All Glossary

WordPress

A content management system used to create websites. Hundreds of millions of websites use it. Thousands of company create products and training for it.

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Details

The days of consultants charging tens of thousands of dollars for simple websites that don’t work are over, people do it themselves nowadays using a CMS (content management system). CMSs provide a dashboard that enables creating a menu structure, adding and editing pages and pictures. The user interface is designed for anyone to be able to use. 2/3 of internet websites use WordPress. WordPress works like SquareSpace, Wix or Shopify. It is created and maintained by Automattic, (they front it at wordpress.org). It is open source and free and at the center of an ecosystem of add-on themes and plugins enabling it to serve just about any kind of business. A WordPress-made site is full-featured without buying add-ons. Add-on vendors claim their products are fast but that usually just means they are not super slow!

Automattic runs a hosting site at wordpress.com where you can subscribe for an account. They manage details of running the service (ones that either require some technical knowledge, are tedious or are often overlooked). Thousands of other service providers have similar WordPress offerings and differentiate themselves in various ways.

Automattic also provides detailed instructions on how to install WordPress for free on your own server. However people now just follow instructions of an AI chatbot. Default configurations these days do automatic updating and backup. There are even simple ways to move a site from one server to another, or one URL to another. People running WordPress usually own their own URLs and exercise good control over costs and functionality.

Wordpress is a target of hackers. The WordPress core is considered quite secure, but add-ons can create vulnerabilities (so they need to be minimized and chosen with care and kept updated). A number of the most popular subscription add-ons are made by Automattic. Surecart is an alternative to WooCommerce, it is simpler and has advantages.

PHP coders can add features to a WordPress website to make it do almost anything. ChatGPT or others will tell you exactly how to do it. The WordPress world itself is adopting AI quickly, it is becoming possible to create entire sites, even the pictures, from a simple description of what is needed.

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I asked ChatGPT to make a picture that could be used to help potters overcome their fear to make their own websites. Instagram is just your street sign. But your website is the studio!

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