Thinking of installing WordPress on hosting storage you own or plan to buy? That’s a great idea, although we’re biased, seeing as how we use WordPress too. Still, there’s no denying that this open-source Content Management System (CMS) is the right choice most of the time. But where does WordPress excel? That’s exactly the topic we’re covering today. We’ve been asked this many times, and it’s something we were curious about as well. After all, you can never publish too much quality content online. So, here’s a detailed answer to the question – what is WordPress used for?
1. Blog
Blogging is what WordPress is most widely used for, and it’s no secret that it started as a blogging platform. It’s easy to see why it remains a perfect choice for content publishing, too. You can install WordPress plugins and add code snippets to improve or introduce functionality to posts and pages. We’re referring to the anti-spam comments system (see the list of best comment plugins), as well as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ones. On the visual side, you can customize installed themes on WordPress to your liking. In fact, no part of the website needs to remain unchanged, since you can even edit the footer and header and change your favicon.
2. E-commerce
Once again, even though there are many website builders dedicated to e-commerce, WordPress can be just as powerful. This is largely due to WooCommerce, a free e-commerce WordPress plugin that adds the required functionality. It takes a little longer to set everything up, true. But when done, there are no monthly fees unless you want a premium version of the plugin. We also made lists of the best cart plugins, payment plugins, and security plugins that will be crucial to your entrepreneurship.
3. Business website
Having an online presence for your business is pivotal for building a reputation and growing your brand. It can help convince people to trust you, and thus bring you new contracts, customers, or even business partners. Best of all, you might be able to pull it off by installing a child theme for business, and applying light visual corrections. On the practical side, adding a contact form, using a live chat plugin, and implementing a F.A.Q section can help with customer service. Using a map plugin or navigation plugin can also aid customers in finding your brick and mortar location. Furthermore, a job board plugin can help you find quality employees. WordPress is also ideal for this because of various email plugins that help with marketing, as well as for analytics plugins that track your reach and engagement.
4. Portfolio
By creating a portfolio in WordPress, you get all the benefits of the business website we mentioned above. The only difference is that you get to showcase yourself, your skills, interests, and creativity, and there’s a lot of versatility at hand. For example, you’ll fully utilize the WordPress Media Library and/or a gallery plugin since you must display or demonstrate your talent or skills. Don’t forget to create a catchy services page and implement a contact form.
5. Social network
A great comments system that’s easy to manage and edit, combined with Media Library and the versatility in customization, can help you create a new social network giant using WordPress. The user roles are already implemented, and you only need to add profiles, set permissions, and customize the way posts and pages look. Of course, we’re downplaying the work required, but it’s certainly possible. And, after it grows, you can install ad plugins and start monetizing your creation, just as others do. If you plan to tackle this, we recommend BuddyPress, an official WordPress plugin.
6. Member-only platform
There’s nothing’s stopping you from creating a WordPress website and adding a password to pages or posts, the entire website, or blocking IP addresses using .htaccess. For that reason, you can create a membership-based website, and hide the content behind a password or a payment wall. Obviously, there are no limitations to its niche or purpose.
7. E-Learning platform
This can be considered a member-only platform. However, we’ve separated it because it’s a niche that recently grew in popularity rapidly. You must’ve seen incessant ads for e-learning platforms that work based on a monthly subscription, right? Well, while they aren’t necessarily built in WordPress, they could be recreated in it. It’s even more likely that they can be vastly improved thanks to the addon database and the sheer potential for customization.
8. Forum
Forums used to be all the rage during the birth and early growth of the Internet. And if you tried to create one today, you’d find that WordPress isn’t designed for it. However, its sister project, named bbPress, certainly is. It uses the same core as WordPress, so you’re getting the latest updates, security, and otherwise. It also works with the same coding standard, so you can benefit from (some) WordPress themes and plugins. Finally, it’s also open-source, free to use, lightweight, and you get access to a database of more than 200 bbPress extensions.
9. Journal
There are other website builders, websites, and web apps designed for online journals, true. But nothing beats the customization WordPress offers. Even better, you’re the website owner and decide where and with whom to host your online journal. That way, your content remains private and in your hands only instead of potentially being seen, or even deleted by the platform. Additionally, the security is often lackluster, there’s a monthly fee, and adding encryption costs extra.