zoopmedia » WordPress

The History of WordPress

Justin Wright — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:13:46 +0000

WordPress is one of the most recognized and popular tools for blogging and website development today. However, they didn’t rise to the top of the pack overnight. In fact, the history of how WordPress developed and became an internet sensation is an interesting story in its own right.

WordPress originally appeared on the scene in 2003 as a collaboration between Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg, two software developers from Houston, TX. Mullenweg first came up with the idea of WordPress as an updated version of the recently abandoned b2/cafelog blogging project. At the time he set out to do this Mullenweg was only 19 years old and a freshman at the University of Texas. Today he is recognized as one of the pioneers of blogging software and a major force in the IT world.

When a major WordPress competitor, MoveableType started charging for their blogging platform, this led many users to seek out a free open-source alternative. By 2005 nearly 1 million users had downloaded WordPress and it quickly snowballed to become one of the top blogging platforms on the world wide web.

The first version of WordPress that users of the software today would recognize is the 1.5 “Strayhorn” release. It came out in February, 2005 and featured the now famous theme system as well as excellent comment moderation. The current version of WordPress is the 3.2 “Gershwin” release. It features a slick backend, improved API access, a micro posting format, and many security updates.

Today, WordPress is not only the software of choice for tens of millions of bloggers and website developers, major corporations have also chosen WordPress to power their important website operations. Prestigious news organizations like the New York Times, CNN, Forbes, and Reuters all use WordPress for their journalist’s blog sections. Some of the most heavily visited websites in the world also use WordPress such as I Can Has Cheezburger which is a network of sites that include LOL Cats and Fail Blog.

WordPress has a bright future thanks to its excellent developer community and open-source ethos. The very best hosting companies remain committed to WP and with thousands of dedicated developers working on plug-ins, features, and attractive themes with little to no cost for the end user, WordPress is the most attractive blog software on the market right now and for the foreseeable future.

This guest post was written by Martin Jenkinson of the popular web hosting review and resource portal Businesswebhostingplans.com.

How to Setup Google Analytics in WordPress

Justin Wright — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:48:34 +0000

When it comes to running a WordPress blog or website, one of the first things you will want to do is setup a way to track your web traffic. Without this, you will have no idea how many visitors you are getting or where they are coming from.

Google Analytics is a great option and happens to be free of charge. Once installed, you can access your dashboard where you can see all sorts of data such as unique visitors, top content, and the top search queries that brought traffic to your site. You can even see your visitors on a map overlay and get a feel of where your visitors are in the world.

To set it up, here’s a great tutorial that walks you through the process of setting up Google Analytics on a self-hosted WordPress blog:

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

Justin Wright — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:56:53 +0000

One of the most common questions we get from our clients and readers is which version of WordPress is best for them: the free WordPress.com version or the self-hosted WordPress.org version? There are many reasons why you might benefit from using one version over the other and it mainly comes down to your goals and what features you need to utilize.

Here’s a great video from the Montreal WordCamp that talks about the various differences and why one version might be better than the other for your website or blog:

For even more information on the differences, check out the official comparison page.

Quick summary of the two versions:

WordPress.com

The free version of WordPress is a breeze to setup and requires no investment on your part. The hosting is provided free of charge, along with a URL to your blog. You can purchase upgrades if you wish which will allow you to use a custom domain, premium themes, as well as make CSS changes.

WordPress.org

The self-hosted version of WordPress gives you the most flexibility. It requires a hosting account and domain name to get started, which you can find over on our WordPress resources page.

The biggest advantage to using the self-hosted version of WordPress is having complete control over your content, as well as WordPress installation. You are free to add your own plugins and themes, as well as have the ability to modify any of the code on your website.

Why Use The WordPress Platform?

Justin Wright — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:49:09 +0000

When people hear the term WordPress, they often think of a blog. It’s true that WordPress started out as a blog platform but it has since evolved into a fully capable CMS platform. It’s no longer limited to a specific use.

