What programming language does WordPress use? The WordPress program is written in PHP language. There are currently many CMS systems written in PHP, such as WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla.
The full name of PHP is Hypertext Preprocessor, which is a general-purpose open-source scripting language. The grammar absorbs the characteristics of C language, Java, and Perl, which is good for learning and widely used and is mainly applicable to the field of Web development.
The previous article explained some of the advantages of WordPress. In this article, we will introduce the benefits of PHP, a programming language, and how PHP works in WordPress themes.
First of all, PHP has the following characteristics.
1) Open source and free
Since the source code of the PHP interpreter is public, websites with a high safety factor can change the PHP interpreter by themselves. In addition, the use of the PHP runtime environment is also free.
2) Quickness
PHP is a language that is very easy to learn and use. Its grammatical features are similar to C language, but it does not have the complicated address operation of C language, it adds object-oriented concepts, plus it has a concise syntax. Rules make it very simple to operate and edit, and very practical.
3) Extensiveness of database connection
PHP can establish connections with many mainstream databases, such as MySQL, ODBC, Oracle, etc. PHP uses different compiled functions to establish connections with these databases. PHPLIB is a commonly used base library for general affairs.
4) Both process-oriented and object-oriented
In the use of PHP language, process-oriented and object-oriented can be used separately, and PHP process-oriented and object-oriented can be mixed together, which is impossible for many other programming languages.
Second, how is PHP used in WordPress?
If you downloaded the latest WordPress version from the official WordPress website, you can open the ZIP file and see that most of the included WordPress core files are PHP.
Likewise, any theme you install will include a bunch of PHP files (the screenshot below is the default Twenty Seventeen theme):
And any plugins you install will also be primarily PHP.
In addition to using PHP in the core files, WordPress includes a large number of functions, hooks, classes, and methods that you or a developer can use to extend the functionality of WordPress in a number of useful ways.
For example, one of the most famous functions is the_content();. While this little snippet may seem innocent, it’s actually what your theme uses to display the entire content of each of your blog posts.
That little snippet can turn into a 10,000-word blog post after your web hosting server has finished processing the PHP code. These functions, hooks, classes, and methods are an important part of what makes WordPress flexible.
Finally, let us use an example to example how PHP works in WordPress themes.
Let us take things a step further by connecting the server-side nature of PHP to your WordPress site with a quick example.
If you go back to the picture on the Twenty Seventeen theme:
You will see that there are separate PHP files such as “sidebar.php”, “header.php”, “comment.php” and so on.
If you’ve used WordPress, these terms should sound familiar. Each of these files connects to similarly named areas on the front end of your website.
For instance:
sidebar.php determines the look and functionality of your sidebar area.
header.php determines the appearance and functionality of your headers.
comments.php determines the look and functionality of your comments section.
Whenever someone visits your website, your web server takes all these separate PHP files for the different areas in your theme, puts them together as specified by your theme, and sends the finished HTML output to the visitor’s browser.
The wonderful thing about WordPress is that all of the PHP is already written for you in the form of the core WordPress software, WordPress themes, and WordPress plugins.
While advanced WordPress users can use PHP for more complex customizations, regular WordPress users should never need to care about PHP if they don’t want to.
But, having said that there are definitely benefits to learning the basics of PHP. Even just learning the most popular WordPress PHP functions will help you quickly make some simple but important tweaks to your WordPress site.
Learning PHP is essential if you want to develop your own WordPress themes and plugins.
We all comprehend that WordPress has numerous benefits, and WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS), but why do website developers choose WordPress? What are the benefits of utilising WordPress?
First, WordPress is open source and free. Second, CMS is secure, scalable, easy to maintain, and highly customizable. If you are still not convinced, why should you choose WordPress over another CMS? We are going to explain why you should use WordPress.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS). It is a powerful tool for developing and managing websites. Currently, WordPress powers 43.2% of all internet sites. It is an increase from 39.5% in 2021.
That number is staggering if you consider it. That means two out of every five websites you come across operate WordPress!
