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Why WordPress Is A Killer Application

WordPress was created in 2003 – starting with a few users, and only some basic web publishing capabilities. For a while it ‘lurked’ in the shadows of more established publishing tools. But then in 2005 it started emerging as a preferred blogging tool. Just over 3 years after launch, and things are very different. During 2006, there were over 1.8 million downloads of Vsn 2 of the software – resulting in hundreds of thousands of web sites being powered by WordPress.

And the reason for this massive surge in popularity? There are a few key factors - ease of use, good documentation and support, an open framework, and continual development by a dedicated team.

My introduction to WordPress was in 2005. I had already had some experience with web publishing products. We created a browser-based intranet application for a customer, as published a few business websites for clients – all done in Microsoft’s ASP / ASP.Net. So we were used to a painful process associated with setting up a new site...

When I saw the WordPress statement about a ‘5 Minute Install’ – I thought it was an idle boast. When I logged onto my web control panel (all new to me – as I was only familiar with a Microsoft setup), and quickly installed my first WordPress blog within the 5 minute window, I was astounded. The install – run through Fantastico – was so incredibly simple. And the install auto-populating the new WordPress blog with a few sample entries made it so easy to immediately grasp how the program worked. A stroke of genius that probably most WordPress newbies don’t even appreciate.

Trying to get developers to document software is like trying to herd cats. Many software projects – even in corporates with strict development controls – battle to get this right. Well – somehow Matt Mullenweg – the driving force behind WordPress - has managed to pull this off. The WordPress website has many, many pages covering a large range of topics – from basic setup, WordPress fundamentals, all the way through to developer guides to enable 3rd party developers to create plugins to extend the program. And if you can’t get answers there, the forum usually helps clear up any issues.

The real genius has been the open framework – where 3rd party developers have been enabled to write plugins. These extend the basic functionality of WordPress. Hundreds of developers have created a variety of extensions. An ‘extended’ WordPress can look very different to a basic blog, becoming a powerful publishing platform suitable for many different types of sites – such as content sites, ebay sites, affiliate review sites, and even business sites.

Not all plugins are great, and there are some that are not supported after release. But there are also many good ones that make it so easy for even a publishing newbie to set up a powerful website very quickly. Contrast this to having to pay a developer a lot of money for some customized website software – that takes forever to develop and debug.

The final factor that definitely contributes to WordPress’s growing popularity is the ongoing development of WordPress. Matt Mullenweg and his team of developers deserve at a special thanks for creating such a useful and flexible web publishing platform. And for their continued dedication to upgrading WordPress. There have been several significant ‘leaps’ in functionality with each major release that has taken place over the past 3 years, and no doubt more are on the way.

If you haven’t tried your hand at WordPress – why not give it a go. It is after all free to install. And if you get stuck with setting up a site with WordPress, there are several sources to help you – from video courses, to templates, to plugins, to full-scale products that offer complete web publishing solutions based on WordPress. If you do check it out, you will see that Matt Mullenweg and team have succeeded (actually exceeded) with their goal …