New Media Vocabulary: WordPress
WordPress is a widely used blogging and content management system developed by the WordPress Foundation. WordPress can be used in two configurations. First, users can use the free WordPress.com, which is a hosted version of the WordPress software. This means that their blog resides on WordPress.com servers and is typically accessed via a Url similar to XYZ.wordpress.com. This hosted system is robust and constantly updated, but users cannot embed certain content in their blog posts or sidebar (such as web widgets that use the <IFRAME> method of embedding. Commonly used services like YouTube can be embedded using a special WordPress code in blog posts. Users also cannot install any “plugins” that extend the functionality of WordPress or custom Themes to alter the look and feel of their site.
Users can also decide to install the full version of WordPress to run directly on their web site — called a “self-noted installation.” This requires a web hosting account that supports a LAMP environment (Linux, Apache, MySQL, php) as these are the underlying technologies used by the WordPress software. Once installed, self-hosted installations of WordPress can be configured in nearly any way, allow for the installation of WordPress plugins and themes, including the creation of their own plugins and themes, if desired. Many web hosting companies offer an Easy Install option as part of their services which installs WordPress and creates all the necessary MySql databases for you.
For more information on WordPress:
- Hosted WordPress blogs at WordPress.com
- WordPress software ad information at WordPress.org
- WordPress at Wikipedia
Previously on New Media Vocabulary: