Why WordPress?

WordPress is one of the most popular open source content management systems (CMS). This is a program used to create and manage digital content. This means anyone can see the code and contribute to the software to make it better.

The program is not owned, and is instead licensed. This means one can use it however they want, without restrictions. Anyone can sell and re-brand WordPress with no restrictions, although it is important to note that it is released under a GPL license. A GPL is the general public license. This states the rights people have to the software. Something to take into account as a consumer is that rights are everything. According to Kinsta, these are the leading four rights of the consumers:

• The freedom to run the program for any purpose.
• The freedom to redistribute copies, so one can help their neighbor.
• The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what one wishes.
• The freedom to improve the program, and release those improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

WordPress is self-hosted. This means that it is 100 percent free, including plugins. Therefore, any website created using the software is 100 percent owned by the individual. Any content uploaded to these websites belongs to the person who uploaded it, 100 percent, which goes back to why WordPress is under GPL, because it is based on free software. WordPress would not even exist without free software.

The wordpress.org domain is owned by the WordPress Foundation. A non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, which means the company is exempt from federal tax, because it is considered a public charity organization. The sole purpose is to make sure the software is freely available, maintained, and developed.

WordPress received a large donation from Automattic by transferring ownership of the trademark to the foundation. This actually confuses a lot of people. It is a non-profit organization that gets money through donations. Automattic is a privately owned, for-profit organization. Both earn money through donations, services, or products. Automattic was founded by the co-founding developer of the open-source software, Matt Mullenweg. He created Automattic in 2005, just two years after the other software was developed. Mullenweg’s primary focus was to make the software hosting easier for those who were not as tech-savvy.

WordPress is better to use than any other platform simply because the user has control over the information. The person using the site is the owner and there are no restrictions over what can be done. It also offers a variety of plugins and themes to meet various needs. Unlike other platforms, it continuously updates and releases new versions, which comes with some added features. Then, the site can be marketed and dressed up however one desires and begin selling and making a profit for free. In all, with WordPress, one can be his or her own boss.

Written By Alexis Norman
Edited by Jeanette Smith

Sources:

Torque: THE DIFFERENCE: WORDPRESS FOUNDATION AND AUTOMATTIC, INC.
Kinsta: Why WordPress Is Licensed under the GPL
WPBeginner: Who Owns WordPress and How Does WordPress Make Money?

Feature and Top Image Courtesy of Christine Rondeau’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License