What is WordPress? Definition of CMS and Content Management System (CMS)
A CMS (Content Management System) is an application designed to allow the creation, editing, and publication of digital content.
In most cases, it also enables multiple users to collaborate on the same project, each with distinct access rights.
Take WordPress as an example: this CMS allows you to create different user accounts, each with clearly defined roles and specific permission levels.
CMSs also offer various features such as text formatting, media insertion (images, videos, audio, maps…), and even the ability to add custom code.
A content management system typically relies on two essential components:
- CMA (Content Management Application): This is the intuitive graphical interface (GUI) that allows users to add, edit, delete, or publish content without any programming knowledge (HTML, CSS, etc.).
- CDA (Content Delivery Application): This backend component manages and delivers the content produced through the CMA.
Other common CMS features include:
- SEO-friendly URLs,
- Installation and update wizards,
- Active community support,
- User and group management functions,
- A wide choice of themes and graphic templates.
Among all the CMSs available on the market, WordPress is the most widely used worldwide
This free, open-source software is developed in PHP and relies on a MySQL or MariaDB database.
It is distributed by the WordPress Foundation via the official website wordpress.org under the GNU GPL version 2 license.
Note: The same software also serves as the basis for the WordPress.com multisite platform, which today hosts millions of websites worldwide.
Some WordPress Features:
- Creating and publishing content (WordPress primarily distinguishes between two types of posts: pages and articles),
- Organizing content with categories and tags,
- Integrating and managing media files: images, videos, audio files,
- Enabling and moderating comments on each post,
- Customizing the site’s appearance through theme installation and configuration,
- Managing user accounts: multiple roles are available, each with specific permissions (administrator, editor, author, contributor, subscriber).
To go further, WordPress also allows you to enhance site functionality by adding extensions (or plugins).
What Types of Websites Can You Create with WordPress?
WordPress was born in the blogging world. Initially, the CMS mainly allowed rapid publication of online articles, with features focused on this specific use.
Today, with the evolution of the tool and the addition of plugins, virtually any type of website can be created with WordPress, whether it’s a blog, professional site, online store, or even an artistic portfolio.
Some concrete examples of what you can create with WordPress:
- Personal or Professional Blog
WordPress remains an excellent choice for launching a blog, whether for personal or professional use.
Thanks to its structure designed for chronological publications, it makes sharing ideas, stories, or news easy.
Plugins like Yoast SEO help optimize articles for search engines, while numerous modern themes ensure attractive layouts. - Showcase Website
For a business or freelancer, WordPress is an ideal solution for creating a professional showcase website.
This type of site highlights services, products, or activities through well-defined pages such as “Services,” “About,” or “Contact.”
With builders like Elementor, it’s easy to design a clean, custom layout without writing a single line of code. - Online Store (E-commerce)
By integrating the WooCommerce plugin, WordPress becomes a full-featured online sales platform.
You can offer physical or digital products, manage inventory and orders, and provide secure payments via PayPal, Stripe, etc.
It’s an ideal solution for small to medium-sized businesses, handling up to a few hundred products. - Affiliate Website
WordPress can also be used to create an affiliate site. By combining the right plugins with targeted content, it is possible to generate revenue by directing visitors to partner platforms. - Online Portfolio
Photographers, creators, artists, or designers can use WordPress to build an attractive and responsive portfolio.
With themes like Astra, Neve, or OceanWP, you can easily showcase your work, organize galleries, and integrate a contact form.
WordPress.com or WordPress.org: Which Version of WordPress Should
You Choose?
WordPress.com and WordPress.org represent two different ways of hosting a WordPress site.
The main difference between the two is the host.
With WordPress.org, you freely download the software and install it on a server of your choice—either locally or with a web hosting provider such as Hostinger.
In contrast, WordPress.com handles the hosting for you.
No server management, no need to purchase hosting, and no file uploads to worry about. In return, your site will display advertisements.
Each option has its advantages and limitations.
If you don’t want to deal with technical aspects related to hosting or server maintenance, WordPress.com can be an ideal solution.
