The Company Web

I highly recommend WordPress software for setting up almost any kind of web site. Orginally released five years ago (today) as version 0.7, it is now at version 2.5.1. This FREE software allows you to easily create a website with minimal effort. For the purist, WordPress is blogging software, but it has gone way beyond that.

The software is very easy to install and configure. In fact, a lot of shared hosting companies have a one-click installation! WordPress is written in PHP and runs very well in inexpensive shared Linux web hosting accounts (more about that later).

After installing WordPress, you can then upload and configure a “theme”, which customizes the look and feel of the website. There are thousands of themes available, most of them are FREE.

You say you don’t want a blog. You want a “real” website? Not a problem. WordPress can be used as a CMS (Content Management System), providing the structure and administrative functions. This allows you to focus on the ever-important content of your website.

WordPress is even coded with software “hooks” which allow third-parties to create “plugins”  that can provide all kinds of functionality. Like themes, there are thousands of plugins available, most of them free. Some examples of the functions that plugins can provide are: showing the most recent comments, displaying a list of eBay items, creating a sitemap…the list goes on and on. Plugins are as easy to install as themes. Simply upload the plugin to your website, enable it on the Admin screen, and set any needed parameters.

Whatever kind of website you want to create, WordPress puts you way ahead of the development curve. Ok, you ask “what about support?”. There are some very active WordPress support forums. The last time I had a question, I got an answer on the forum within about an hour.

Filed under: Free, Web Site Development