WordPress

WordPress is an open-source content management system that began in 2003, created by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little as a fork of b2/cafelog. It uses PHP with MySQL or MariaDB, is licensed under GPLv2 or later, and, according to its own data, powers over 43% of all websites. This makes it the most widely used CMS. There are two main versions: WordPress.org, free software you can run on any host, and WordPress.com, hosted by Automattic, Mullenweg's company. The WordPress Foundation owns the trademark. Sites are built using themes and plugins, and more than 60,000 free plugins are available. After releasing version 6.9 in December 2025, the project launched version 7.0 in May 2026, which was automatically installed on 46% of sites within a week, followed by version 7.1 in August 2026.

Strengths & limitations

WordPress stands out for its power and flexibility. It can handle blogs, brochure sites, multisite networks, membership sites, and WooCommerce stores. If plugins are not enough, you have full access to PHP. However, quality control can be an issue. Plugins are made by third parties, are not always well maintained, and can cause conflicts or security problems. WordPress is average in ease of use. The Gutenberg block editor helps with layout, but you are responsible for hosting, caching, backups, and security. Support for self-hosted sites comes from forums, documentation, and freelancers, not from a single vendor. Governance is also a concern. In the ongoing legal dispute between Automattic and WP Enginethat started in 2024, a court restored WP Engine's WordPress.org access in December 2024. Automattic then reduced its contribution hours in January 2025, and the WordPress Foundation became involved. If you want a single vendor who handles maintenance, WordPress may not be the best choice.

Pricing & licensing

The self-hosted version of WordPress is free under the GPL license. However, you will need to pay for hosting, premium themes and plugins, and spend time on maintenance. WordPress.com offers a free plan with a subdomain, 1 GB of storage, and displays ads to visitors.Paid annualplans start at $4 per month for the Personal plan, which includes 6 GB of storage, a custom domain, and plugin installs. The Premium plan is $8 per month, Business is $25 per month with 50 GB of storage, SFTP/SSH access, WP-CLI, and priority support, and Commerce is $45 per month. If you pay monthly, the cost is about double. The plans differ by features and storage, not by traffic or number of users. Prices were checked in September 2026.