WTF is WordPress?

This week, the BRICKS team shares their tips and advice for using the internet’s no.1 website host

Following the BRICKS HQ open days, we realised that some of our members are struggling to effectively showcase their work. In an industry that demands tangible examples of your ability, finding an accessible way to display your proudest pieces is important. On this, we wanted to share our top tips for the free version of WordPress (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) – the internet’s leading website host that can act as your online portfolio.

While there are many website builders and hosting providers across the web, we want to focus on WordPress specifically due to its popularity – WordPress is used by 43.2% of all websites. W3Tech reports (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) that among those created with a known CMS – aka a content management system, such as a blog that hosts multiple articles or a shop that hosts products – the market share is even higher at 62.8%. 

More than 500 WordPress sites are created and published every day, meaning that as well as being a useful site to host your portfolio or create a professional website, having the skills to operate a WordPress website is vital for any digital creatives and journalists publishing online, especially with the increased expectation for new creatives to be multi-skilled. 

While many publication and creative company websites will rely on a 3rd-party hosting service to operate the website’s design and advanced services (most commonly Elementor (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) or CodeTipi (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), which we use at BRICKS), the free version of WordPress is full of free templates and plugins to create your dream website without spending a penny – the WordPress Directory currently offers around 60,000 free plugins and 12,000 free themes.

Below, BRICKS deputy editor Madeline Reid (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) and editorial assistant Hannah Kitty (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) share their top tips for getting started with WordPress and utilising the site to showcase your creativity.