A content management system (CMS) is a tool that allows you to create and manage a fully functional website without writing code from scratch. The result is WordPress, which makes building websites easy and accessible to anyone – even those without coding knowledge.
Reasons to Use WordPress
There is no denying that WordPress is superior to all other content management systems. Here’s what causes it to stand out from the competition.
1. Open-source and free
WordPress is free and open-source.
Open-source means you can download it free, and use or modify it to suit your needs. Anyone can download and start using the platform immediately for free.
2. Security
In an era of increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats, using a secure platform is critical.
WordPress is a highly secure platform. The fact that it has a dedicated security team dedicated to improving the platform underscores the seriousness it places on security. The team’s mission is to identify and fix security vulnerabilities before they become a threat.
- Excellent for SEO
Another reason to use WordPress is that the platform is excellent for SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Search engines love WordPress for its semantic markup and high-quality code. And there are many SEO-optimized plugins, such as Yoast SEO, which add extra code and markup that help it communicate better with search engines to improve rankings.
- Reliable
Reliability is an essential factor to consider when choosing a content management platform. WordPress does not dissatisfy in this regard.
Sometimes looking at the number of people utilising a platform is the best method to determine its reliability. According to recent statistics, WordPress dominates the CMS market share with more than 455 million sites operating the platform.
Plus, big names like CNN, TechCrunch, and TED use WordPress. If the platform were unreliable, there would not be so multiple users.
- Easy to learn
Getting started with WordPress is easy.
First, since it is open-source, there are no barriers to accessing the platform. Second, there is a wealth of online and offline material on every aspect of WordPress that you can use to learn how the platform works.
- Comfortable to maintain
If you are never managed a website, one thing to know is that they require a lot of maintenance. WordPress sites are easy to maintain if you keep your CMS updated and fully optimized.
- Great for blogging
WordPress started out as a blogging platform, which is why it is widely used for blogging. It is one of the fastest and cleanest platforms for writing and publishing blog posts.
- Regular updates
WordPress releases updates frequently—usually two to three times a year. Updates range from new features to security patches to updates that change the method people use the platform. These updates help keep it secure and improve the user experience.
- Adaptable
WordPress has a huge library of themes and plugins, making it highly adaptable. You can turn the platform into any website you want — a community forum, a food blog, or even a photography gallery. The possibilities are endless.
- Huge community
We’ve already discussed how popular WordPress is digital. However, there is also a thriving community of developers from around the world who are dedicated to making the platform safe, user-friendly, and accessible to everyone.
- Highly scalable
WordPress is an excellent CMS for business websites of almost any size. In addition to being adaptable and highly secure, it is also extremely scalable, capable of serving tens of thousands of logged-in users simultaneously.
- Many themes and plugins
WordPress’ popularity is due in part to its large library and themes designed specifically for the platform. Currently, there are thousands of plugins and themes (paid and free) available for WordPress.
In most cases, you’ll find plenty of great free options no matter what functionality you’re trying to achieve on your site.
- Highly customizable
As mentioned earlier, WordPress has thousands of themes and plugins available.
These add-ons make the platform highly customizable. For example, most themes come with a panel that allows users to upload a logo, change colors, create beautiful sliders, change the background, and make any other changes they deem necessary.
- Strong support
Customer support is another key factor to consider when choosing a CMS.
Since the platform is used by millions of people around the world, there are countless guides, tutorials, and online materials that can prove very useful. You can also take advantage of the WordPress forums to communicate and interact with other people using the platform.
Also, no matter where you are in the world, you can always get direct support from the WordPress team through the live chat option.
- You can use it for all types of projects
A lot of people will tell you that WP is a blogging platform and they are right.
But WordPress is more than just a blog. The platform can be used for almost any project. Whether you want to start a forum, set up a virtual classroom, or grow your business, a simple WordPress website can help.
- Support multiple media types
WordPress supports almost all media formats. Rarely will you come across a file format that WordPress doesn’t support.