Free and quick to set up, it offers various features to customize your site.
However, this solution has its limits.
Your URL will include “WordPress.com,” and you won’t be able to add plugins or custom themes.
Modifying PHP code is also inaccessible.
Indeed, some options require paid plans to unlock.
On the other hand, WordPress.org, in its self-hosted version, gives you full control over your site.
You can use a personal domain name, install the plugins and themes of your choice, and modify both the appearance and functionality of your site according to your needs.
You have complete access to files, the database, and the source code.
This is the version chosen by the majority of the most successful WordPress sites, as it offers great freedom in customization, design, and features.
Where to Download WordPress?
Simply go to the official website at wordpress.org.
Specifically, access the page dedicated to downloading the software.
Once there, just click on “Download WordPress [version].”
The current version available is 6.8.1.
Download WordPress here…
The Origins of WordPress: How It All Started and When
To know who created WordPress or understand how the project began, we need to go back to the early 2000s.
In 2001, a French developer, Michel Valdrighi, created an open-source PHP blogging tool called b2/cafelog.
When Michel stopped development, two enthusiasts, Matthew Mullenweg and Mike Little, decided to take over the project to create their own tool.
This new software became WordPress in 2003, with the first “official” version released in 2004.
This version was named “Davis,” in honor of the famous trumpeter Miles Davis.
From then on, Matt Mullenweg chose to give each major WordPress version the name of a renowned jazz musician.
Their goal?
To design a CMS that was more flexible, intuitive, and accessible for bloggers.
In 2005, Matt Mullenweg founded Automattic, a company known for its services around WordPress, including WordPress.com, the hosted version of the software.
He also founded the WordPress Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, to distribute the free software via wordpress.org, protect the WordPress brand, and support its development with the help of the community.
WordPress Worldwide in 2025: Market Share Evolution
A visual overview of the most used CMS clearly shows WordPress’ dominance in the web landscape.
These data come from w3techs.com.
Their methodology is explained on their technologies overview page, and their reports are updated daily.
How to Interpret the Numbers:
Today, 28.8% of websites do not use any CMS tracked by w3techs.
However, 43.4% of all websites worldwide use WordPress, representing 61.0% of the market among all CMS-built sites.
WordPress Key Figures:
- 43.4% of websites worldwide use WordPress
- 61.0% of CMS-based websites run on WordPress
- 28.8% of WordPress sites integrate WooCommerce
- 20.6% of WordPress sites use Elementor
Other Interesting Facts About WordPress:
- The most recent version currently available is 6.8.1
- The official WordPress directory offers around 7,410 themes and over 55,400 plugins
- According to Google Keyword Planner, the keyword “wordpress” can reach up to 1 million monthly searches in France (data recorded on July 3, 2025)
Examples of Famous Websites Using WordPress
WordPress also powers many high-profile websites worldwide.
According to the most recent data available:
- 35% of the 100,000 most popular websites are built with WordPress.
- Prestigious users include The White House, TED, The New Yorker, and many others.
What Are the Advantages of WordPress?
WordPress is Free and Open Source:
This means its code is accessible to everyone. Anyone can examine, improve, or modify it according to their needs.
The benefits of being open source and free apply mainly to the WordPress.org version.
WordPress.com, on the other hand, offers a free version as well as paid plans. Not all CMS platforms work this way: for example, Shopify is entirely paid.
Note:
On WordPress.com, the free version is very limited.
For WordPress.org, you’ll need to budget for hosting. Some themes or plugins may also be paid.
Premium versions of WordPress.com may offer more flexibility or access to the code, but by default, you are somewhat limited and do not have access to the source code.
Easy and Quick Installation:
According to the official website, it only takes a few minutes to set up
WordPress.
WordPress Adapts to All Needs:
Whether you want to create a personal blog, a showcase site, an e-commerce store, or even a community space, WordPress provides suitable modules.
Its architecture allows your site to evolve easily: adding forums, multilingual support, or even multisite management… everything is possible thanks to the numerous available plugins.
