Hi and welcome to this introduction to WordPress.
In this lesson, we'll delve into the basics,
helping you gain a fundamental understanding of what you can achieve with WordPress, even if you're a complete beginner.
The learning outcomes for this session are to define WordPress,
discuss what can be achieved using WordPress,
explore examples of WordPress sites, clarify what open source means,
and briefly discuss the importance of themes and plugins.
Add its core, WordPress empowers you to create your own website,
or blog.
Millions and millions of websites have been built using WordPress,
ranging from online stores and small businesses to renowned entities like NASA, the Walt Disney Company,
and the Facebook Newsroom.
But first things first, WordPress is a CMS or content management system.
In simple terms, it is a free tool or platform that helps you create, edit, and manage your own website or blog without needing to learn code.
Whether you're a small business owner, a passionate blogger, or an aspiring entrepreneur,
WordPress provides the perfect platform to showcase your ideas, products, and services to the world.
Did you know more than 40% of all the websites in the world are built using WordPress?
You can therefore rest assured that it is an extremely reliable, secure, and sustainable platform to use.
Let's look at a few examples to see what type of websites have been built on WordPress.
First up, we have the Art Gallery of Ballarat, which is a gallery situated in Australia.
They have an extensive collection of artwork, host exhibitions, and also sell jewelry gifts and accessories.
The next example is a business website of a plumbing company based in Cape Town.
And as you will notice, the homepage is full of helpful information.
We can read about the services, see testimonials, and also find out where they are situated and how we can contact them.
The third example is of a food blog named Minimalist Baker, where you can find simple recipes, shop for kitchen utensils,
and also learn more about baking and cooking.
The last example is of a website named Mrs. O. Around the World.
It is a luxury travel blog, filled with travel hacks, guides, and more.
Something else to mention is that WordPress is open source.
That means it is a free software that anyone can download and use.
It also means that anyone can contribute to the code or in other areas of WordPress to help improve it.
Even you can get involved.
There are two important elements to remember when you start building your WordPress site, themes, and plugins.
You will need a theme that will determine the look and feel of your website.
And there are thousands of free and premium themes to choose from.
And secondly, WordPress allows you to install plugins to add extra functionality to your website.
Plugins can, for example, be added if you want to sell products on your site, to improve the security or speed of your website, to add forms, etc.
And please note, the themes and plugins featured here are merely examples.
So to summarize, WordPress is a free tool you can use to build a website without knowing any code.
WordPress is used by individuals such as bloggers, small business owners, etc.
as well as large companies and even government agencies.
WordPress is truly for everyone.
But now you might be asking what happens after our download WordPress?
That is a great question and exactly what we will be talking about in our next video, as you will need a domain name and a place to host your site.
All the best as you start your journey with WordPress.