WordPress.org is the official website for the WordPress open-source content management system (CMS). It serves as the hub for everything related to WordPress, from software downloads to extensive documentation, community forums, and developer resources.
History:
- 2003: WordPress was created by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little as a fork of b2/cafelog, a blogging tool. The first version, WordPress 0.7, was released on May 27, 2003.
- 2005: WordPress 1.5 was released, introducing the theme system, which allowed for more customization of blog appearances.
- 2006: WordPress 2.0 introduced the use of "tags" for posts and further refined the admin interface.
- 2007: Automattic, the company founded by Mullenweg, began to grow, with WordPress.com being a hosted service separate from WordPress.org.
- 2010: WordPress 3.0 brought about the integration of MU (Multi-User WordPress) into the core, allowing for multisite installations.
- 2015: WordPress 4.1 was released with enhanced features for media management and live previews.
- 2020: WordPress 5.5 introduced significant updates to the site health check and performance enhancements.
Features:
- Open Source: WordPress is free and open-source software, allowing users to modify the source code and contribute to its development.
- Customization: Users can change the look and functionality of their sites through thousands of themes and plugins available from WordPress.org.
- Scalability: WordPress can be used for simple blogs to complex e-commerce sites due to its flexibility and the vast ecosystem of extensions.
- Community Support: A large, active community provides support through forums, documentation, and in-person meetups called WordCamp.
Context:
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet, making it the most popular CMS globally. It's not only used for blogging but also for building full-scale websites, online stores, and more due to its versatility. The software is supported by an extensive ecosystem:
- WordPress.com: A hosted service by Automattic where users can start a WordPress blog without needing to manage hosting or server configurations.
- WordPress.org: The official site for WordPress software, offering the open-source version that users can install on their own hosting.
- Plugins: Over 58,000 free plugins are available to extend the functionality of WordPress sites.
- Themes: Thousands of free and premium themes allow users to customize the appearance of their site without coding knowledge.
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