An introduction to Wordpress
Wordpress is an irrepressible, powerful, Open Source, Content Management System ("CMS"), which is available to download for free.
Wordpress was launched by Matt Mullenweg in 2003, as a specialised blog post tool. At that time, Wordpress focused primarily on blogging and didn't possess the full functionality of a flexible CMS.
Since then however, continuous upgrades have enlarged its core functionality. Users can now also expand Wordpress by downloading and installing plug ins (known as widgets) from amongst a million potential widgets. These widgets are often available free of charge and add additional functionality to your site.
The availability of such a vast number of plug in tools and enhanced functionality in the core CMS led to Wordpress winning the Open Source CMS award in both 2007 and 2009.
Web content and Wordpress
Wordpress manages web content via an element called a page. Each page is a static text based article. More often than not, Wordpress pages provide users with fairly static information - for example contact and help details.
The core web content element used by Wordpress is called a post. Posts are text based articles and directly relate to Wordpress' origins as a framework for blog posts.
Most Wordpress web sites list their posts on the home page. Usually, the list is displayed relative to a set of key words of tags and cateogires. Individually, the key words are associated with each post when the post is either created or edited. Together, the key words form a "taxonomy" - a means to classify content on your site.
WordPress's focus on the two content types (pages and posts) and the association of tags and categories to content make it one of the simplest CMSs available.
Wordpress does have its failings. For example, creating entirely new content types is a complex and a time consuming issue.
Nevertheless, Wordpress is a freely available, Open Source CMS, with almost eight years of development.
Use Wordpress appropriately, play to its strengths, and avoid the creation of entirely new content types. Instead, consider the ease and the speed with which Wordpress web sites can be created. Pages and Posts can be used easily to create, maintain and archive web content.
