Wordpress Content Management System

Thursday, 07 January 2010

Wordpress is a very easy to use content management system (CMS), that has grown in popularity over recent years.  There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of websites that have been created using this system.  In this article, we'll look at its main features and benefits, to help you decide if it's a viable solution for your website, too.

WordPress CMS

Wordpress is very simple to install, but before you do so, you should check whether PHP and MySQL are in place on your host server, and that a file transfer protocol (FTP)  is available.  Wordpress needs PHP and MySQL databases in order to work, and you'll need FTP in order to upload files.  Once you've got that little bit of housekeeping out of the way, you can download Wordpress as a zip file onto your computer.

The next step is to create a database on the web server.  Don't forget to set yourself up as user for this database, so that you can actually get into it and use it.  Once you have created your database, rename the file wp-config-sample.php to wp.config.php and open it up.  You'll need to edit this file in accordance with the web server database, before saving it and uploading it to the web server at the root location.

That's the hard work out of the way!  Now you can enjoy configuring the program according to your requirements.  There are any number of plugins and themes that you can use, from polls to stats counters to comment functions, that will make your website unique, beautiful to look at and truly engaging for your visitors.  Wordpress has one of the largest collection of extensions of any content management system, so if you want something, you're more or less guaranteed that you'll be able to find it.

Advantages of WordPress

One of the great advantages of Wordpress is the extent of its back-up and support facilities.  There is a huge knowledge base, that will walk you through everything from installation to upgrades.  It's also blessed with an active community of users who post to the forum, so if you can't find what you're looking for, somebody will be only too willing to help.

Another great feature is the Wordpress showcase.  Once you've installed the program and got your Wordpress site up and running, you can showcase the site on the main Wordpress site.  Not only is this a way of getting the word out about your creation, it allows you to get useful feedback from your fellow site owners, who will review and rate the site and make suggestions.  You can do the same for other people's sites, of course.

Wordpress, then, is easy to install and easy to use, and it comes backed up with enough clear advice and technical support that even complete beginners can get wonderful, professional looking websites up and running within minutes.  Above all, it's fun!  So if you're looking for a content management system, Wordpress is one that you should definitely consider.