WordPress CMS: The Basics

20
October 2021

the point

Once upon a time, WordPress was a simple blogging software. Now, it is now a powerful content management system (CMS) that allows you to build, manage, and customize beautiful websites. We use WordPress to create tailor-made websites for your brand, integrating it with your carefully curated content and media.

[bck_image_compare before_img=”https://575agency.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wordpress-divi-view.jpg” before_label=”WordPress Theme” before_label_bg=”#191D23″ after_img=”https://575agency.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cnp-live-view.jpg” after_label=”Live Website” after_label_bg=”#191D23″ move_on_hover=”on” overlay=”off” _builder_version=”4.11.3″ _module_preset=”default” label_font=”|700||on|||||” border_radii_label=”on|6px|6px|6px|6px” global_colors_info=”{}”][/bck_image_compare]

what is a content management system?

Before diving too deep into the website-building business, it’s a good idea to understand the basics. A content management system (CMS) is software located on a server that allows the creation and management of website content without extensive programming knowledge. The CMS houses all necessary code, providing a stable foundation and user-friendly interface (UI) to manage your content and design aesthetic.

The most popular CMS is WordPress. 42% of all websites run on the content management system. It has a 65% market share. Truly, it is in a class of its own.

“It makes creating snappy, intuitive, and beautiful websites a breeze.“

what can WordPress do?

Initially, the CMS started as a service to create blogs, like our very own Points & Tangents. It is open-source, which means that anyone is free to use or modify the code. With a mission to democratize the web, WordPress’s greatest strength is its community. The community is a network of creators from across the globe, brainstorming creative solutions to rebrand the status quo of website creation and management experiences. Over the years, the WordPress community has continuously improved the content management system and extended ecosystem to make it extensible and flexible enough to create any website style. From hobby blogs to major news sites. It can even be used to design a website showcasing your very own business brand (like the ones we design for our clients).

WordPress comes in three flavors:

  1. Free and fully hosted WordPress.com
  2. Upgraded WordPress.com plans
  3. Self-hosted WordPress.org

WordPress.org allows you to take full advantage of the entire theme and plugin ecosystem. Themes enable you to kickstart your website with beautiful design templates. Anything that WordPress can’t do natively and that you can’t do yourself without some extreme coding chops can usually be done with a plugin.

WordPress gives you control over the look and feel (user experience or UX), the features, and the content of your website without writing a single line of code.

why use WordPress over alternatives?

  1. 42% of all websites run on WordPress. Does that mean it’s the best CMS for you? Probably. At the very least, it proves that it is reliable, trusted, familiar, and well-accepted. There is ample documentation, support, and guidance available online.
  2. Powerful plugin ecosystem. The vast array of plugins available for WordPress.org makes it an extremely compelling option. Here are some of our favorite plugins!
  3. Theming. With thousands of community-built themes available, designing a beautiful website is almost too easy—especially when using Divi by Elegant Themes.
  4. Open-Source. WordPress will always be free to use and modify. That means customization options are limitless (with a bit of coding expertise). It also allows the community to create an extensive ecosystem.

    Still not convinced?

    BBC America, Mercedes-Benz, MTV News, Walt Disney, and Bloomberg are just a few amongst the 64 million websites powered by WordPress. Wow! If you’re a patron of the internet like we are, odds are you’ve visited more than one website powered by this CMS. We choose WordPress. Will you? We’d love to know!

    how do we use WordPress?

    At 575, we use WordPress.org. Which is the self-hosted option. It is part of our Core Technology for websites. As such, we provide hosting for our clients through Flywheel. Self-hosting allows us to use all of our favorite plugins, as well as our tried-and-true Divi theme by Elegant Themes. Divi is a visual website builder with intuitive drag-and-drop components to flesh out your website’s user interface.

    Some of our favorite plugins

    We use WordPress to design and publish websites centered around your brand. This CMS gives us complete control over the look and provides us with plugins to optimize the content. It makes creating snappy, intuitive, and beautiful websites a breeze.

    If you’re interested in working with us, you can reach out to us on the Contact Page. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

    to rebrand your inbox

    Get awesome ideas for rebranding the status quo sent straight to your inbox.

    Get ready for awesome ideas to inspire, connect, and better lives.