WordPress.org

What is WordPress (WordPress.org)?

WordPress is the world's most popular CMS, open source and self hosted, powering a huge share of the web, with endless themes and plugins, the flexible, powerful standard for websites you fully own and control. The self hosted, open source WordPress.org software lets you build and manage almost any kind of website, blogs, business sites, portfolios, stores (with WooCommerce), membership and more, installing it on your own hosting, choosing from thousands of themes for design and over 60,000 plugins for features, and fully owning and controlling your site. Powering a large portion of all websites, WordPress is unmatched in flexibility and ecosystem, though it requires more setup and maintenance than hosted builders. For a flexible, powerful CMS, WordPress is the benchmark.

WordPress's distinction is unmatched flexibility, ownership and ecosystem as an open source CMS. With thousands of themes, over 60,000 plugins, and full control over a site you own and host, it can build and do almost anything, which hosted builders with closed ecosystems cannot match for flexibility and ownership, and its ubiquity means vast resources and support. That flexibility, ecosystem and ownership set it apart, balanced by maintenance responsibility.

Who WordPress is best for

WordPress is best for individuals, businesses, developers and organisations that want a flexible, powerful CMS they fully own and control, with endless themes and plugins for almost any site, and who can manage (or hire for) setup and maintenance. It suits flexibility and control. It is a weaker fit for those wanting the easiest all in one hosted builder, where Wix fits, the most beautiful design out of the box, where Squarespace fits, a dedicated store, where Shopify fits, or designer visual control with clean code, where Webflow fits.

Key features

The core strengths are a flexible open source CMS for managing pages and content, thousands of themes for design, over 60,000 plugins for features (e commerce via WooCommerce, SEO, forms, membership and more), full ownership and control on your own hosting, a huge community and resources, and a block editor plus page builders. WordPress offers unmatched flexibility. Its ecosystem, flexibility and ownership are its defining advantages.

WordPress pricing

WordPress.org software is free and open source, but you pay for web hosting (from a few dollars a month to much more at scale), a domain name, and any premium themes or plugins you choose. So total cost ranges from very cheap to significant depending on hosting and add ons. You own the site. Get the software from WordPress.org (or use hosted WordPress.com for an all in one option).

Integrations and ecosystem

WordPress has the largest website ecosystem: over 60,000 plugins, thousands of themes, page builders (Elementor and others), WooCommerce for e commerce, and integrations with virtually every service. Its vast plugin and theme ecosystem, which lets you add almost any feature and design, is WordPress's defining strength and a key reason it dominates the web.

WordPress and flexibility

Unmatched flexibility, ownership and ecosystem as an open source CMS is the signature strength: with thousands of themes, over 60,000 plugins and full control over a site you own and host, WordPress can build and do almost anything, which closed hosted builders cannot match, backed by vast resources. For flexibility and control, this is the main reason to choose WordPress.

Ease of use and support

WordPress is well rated for flexibility, ecosystem, control and cost, with a huge community and resources, though reviewers note the maintenance burden, plugin conflicts, security vigilance and a learning curve versus hosted builders. Its G2 reviews praise flexibility and ownership, with maintenance and the learning curve the main considerations.

Is WordPress worth it?

For individuals, businesses, developers and organisations that want a flexible, powerful CMS they own and control with endless themes and plugins, WordPress is the benchmark choice. The main caution is setup and maintenance, so those wanting the easiest all in one builder may prefer Wix, beautiful design Squarespace, a dedicated store Shopify, and designer control Webflow, but for a flexible, powerful CMS WordPress leads.