is the case then you should download the software from WordPress.org.
What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is worth looking at because it shows us a lot about this successful open source project.
WordPress.org is home to the blogging software WordPress. You can go here to download the software, and get support on installing, troubleshooting and using the software. There are huge numbers of people who write code voluntarily to make the software work better. This is possible because the software has an open licence which allows anyone to download it, use it and improve it. There is more information about the WordPress software on the about page of WordPress.org.1 At the time of writing (2011) there are 25 million blogs independently hosted using this software.
WordPress.com is run by Automattic who use the WordPress code and adapt it to provide a service for bloggers. In this way people could use WordPress without having to know how to install software on a server. It's free to sign up and use the basic service but you pay extra to host videos, modify the layout by editing the CSS, and to add other premium services. This commercial venture funds coders to spend time developing the core of WordPress code which benefits the wider community. There is more information about Automattic and wordpress.com on their about page.2 At the time of writing (2011) there are 20 million blogs hosted on Wordpress.com.
Privacy limitations of WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a large company with a huge number of blogs and which keeps records of its users. It is also a US company and it complies to US law when it comes to disclosing users details. Their privacy policy for international cases is less clear.
For the most part WordPress.com seems to host controversial content without problem. However, there have been several cases where Automattic has come under criticism for releasing details of its users and for suspending blogs. If this is something that concerns you, then you should probably try to set up own blog or use a WordPress service other than Wordpress.com.
WordPress for Blogs and Websites
WordPress started out as blogging software but it is now being used for much more. This chapter deals with what is a blog and then compares Blogs to Websites. There is another chapter which looks at WordPress and online communities.
What is a Blog?
A BLOG is a shortened version of the term "Web - Log". A "log" is something like a diary, and a "web - log" is a diary that is kept on the web. The first blogs were very much like diaries, or personal accounts of peoples' lives. However blogs are now used for a wide range of activities. Blogs are used by independent journalists for publishing and they are used by companies for reporting on internal activities. Web businesses use them to inform their users what they are doing, or they are used as a kind of online magazine. There are many, many other uses for blogs.
The software behind blogs is, unsurprisingly, known as "blogging software". Generally these software applications run on a server, so contributors and readers can access the blog through a browser from anywhere in the online world. This generally means that if you cannot get internet access you cannot participate in blogging.
There are many many different blog software applications. Each of these applications has its own approach and its own community of users. Finding a blog software that is suitable for you comes down to two basic factors:
- finding a blog you can use - can you get access to a blog you can use?
- functionality - does the software work the way you like and does it have the features you want?
Blogs compared to Websites
In recent years, blogging software like WordPress has become so good at some of the jobs it does that many people now use it to take care of their website needs.
Websites are often slower to change compared to blogs and have more information that stays the same. They have more of a focus on menus and subsections, allowing visitors to navigate to the part of the website that contains the information they need. Websites are often worked on by more than one user so different levels of access are useful.
Five years ago these may have been distinctions which would have meant that blogging software was too limited to create a website. However, websites are becoming more like blogs because of easy integration with social networking software. At the same time, blogging software is becoming more suitable for creating websites. For WordPress this is especially true due to more advanced use of menus, different user roles, community focus and the intuitive user interface that it offers.
If you are considering spending a lot of time and potentially money (if you are paying others) on a website with other tools it is definitely worth asking yourself (and others) the question: "Can I quickly create something myself that fulfills my needs with WordPress?"