WordPress is the most widely used content management system out there — it runs somewhere around 43% of all websites on the internet. It started back in 2003 as a simple blogging tool and has grown into a full platform that can run anything from a personal blog to a big company site or an online store.
Background
WordPress is free, open-source software released under the GPL license. Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little built it in 2003 as a fork of an older project called b2/cafelog. It’s written in PHP and stores its data in a MySQL or MariaDB database. People mix up its two versions all the time: WordPress.org is the self-hosted software you install on your own web host, while WordPress.com is a paid hosted service run by Automattic, where the hosting is handled for you and you pay to unlock extra features.
Why People Choose WordPress
- The Block (Gutenberg) editor — a visual, what-you-see-is-what-you-get way of editing built around reusable content blocks.
- Over 60,000 free plugins that add SEO, security, performance, forms, and just about anything else.
- Thousands of free and premium themes, plus child themes so you can customize safely.
- WooCommerce, the most popular e-commerce tool on the web, which turns WordPress into a full online store.
- A huge global community with tons of documentation and active support forums.
- A REST API and full-site editing for developers who want to get under the hood.
Because it’s open source, there are no licensing fees, you own your content and data, and you can move your site between hosts whenever you want. The ecosystem is so big that there’s almost always a plugin or theme for whatever you’re trying to do.
Quick Facts
- Type: Open source (free, GPL license)
- First released: 2003
- Created by: Matt Mullenweg & Mike Little
- Built with: PHP and MySQL/MariaDB
- Market share: ~43% of all websites
- Cost: Software is free; hosting and a domain cost extra