Frequently Asked Questions About WordPress

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1. What is WordPress?
WordPress is an online, open source website
creation tool written in PHP. But in non-geek
speak, its probably the easiest and most
powerful blogging and website content management
system (or CMS) in existence today. WordPress
allows anyone with basic computer skills to
create and manage a professional website with
minimal training. WordPress has taken the web by
storm and now runs millions of websites,
including high-profile, high-traffic sites such
as The New Yorker, BBC America, Bloomberg
Professional, Variety, The Official Star Wars
Blog and many others.
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2. Whats the difference between WordPress.org
and WordPress.com?
WordPress.com is a blog network run by
Automattic. It uses WordPress software, but
individual blogs are hosted and managed by
WordPress.com. This is a free service with
premium add-ons and upgrades. Here at
WordPress.org, you can download WordPress, the
web software that WordPress.com runs on. Once
youve downloaded it, you can upload it to a web
server and run your own WordPress website. There
is useful information about this distinction on
the WordPress.com website.
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3. Should I know PHP to use WordPress
The only time you would modify your WordPress
website with PHP would be when integrating some
of the plugins. There are a small number of
plugins that still require manual edits to your
files. In most cases, clear instructions are
usually given within a text file with the plugin.
Other than that, you would not be changing any of
the PHP files.
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4. Why WordPress is so much popular?
There are literally tens of thousands of plugins
that extend what WordPress does, so the actual
functionality is nearly limitless. You are also
free to do whatever you like with the WordPress
code, extend it or modify in any way or use it
for commercial projects without any licensing
fees. That is the beauty of WordPress, free
meaning not only price but also the freedom to
have complete control over it.
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5. How do I install plugins in WordPress?
Plugins are like apps for your WordPress site.
They allow you to add additional features like
contact forms, photo galleries, etc to your
website. To install plugins, first you need to
visit Plugins Add New page in the WordPress
admin area. Next, you need to search for the
plugin you are looking for by typing in keywords.
In the search results, click on the install
button next to the plugin that you want to
install and WordPress will install it for you.
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6. Can I start an online store?
WordPress powers millions of ecommerce websites
and online stores all over the world. Using one
of the ecommerce plugins for WordPress, you can
easily add an online store to your WordPress site
and sell both digital and physical goods. We have
created a step by step tutorial on how to start
an online store to help you get started.
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About Web Guru
The Web Guru is an Adobe Certified Instructor
(ACI) and Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in
Premiere Pro and many other Adobe applications.
In addition to being an expert trainer, he is
also a professional web developer who has created
hundreds of WordPress websites. The Web Guru is
located in Orlando, Florida and also travels
around the country conducting classes, workshops
and custom WordPress training. The training
classes offered by the Web Guru are intensive,
hands-on classes that will get you up to speed
quickly.