Does it confuse you when people toss around terms like “platform,” “themes” and “plugins”? Let me take a shot at explaining.
WordPress is a platform, or collection of libraries, on which to build a web site. Think of it as a large, sturdy table. You can pile up all manner of things on that table: your stamp collection, a bunch of books, or even a place setting for lunch.
WordPress is not proprietary–no one “owns” it, and it’s free for anyone to use. A whole community of programmers and users are constantly reviewing the code: making improvements, tightening the screws and strengthening the supports of the table.
Themes determine the look and feel of a WordPress site. A theme is like a tablecloth–you can have lots of different textures, colors, or materials. You can swap it out and have a whole new look!
There’s a nearly infinite supply of WordPress themes, both free and “premium” (paid). They allow customization to varying degrees. In most cases, if you’re customizing a theme beyond the menus and settings, you’ll need to create a child theme, which is like a tablecloth protector, or perhaps a placemat. It holds your customizations if you need to pull out the tablecloth and wash it (i.e. update the theme).
Plugins create specific functionality on a site. Do you want a particular kind of photo gallery? There’s a plugin for that. Do you want a video or resource library? There’s a plugin for that. Do you want your users to fill out a form? There’s a plugin for that. As with themes, there are free plugins and “premium” or “pro” plugins with a wide range of subscription or purchase costs.
Think of the plugins as parts of a place setting. You only want to have the things on your table that you’re actually going to use. You don’t need a cup and saucer unless hot drinks will be served. Otherwise, your table will become cluttered and things might get knocked off or interfere with one another.
While WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform, it has grown to the point where it is now supporting a sizeable portion of all existing web sites. It’s a very useful “table,” if you know how to put it to work for you.
