The Advantages of Wordpress
WordPress is software that allows you to create blogs, as well as complete websites. WordPress made its debut in 2003. The company Automattic operates WordPress, with two versions of the software. One version is hosted by the company on its own servers. To run the other version, you must download and run it on your own server, or from a third-party hosting company.
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Cost
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You can get a blog hosted by Automattic through the company's website, wordpress.com, for free. A simple application process allows you to name your blog, which will have the URL yourname.wordpress.com. The no-cost blog gives you a variety of options for customizing your blog's appearance and allows you to upload photos and video for your media library. The other version of WordPress is found at wordpress.org and is more complex. While the software is open-source and free, you must download it and run it on your own server, or pay for hosting services. The cost of hosting services varies between providers, but can cost less than five dollars per month.
Ease of Use
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WordPress is popular because it is simple to use and navigate. According to Automattic, more than 25 million people use WordPress software to create and run blogs and websites. Because so many people use it, WordPress has a wide level of support, both within and outside of Automattic. Numerous books, websites and blogs are dedicated to the software, which allow you to draw on the expertise of other users to get the results you want and to solve technical problems. The WordPress website offers documentation, 24/7 support and user forums. WordPress supports multiple languages and has built-in spam protection.
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Customization
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The Automattic-hosted version of WordPress allows you to select themes to apply to your blog. Some themes allow you to change the pictures at the top of the page or change the background colors, while others do not. Changing themes is simple, and you can preview how a them looks on your site before applying it. The self-hosted version of WordPress allows you more flexibility, and allows you to have your own domain name on your blog or website. Plug-ins are third-party applications that can run with WordPress to add increased functionality to the software. These applications include photo galleries, slide shows, search-engine optimization tools and contact forms.
Mobility
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WordPress has apps available on the major platforms for smartphones and tablets, including the Android, Apple and BlackBerry operating systems. As with the computer versions of the software, the mobile apps are free and fully supported with documentation and technical support. The mobile versions allow you to upload photos from your phone or tablet directly into your WordPress Media Library, where you can add captions and other information.
Data Security
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The Automattic-hosted version of WordPress is supported by servers spread among three datacenters. This means that your blog or website data is backed up so that if a power outage or other problem strikes one of the datacenters, the others will be able to handle your visitor traffic. You won't lose your files if one server goes down.
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References
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