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Presentation

By Alex Ogden

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What is WordPress?

• Free, Open-Source software created in 2003• Websites, Blogs and Portfolios• 22% of Websites• Easy to use, no programming required!• Free themes for those who are not familiar with coding.

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The History of WordPress

• 2003, two users of b2/cafelog, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little decided to improvements on the platform they used• 27th May, 2003 – WordPress officially released• Very well received• May 2004 - WordPress 1.2 released - Plug-in architecture• December 2005 - WordPress 2.0 released - “Admin

Dashboard”

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Why WordPress?

• Free• Easy to use• Open Source/ Community Driven• Highly customizable• No programming skill required• As detailed as you want it to be• Professional looking Websites, Portfolios and Blogs

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Features and Functionality

• Contact information • Search Engine Optimised – More

visitors/More ad revenue• You can add menus, sub-menus,

sub-sub-menus and so on• Almost completely customizable• Can be used for a wide range of

things

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Statistics

• Over 23% of the websites use WordPress• 17 posts every second• 14.7 billion monthly site visits• 5.5 million comments per month• WordPress 4.0 - 14.1 million downloads

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Examples of WordPress use

• BBC America• The New York Times• Tech Crunch• The New Yorker• EBay• Walking Dead – AMC• Wall Street Journal Law Blog

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Cost and Benefits

• Free, Open-Source

• Hosting can be paid for (monthly fee)

• Self-Hosting (free but requires server)

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Pros and Cons

Pros• Free• Easy to use• No coding knowledge• Easy to maintain• Plug-ins and Themes• Search Engine Friendly• Visual-based interface for editing/managing

• Hassle-free

Cons• Not as customizable as having coders• May not suit your needs• Open-Source, code online, easy for hackers to find security holes• Lack of Flexibility, made for small content sites• Plug-ins may not be up-to-date• WordPress sites can seem to look quite similar despite themes• Generic Code causes loading slowdowns

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My Recommendations

Who should use it?• Only for small sites/personal use – not large companies• Good for bloggers• Excellent for Portfolios

Theme/Plug-in recommendations• Bizmo (Theme) – Free, simple and good looking• Twenty-Fifteen (Theme)• Contact Form to E-Mail (Plug-In) – allows for contact page

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Summary

• Everyone should give it a go• If its too simple, learn to code/find someone who can code• Large Organisations – Try it but may not suit needs• Great for building Portfolios/Blogs• Easy to maintain• Clean and Simple UI• Everyone can make a website• Quick to make something with• Too quick to be personalised