In August 2011 it was estimated that around 22% of all new websites in the USA run on WordPress. It is the CMS of choice for nearly 15% of the world’s top 100 websites (source). In a nutshell, it forms the foundations of some of the most trafficked blogs in the world. Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, a huge proportion of the internet runs on WordPress.

And why not? If you are new to our favorite CMS, you may not grasp the potential power that you have in your hands. In terms of web development, WordPress provides you with a means by which you can accomplish perhaps anything you set your mind to.

Functionality in Abundance

WordPress alone is a wonderful CMS, but its true power lies in its almost unlimited extensibility. Every single month sees the release of tens of new themes and plugins. Almost every taste and requirement is catered for – whether you want a Tumblr-style theme (after all, why use Tumblr when WordPress can do the same thing?), or a professional-looking design template for your business.

If themes give your WordPress site a new coat of paint, plugins soup up the engine. The potential for what you can do is nearly limitless. Where to start – how about building a fully-featured eCommerce site? Contact forms at the click of a button? Instant social sharing?

If you have an idea that you think could extend the functionality of your site, someone has probably already developed a plugin that gets the job done. If you want some examples of the very best, just check out our Themes & Plugins section.

The Competition

Over the past 9 years, WordPress has steadily climbed to dominance. It only takes a quick search on Google Trends to recognize its current dominance compared to competitors past and present:

The reasons for its ascendancy are varied. It is free (always a good start). It is open source. It is powerful. For those amongst us who are not expert coders (i.e. the majority), it is user-friendly and intuitive.

In short, WordPress somehow combines power and simplicity without it seeming like an unbearable compromise.

 

WordPress: Why We Love The World’s Most Popular Content Management System – ManageWP.