A Vast Choice of Themes:
As the most widely used CMS in the world, WordPress receives strong attention from theme developers.
The result: you have access to a much larger library than on other platforms.
Frequent Updates:
WordPress is constantly improved by a large community of developers. This applies to the core CMS as well as themes and plugins.
A Huge and Responsive Community:
WordPress brings together users and developers worldwide. If you run into issues, you can quickly find help through numerous forums, tutorials, and support groups.
Possibility to Install Locally on a PC:
It is entirely possible to install WordPress on your computer. This allows you to safely test, create, or modify your site before publishing it online.
Plugins: Adding Extra Features to Your Site
WordPress also offers a vast selection of plugins to add any missing functionality.
So, what is a plugin?
A plugin, or extension, is simply a small program that allows you to add features to your WordPress site.
It can range from a contact form, a chat tool, newsletter management, social media buttons, to a comment system.
In fact, here is what WordPress itself says about plugins:
Thanks to the ongoing involvement of a large developer community, many plugins are regularly created to enhance and improve websites built with WordPress.
Today, there are thousands of plugins that allow you to customize the appearance of your site or add specific functions.
Some are focused on SEO, others are designed for newsletters, and some help you structure or edit your content.
Certain plugins are even essential for the proper functioning of your site, depending on its purpose.
For example, for an online store, WooCommerce is indispensable. Without it, managing an e-commerce site effectively would be impossible.
From your very first interactions with WordPress, you will see how crucial these small modules are.
One of the most popular SEO plugins remains Yoast SEO.
It allows you not only to customize your title tags and meta descriptions but also to receive recommendations for optimizing your content.
However, be aware that even though this plugin is useful, it does not replace the strategic and human insight of an SEO expert. Automated advice is only a starting point.
Be mindful of side effects…
One last point not to overlook: accumulating too many plugins can significantly slow down your site.
And you should know this by now: loading speed has a major impact on SEO.
But that’s not all. Even the admin interface can become slower and less pleasant to use.
The moral: install only essential plugins and avoid overloading your site!
Where to Find WordPress Plugins
To download WordPress plugins, it’s very simple: go directly to the official website on the page dedicated to WordPress plugins.
How to Get Help for Your WordPress Site
If you need assistance for your site, several options are available:
- Consult articles, tutorials, or explanatory videos;
- Explore the official WordPress documentation, or that of the themes and plugins you are using;
- Participate in forums, such as the French-speaking WordPress community;
- Use technical support provided with certain tools;
- Hire a WordPress expert, such as those available through N7XT.
Creating a Website with WordPress: Steps to Follow
Are you new to website creation? The N7XT platform offers resources designed to support you in setting up your first WordPress site.
However, here are the five steps you generally need to follow:
- Choose a domain name and a hosting provider;
- Install WordPress and configure the basic settings;
- Add your first content and organize it;
- Customize the appearance of your site;
- Integrate the necessary features.
Get Practical Advice on Using WordPress
Visit our platform: you will find tutorials, comparisons, and detailed tests.
The solution to your issue is likely there.
Why Is WordPress One of the Best CMSs? (And Why So Successful?)
To conclude…
After seeing WordPress’ huge popularity, one can legitimately ask: what explains such enthusiasm?
Several reasons combine to make this CMS a preferred choice.
Many mistakenly think that WordPress is limited to blogging. In reality, it is an extremely versatile platform.
As an open-source project, anyone can freely view, modify, or enhance the code according to their needs.
Moreover, WordPress offers thousands of plugins, themes, widgets, and other free tools.
Thanks to this functional richness, it is possible to create all kinds of websites:
from personal blogs to showcase sites, from business websites to online stores, or even documentation platforms.
Another major advantage: WordPress is free and compatible with all hosting services that support PHP and MySQL.
It also benefits from regular updates, which enhance security, add new features, and optimize overall performance.
Finally, WordPress enjoys a vast and active global community.
The numerous forums, discussions, tutorials, and online resources make learning and using this CMS much easier.