Matter of fact, it’s now one of the best ways to manage your content. Not only is it FREE, but it’s also simple and easy to use. What more can you ask for?

WordPress is now used by some of the largest companies in the World including CNN and the United States government. It even runs some University websites!

Still not sold? Here’s a few more reasons why we HIGHLY recommend using the WordPress platform:

Did We Mention It’s FREE?

Don’t forget it’s free to use the WordPress platform. So you can put the hammer down and put your piggy-bank back on the shelf.

All you need to get started with WordPress is a domain name and compatible hosting account. If you need help with this, check out our recommended resources or feel free to contact us with any questions.

It’s Open Source

One of the best things about WordPress is the fact that it’s Open Source. In other words, it’s free to use, regardless if you are running a personal website or a commercial one.

Why pay a company for software that isn’t nearly as good? Instead, you can spend your money on a WordPress developer that can help you get your website or blog done the way you want it. From that point on, you can manage it on your own.

It’s Easy To Update

Since WordPress is Open Source, there are constantly new versions available as bugs are reported and fixes are made. That way you always have up to date software that is secure and stable.

Even better, upgrading WordPress is super easy. You can do it with a click of a button which makes staying up to date really easy.

It’s Secure

Despite what people may tell you, WordPress is a very secure platform. Almost all WordPress hacking incidents are related to users running older versions or using very simple passwords. If you keep your blog or website up to date, you shouldn’t have any issues with security.

Check out this great article for more information on WordPress security.

It’s User Friendly

Another great thing about WordPress is its ease of use. You don’t have to be an experienced computer expert to understand how to use it. Setting it up is also easy since most web hosts now offer one click installations of WordPress. That way you can spend more time creating content instead of messing around with your server settings.

Once you get WordPress up and running, it’s even easier to learn. Simply poking around the different pages of the dashboard will prove how easy it is to use. You’ll start to understand where everything is and be an expert in no time at all.

Just look how easy it is to create a blog post. Here’s a screenshot of us working on this exact post:

It’s Got Built In User Registration

One feature that is often overlooked with WordPress is the user registration system. You can create user accounts that have different levels of privileges, which makes it a perfect platform to do multi-author publishing.

It’s also super easy to add a new account, just take a look at the screenshot below:

It Uses Themes

When it comes to design, WordPress has it covered. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes available that can be installed in a matter of minutes (if not seconds). There are tons of free themes available, as well as a handful of premium themes that offer more flexibility.

Once a theme is installed, you can simply click activate to instantly change the entire look of your website or blog. Here’s what you’ll see when you have a few themes installed:

If you ever get sick of a theme, you can simply install another one and change it up.

If for some reason you can’t find a theme you like, we can customize one to fit your needs. That way you can get the EXACT design you are looking for.

It Uses Plugins

Plugins help add different functions to your blog that do not come pre-packaged with WordPress. So if you ever run in to something WordPress can’t do, you’ll more than likely be able to find a plugin that does what you are looking for.

Just like themes, WordPress plugins are available all over the web and are super easy to install. With the newest version of WordPress, you can now install plugins with the click of a button. Simply type in a keyword to find a plugin and you will get a list of plugins that match your search.

Here’s an example of a search for a contact form plugin:

It will even give you ratings from other WordPress users, that way you can tell which plugins are the best.

Best of all, most plugins are FREE to use. So you don’t have to get out your wallet every time you want to add a certain function.

It Kills Spam (And Eats It For Dinner)

If you plan to run a blog on WordPress, you might be worried about spam. Luckily, WordPress comes with a built-in spam protection plugin called Akismet. It works like a charm and does exactly what it’s supposed to, block spam!

Here’s the current spam stats for our website:

It automatically marks spam comments and gets rid of them after a certain amount of days. It’s very accurate and makes moderating comments a breeze.

These are just some of the reasons why we HIGHLY recommend using the WordPress platform. If for some reason you still aren’t sure, check out 23 popular websites using WordPress.