By Dave Millard

 WordPress is an open source content management solution frequently used as a blog publishing application. In common with nearly all other open source content management systems, PHP and MySQL are both used in the WordPress back end. Although a lot of people believe it to be new, it originated in 2001. Early problems concerning hacking have now been solved and WordPress is one of the most secure CMS available.

Blog

Originally developed as a blog platform, WordPress currently has an enormous number of plug-ins that can be used to extend its functionality. WordPress is in use on millions of websites, partly due to its customisable components, and it now accounts for 12% of the world's websites.

Hosting

WordPress can be deployed using numerous methods on a hosting environment; in fact, a number of shared web hosting services offer automatic WordPress installation via the customer control panel using utilities such as Fantastico. Professional web designers have also taken WordPress to heart since it is such an uncomplicated content management system to customise; many website proprietors complete not choose the burden of installing and creating a web site, and so turn to a developer to complete the task for them. Despite being an open source product, some developers will charge a premium for developing a WordPress site as it can be complicated and difficult to meet customer requirements.

The open source movement

The open source movement releases all the source code and official plug-ins free of charge under a GPL license. Individuals and small businesses usually regard open source software as a gift, although other software developers usually see things quite differently. Although the threat is real, there are still many companies that dont realize that Open Source software is compatible with commercial activities and continue to spend thousands of dollars in developing commercial content management solutions.

The open source community

WordPress is popular as it has a large support community. This community has an amazing number of followers, and most new converts find it more than adequate for their support needs. The latest multiuser version of WordPress, MU, enables Webmasters to create their own blog platforms and moderate them from a single dashboard.

Install

Installing a WordPress web site is simplicity itself. A new clicks of the mouse and a couple of minutes later the installation is complete. Some hosting providers enable a third-party appliance which allows users to set up a WordPress site on complete autopilot. The a lot of plug-ins available can be used to enlarge the basic functionality of any WordPress blog or CMS.

Cms

A staggering 12% of the world's biggest websites use WordPress as a CMS making it the world's most popular platform. A significant number of companies still regard Joomla as the best open source CMS, but WordPress is definitely more user-friendly than Joomla and most of the other content management solutions available today.

Conclusion

To have achieved the popularity that it has is astonishing, and without any doubt WordPress is the number one user-installed web application in use today. It is one of the most secure CMS platforms available, and is well known for its ease of installation. WordPress is indeed here to stay.

Dave Millard is a professional writer and web developer based in the United Kingdom. He is the Managing Director of Netresult Ltd and has a free 5 day Article Marketing course available at Netresult Web Design.

Blogging