WordPress is an open source and free content management platform written in PHP and combined with a MySQL or Miva database. It is easy to install, quick to load and easy to use. Features include a simple template system and a strong plugin architecture, also known as Themes in WordPress. These Themes are generally selected and installed by the user. In fact, any standard WordPress install should be enough for most people. But, there are many users who want more out of their WordPress experience and develop complex WordPress themes.
Many WordPress users may develop complicated themes that are based on preexisting platforms like OSCommerce or Joomla. There are also many users who start from scratch and develop their own proprietary software within the open source platform. These individuals may have issues sharing their knowledge and developing proprietary plugins and themes, which lead them to using another platform. Many users choose to download free plugins or themes from the WordPress repository, under Open Source licensing. These are usually developed and supported by the core developers or designers of WordPress. But, users may find it difficult to extend these free WordPress themes or plugins, since the licensed code is generally very strict.
WordPress is used as the foundation for a wide variety of applications and programs. One popular example is WPTuts+. This is an open-source CMS application that is used for online stores and e-commerce applications. WPTuts+ can be downloaded for free from the WordPress website and uses the Flex platform – a very flexible and advanced platform that is highly useful for online stores.
WPTuts+ provides several plug-ins and themes which can be used to customize the look and feel of your web portal. These plug-ins will be useful if you intend to start a store on WordPress. WPTuttle is one such great theme that is designed especially for a wordpress website. In fact, WPTuttle theme was recently used by Zalto, a high profile e-commerce company. In this case, the theme not only enhanced the look of the site but also provided additional functionality, such as customer support, shopping cart functionality and database support.
Other popular open source themes for wordpress websites are wp-admin, wp-commerce and wp-hq. wp-admin is a simple to use interface for managing your blog, while wp-commerce facilitates complete online sales. On the other hand, wp-hq focuses on WordPress’s default shopping cart system. If you plan to have a fully featured, customized WordPress blog, you should definitely try wp-hq.
WordPress also comes with a number of useful plugins that you can use for automating various tasks on your blog. For example, if you are planning to manage an entire list of email addresses for your website without having to involve anyone manually, then you should use the plugin called WPMeacher. It will allow you to add, edit, delete and search for email addresses from your CMS and keep them in a convenient place in your site.
