WordPress

WordPress is an open-source publishing platform, maintained by contributors around the world, that powers millions of websites from personal blogs to large enterprises. Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg forked it from b2/cafelog in 2003; the GPLv2 licence it uses means, anyone may run, study, change and share it.

What WordPress offers

• Block editor — pages and posts built from blocks, with changes previewed as they happen.
• Design tools — themes and layout controls for customising a site without code, including responsive block styles in version 7.1.
• Plugins — a large library adding stores, analytics, newsletters and social media links.
• Self-hosting — the software can be downloaded and run on a person's own server or with a hosting company.
• Community resources — documentation, courses, forums, code repositories, mobile apps and events such as WordCamp.

Who it works with

WordPress is used by creators, bloggers, small businesses, professional developers and enterprises. A global network of volunteers runs regular events where users can learn and meet one another.

Key facts

• Founded: 2003
• Founders: Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg
• Licence: GPLv2
• Requirements: at least PHP 8.3, with MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.11 and newer