WordPress is an Open Source project dedicated to make online writing and publishing easier and accessible to everyone. Being an Open Source project, creating and maintaining WordPress depends on hundreds of people around the globe who work on the project for free. The creators are proud to say that WordPress is a creation for the community by the community.
WordPress.org
WordPress is licensed under the General Public License (GPL) allowing anyone to use it for anything, free of charge. The only investment you need is time and some basic system requirements to make sure that the software works after installing.
WordPress.com
WordPress is not exclusive to technically advanced people. The creation of WordPress.com allows anyone with Internet access to publish a WordPress software-based blog in no time, also for free. However, there are some functional limitations to a WordPress.com blog.
With enough knowledge, you can add WordPress to your online marketing mix. Below are 5 reasons why WordPress is cool enough to stay online for a long time.
1. Accessibility
The low-barrier entry that comes with WordPress is a delight for any online user. Usually, open source software is only made accessible to developers who are working on the software or beta testers who look for bugs. In this case, WordPress software and blog may be used and viewed by the public.
2. May be accessed by search engines
Online marketing solutions providers often have problems dealing with a client’s Content Management System (CMS). Unlike WordPress, most CMSs used by commercial websites make it difficult for search engines to crawl through the pages, rendering SEO efforts useless.
3. Supports plug and play
The WordPress structure welcomes customizations. And because WordPress is all about making online publishing easy for everyone, it accommodates plugins that are easy to install, maintain, and use. Developers and enthusiasts all over the world can contribute their plugins. WordPress users have a comprehensive menu of customizations to choose from, ranging from improving SEO techniques to embedding media files.
4. Themes galore
WordPress has supported a wide array of themes since version 1.5. Random people who are capable of web design have contributed to the growing number of templates for the consumption of anyone who uses WordPress.
Besides a delightful selection of professional and creative themes, WordPress assures that themes are detached from all content. Changing themes won’t put your content at risk of being deleted.
5. Unity in diversity
The structure with which WordPress is created makes it sustainable. There are 3 independent pocket organisations responsible for keeping WordPress running:
• WordPress engine
Comparable to the nervous system in human beings, the WordPress engine embodies the Open Source project per se. Driven by the simple mission of creating the best software, individuals who compose the WordPress engine create the code by which WordPress functions.
• WordPress Themes
Independent individuals contribute to the thousands of themes available for anyone to use. These people probably know nothing of the codes. This is why you can do as you please with the templates without jeopardising your data published through WordPress.
• WordPress Plugins
Other independent developers interested in adding customizable functions contribute to the huge number of plugins for WordPress. These people have no ties with WordPress engine or WordPress themes, such that failure to update your plugin won’t result to data loss.
This 3-branch structure allows WordPress to transcend mandates on upgrades that could hold your entire online publication hostage. An entire community pitches in to make WordPress better for everyone.
Well, it’s a nice bunch of information for a person new to WordPress platform and for those who want to simply maintain a website of their own, but not a bloggers’ place to my knowledge. If one consider blogging and earning at the same time it lacks to Blogger or Blogspot in terms of monetisation of a page.
WordPress doesn’t extend you the option to earn few buck from the popularity rank of your page. We know Blogger being a Google product does support Google Adsense but not that trait in WordPress. There have been quite a success story of bloggers in Blogspot…
Yes, in comparison to the range of services available in WordPress in terms of Themes (very limited) and Widgets (not all for free users) as you said in your post, it is quite advance. But don’t you think users should be allowed to monetize their part too. What is the prime concern involved for not making it completely free????
If someone wants to build his/her own web page, as a general reader, or writer or user or a professional of any kind, then S/he has to go through a daunting task of domain registration and hosting service etc.. In that case, I think it falls behind others. WordPress has been extensively used as a SEO tool or a platform to make websites using the well-structured content management websites, but not for bloggers.