You can upload common file formats such as .jpg, .png, .pptx, .doc, .pdf, .gif, .avi, .wmv, .and .mp4. Other than that, you won’t have issues with rare file formats such as .3gp, .ogg, .key, and .odt.
- Ease of Integration
WordPress integrates well with a large number of third-party tools. Besides themes and plugins, you can also integrate WP with Google Analytics, payment gateways, marketing software, productivity tools, and many other third-party applications.
- WordPress is multilingual
Not a native speaker? Don’t worry. The platform supports over 160 languages worldwide, so you’ll be able to reach your audience in a language they understand.
- Optimize speed
A slow website increases the bounce rate and decreases time on site.
WordPress has certain elements and specific features that you can take advantage of to improve your website speed. For example, you can take advantage of options such as advanced caching or Gzip compression. You can also install a lightweight theme that doesn’t weigh down your code. Check out this WordPress optimization guide to keep your website running as efficiently as possible.
- WordPress is flexible
WordPress can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.
If you are just starting out and want a simple blogging platform, you can choose the basic version of WordPress. However, if you want something more professional with advanced features, you can add widgets and plugins to your website.
- WordPress is responsive
Google’s mobile-first indexing update requires sites to be responsive on mobile devices. Every modern WP theme supports responsive design, which automatically scales to fit the screen of any device viewed on it.
- Numerous e-commerce solutions
If you run a business website with WP, you’ll love the many eCommerce solutions the platform offers. You can turn your website into an online store using popular plugins like WooCommerce and WP Ecommerce.
- Post scheduling
WordPress makes it super easy to schedule content to publish.
This way, you can write your content once and have it automatically posted at certain times of the week.
- Can be used as a membership service
If you offer intangible services, WordPress offers an easy way to sell memberships on your website. There are plugins you can use to sell memberships and earn revenue by charging users to view exclusive content on your site.
- 36% of top websites use it
Statistics show that 36% of top websites use WordPress. Big names like Time Magazine, Sony Music, Tech Crunch, and The Next Web are making millions with WordPress, proving that WP is reliable and business-friendly.
- Endless Design Options
With WordPress, you have endless design options thanks to the many themes available. WP themes help you change the look of your website. Choosing and tweaking a theme to your liking is one of the fun parts of building a website.
- Universal Dashboard
The WordPress dashboard is intuitive and easy to use. That’s because the dashboard is universal and everyone looks the same. Even if you add multiple plugins and change the standard menu options, the basic functionality is common and remains the same.
- Easy to manage
Managing a website can be daunting, especially for beginners. Managing WordPress is not difficult if you are familiar with the platform. Typically, managing WP will involve the following tasks:
l Manage spam
l Run the backup
l Maintain security checks
l Check site speed and improve SEO
l Test functionality and broken links
l Update themes and plugins
It may seem difficult at first, but over time it becomes second nature.
- Organize events
Every year, WordPress hosts several online and offline events. For example, it hosts tons of meetups and WordCamps around the world, giving users a chance to network with like-minded people and learn new things.
- Free Page Builder
WordPress comes with a free page builder that allows users to build content pages with drag-and-drop functionality through the block editor.
- Ready to use
You can use WordPress immediately after installation. No configuration is required after setup is complete. However, you may need to customize the theme to suit your interests.
- Social Media Integration
WordPress makes it easy for users to leave comments on the website using their social media accounts.
- Multi-user capability
WordPress supports multi-user functionality.
If you’re not the only user accessing the platform, WP makes it easy to assign different access rights to different people. Simply create accounts for each person individually, then limit permissions based on the user’s needs.
- Add testimonials
Adding testimonials to your website helps build credibility. Many WP plugins exist that make it easy to post customer testimonials and reviews.
- It keeps improving
The beauty of WordPress is that it continues to improve over the years. New features are added every year, more plugins are developed, and customizations are perfected to make the platform more powerful and user-friendly.
Summarize
As you can see, WordPress is a powerful platform, used by 36% of top websites and well-known companies. If you’re not using this awesome content management system, this guide should give you enough reason to do so.
