What Is WordPress? 24 Powerful WordPress Features To Help You Decide

The vital WordPress features that make it so popular today include the fact that it is user-friendly with a beginner-friendly interface, SEO-friendly, responsive or mobile-friendly and highly customizable with an array of themes and plugins from the WordPress repository.

So what is WordPress?

WordPress is an open-source content management system that allows users to build websites and create and manage content as easily as possible.

In this post, I will give you a detailed description of the most popular WordPress features. But first, let’s find out how WordPress started as well as a few other facts about this content management system.

The Origin of WordPress

Find below some key facts about the founding or origin of the WordPress content management system platform.

• It was founded in 2003.
• The founder of WordPress is Matt Mullenweg. He co-founded WordPress along with Mike Little in 2003.
• WordPress started as a fork of an existing blogging software called b2/cafelog.
• Matt Mullenweg played a major role in the growth and development of WordPress. Today, he is still involved in its ongoing development as part of the WordPress community.
• With WordPress, you do not need coding or web design knowledge to build a professional-looking website.
• The CMS has a huge user base According to Bluehost, a web hosting company, in 2023 WordPress powered 43.2% of all websites on the internet.

In 2021 CreativeMinds reported that the WordPress CMS was being used by over 35 million live websites worldwide.

It is clear that its widespread use is due to the platform’s user-friendliness and flexibility.

• WordPress is a feature-rich content management system that offers a wide range of functionalities.

Key WordPress Features

For you to know exactly what WordPress is and what it can do, I have assembled for you below the characteristics that make WordPress the number one choice for a lot of website owners and professional web designers.

1. Open-Source Platform

WordPress is an open-source software, meaning its source code is freely available to the public. This fosters a collaborative community of developers who continuously contribute to its improvement.

2. Content Management System (CMS)

WordPress was originally designed for blogging. But with time, the platform has evolved into a robust CMS.

WordPress makes it possible for users to create and manage various types of websites such as e-commerce stores, membership sites and portfolio websites.

20 Best Content Management System Platforms

7 Steps to Start a Blog as a Beginner

3. Numerous Themes and Plugins

WordPress thrives on a vast library of themes for design customization. It also has a very large collection of plugins purposely for improved functionality.

Customizable Themes

Users have the ability to choose from thousands of pre-designed themes or create their own custom themes to give their websites a unique look and feel.

Extensive Plugin Library

The WordPress plugin repository boasts over 50k plugins so users can add their preferred features and functionalities to their websites even without any coding knowledge.

4. Responsive Design

WordPress themes are designed to be responsive. Put differently, WordPress is mobile-friendly.

WordPress sites are responsive by default. This means that they adapt to different screen sizes, making them accessible and user-friendly across various devices.

For that matter, most websites built with the WordPress CMS look and function well on various devices, including smartphones and tablets.

5. Multilingual Support

WordPress has been translated into numerous languages. This has enabled users to create websites in their preferred language and serve a diverse global audience.

Multilingual Support: Users can create multilingual websites using plugins or built-in features, catering to a diverse global audience.

6. Regular Updates

The WordPress core is updated multiple times every year to introduce new features, enhance security, and address bugs.

All you need to do as a WordPress user is to keep your installation up to date to ensure optimal performance and security.

7. WordPress is SEO-Friendly

Key among the most talked about WordPress features is that it is designed with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in mind.

Thus, it is easier for WordPress websites to rank well in search engine results when webmasters follow SEO best practices.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools

WordPress offers built-in SEO features and supports popular SEO plugins to help improve website visibility on search engines.

8. Community and Support

With its large user base, WordPress has a vast community of users, developers, and experts. These people who have an interest in the proper functioning of the CMS, contribute to forums, blogs, and support channels, offering assistance and solutions.

9. WordPress.org and WordPress.com

WordPress comes in two versions. One is the self-hosted version known as WordPress.org. It is where users host the software on their own servers and have full control over their websites

The other WordPress version is WordPress.com. WordPress.com is a free website builder managed by Automattic (the company behind WordPress) with limited customization options.

WordPress.com starts with a free plan.

10. Different Types of Websites

WordPress is capable of making different types of websites. For example, you can create an online store, a blog, a news website and an online forum with WordPress.

11. User-Friendly Interface

WordPress provides an intuitive and easy-to-use dashboard. Therefore, it is accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.

12. Media Management

WordPress allows users to upload and organize images, videos, and other media files easily.

13. E-commerce Functionality

You can easily transform your WordPress website into a powerful online store with the help of plugins like WooCommerce.

14. Built-in Blogging Features

As we noted at the beginning, a core WordPress feature is that it is originally a blogging platform,

Today, WordPress remains a top choice for bloggers with its user-friendly blogging interface.

15. It Provides for User Roles and Permissions

WordPress allows webmasters to assign different roles (e.g., admin, editor, author, contributor, and subscriber) to users.

It thus allows administrators to control their access and capabilities.

16. Comment Management Feature

Users can moderate and respond to comments on their blog posts. So if you are looking for an interactive Content Management System to boost engagement with customers then WordPress might just be what you need.

17. Built-in Site Stats

WordPress features include basic website statistics. Bloggers can view the number of visitors, page views, and popular content on their sites.

18. Password-Protected Content Functionality

Do you want to create a strictly private website or a membership site? WordPress has features that will take care of your needs.

For example, it can restrict access to certain pages or posts with passwords. This adds a layer of security for private content.

19. Automatic Backups

With plugins like UpdraftPlus or hosting services, WordPress users are able to schedule automatic backups to protect their website data.

20. Saved Revisions History

One of the best features of WordPress is that it automatically saves post revisions. This allows users to revert to previous versions of their posts if needed.

21. Media Embeds

Users can easily embed content from external sources like YouTube, Twitter, or Instagram into their posts and pages.

22. Social Media Integration

WordPress supports social media sharing buttons from the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

23. Comment Spam Protection

A vital WordPress attribute is that it comes with built-in tools to fight comment spam. Comment spam protection is among those WordPress features that keep websites cleaner and more secure.

24. Export and Import Content

As a WordPress user, you will be able to export and import content as you please.

You can import and export posts, pages, and media, between WordPress sites.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. You can now decide if WordPress is the right website builder for you.

Please note that WordPress, since its inception, has always been a work in progress. Moreover, the WordPress ecosystem as well as the entire digital publishing landscape keeps evolving rapidly.

For that matter, over time, some statistics and features of WordPress may not remain exactly the same for long.

I would, therefore, advise that you always refer to the official WordPress website and other reputable sources for the latest information.

Finally, bear in mind that some WordPress features are part of the core WordPress system. Many others require the installation of specific themes, plugins or the latest version of WordPress.