WordPress has quietly gained the acceptance of the critical masses and grown into the biggest blogging platform on the web.

We asked web trainer Steve Boneham what’s so great about it.

“It’s free, open source, powerful, customisable, expandable. It’s got millions of users and a very active community of developers working with it”, he said.

To host or not to host?

WordPress offers two ways of using it – a hosted version running from the WordPress site often referred to as the ‘dot com version’ or a self-hosted version which means users are running it themselves.

The self-hosted version is where the fun starts and Steve would like more people to get past the fear factor involved in dealing with bits of code.

The set-up process is simple and doesn’t require the knowledge or skills of a web developer, Steve told us. The famous 5-minute installation really takes 5 minutes.

“You download WordPress, you extract it, you upload it and you run a script. And that’s it. You’re running it”, he said.

You can then start tweaking it. Add plug-ins, change the layout, give the site your own look and feel. According to Steve, the extra effort is worth it.

“Making that simple switch gives you access to a whole ecosystem of extra features and functionalities”, Steve said.

“There are hundreds of thousands of plug-ins, thousands of free and commercial themes and a very big developer community that you don’t get access to on the dot com version.”

Blog or a CMS

In the blogging space, WordPress has got few rivals to worry about. There are simple blogging platforms, such as Tumblr and Posterous, but neither of those allow self-hosting.

As the platform has grown and the available functionalities increased, WordPress is actually moving closer to a fully-fledged content management system.

“People have started to say that using WordPress to blog is like using a sledgehammer to open a nut”, Steve told.

“It has a potential of being so much more than a blog. In reality many people will use it as a blog but it can be so heavily customised, unique and bespoke that each site looks like a completely different system.”

So would you describe it as revolutionary?

“I’m not sure I’d describe any software as revolutionary.”

“It’s definitely changed the face of personal publishing. It’s given anyone a tool which is simple, powerful and can be up and running very quickly but which you can then do quite serious things with. So yes, in that way, I would say it’s revolutionary.”

Find out more

Help to get started with WordPress

Steve, who works as a Consultant Trainer at the staff development organisation Netskills, is currently developing a workshop which helps people with little technical knowledge to start hosting their own WordPress sites. Read more…