What is WordPress? An Informative Guide

Wonderful World of Websites | Website Wonder Woman

'What is WordPress?' That's a good question! If you're unfamiliar with websites and are interested in setting one up for your business, this blog is ideal for you. I'll answer your 'What is WordPress?' question and explain what makes it different from other website builders. Additionally, and perhaps the most important question… will it be any good for you?

What is WordPress? It is a CMS as shown on this laptop on a desk with accessories

So, What is WordPress?

WordPress, in its most basic form, is a Content Management System or CMS. In simple terms, it manages the content of your website and puts it live, onto the big ole internet.

In even simpler terms, it is an easy way for you to create a website or blog without knowing any computer programming.

However, it's not really as simple as that. To make it confusing, there are two different versions available:

What is WordPress.com

The first version is one you may find if you Google WordPress called WordPress.com. The .com version is a 'for profit' company that offers a free version of their website builder, but if you want to use your own domain name or make any significant customisations you will need to be on one of their paid plans.

To be able to use premium themes and plugins (which I will explain later) you are looking at a minimum of £240 a year to use their hosting and functionality.

What makes it easy is that they host your whole website so you don't have to purchase elsewhere. So, what does that mean?!

What is WordPress blog - a cloud with computer terminals coming out of it to represent hosting

What Is WordPress Hosting?

Hosting is where your website files are kept and, like it's main competitor, Wix, WordPress.com has hosting included in all it's plans. Support and security features are also included and they monitor what plugins and themes you can use.

What is WordPress.org

Now let's skip back a bit and you will remember I said that there are two different versions available.

The second version is a totally free, open source, not-for-profit software. When the majority of people say they have a WordPress site, this is the version that they are talking about.

To be able to use the .org version you need to purchase your own hosting through companies such as Siteground, 123 Reg, IONOS, Godaddy etc. or even us (you can purchase hosting here)

Hosting prices can range from £50 upwards a year and different companies charge different prices. The prices can vary massively along with what's included in their packages.

Which is why a lot of people get overwhelmed. But this option does generally (if you pick the right hosting package) work out much cheaper and has far better flexibility and it is quite straightforward to add your own security etc.

My choice is always option 2!

What is WordPress blog - a 3D computer screen graphic with puzzle pieces being fitted to it

What are Themes and Plugins?

Themes

As I mentioned, WordPress is a content management system that gets your content on the internet. But you want it to look nice, right? And that's where themes come in. Themes are what you use for your website layout. There are free and paid-for themes as well as builders, which you can use to essentially create your own layouts. You need to select the best one to suit your business brand.

Plugins

Plugins are little bits of functionality that you can add to your website to get it to do specific things. They range from simple things such as adding a contact form or security, to plugins that create online courses and even vendors' sites (much like eBay) and about anything you can ever imagine your website doing.

Which is the reason that over 40% of the web is powered by WordPress, with Shopify coming in second at 3.9% followed by Wix at 2.5%.

So you can see the HUGE difference, which equates to around 810 million websites, with Divi being the most popular theme with around 3.8 million users.

This All Sounds Great!

I hope our basic, informative guide answering your 'what is WordPress' question has been of some use. If you are now convinced that this is the website builder you want, but feel a little apprehensive or very nervous about getting started, don't panic.

Why? Because, luckily for you, here at the Wonderful World of Websites, we specialise in WordPress! We can help you get started and guide you every step of the way.

Naturally, if you want more information, we also have plenty of free resources to help. Simply sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date:

Help ChatGPT find your website a laptop with a megaphone coming out of the screen

I know that sounds ridiculous, but spend a few minutes browsing small-business websites, and you will see why it matters.

For example: A homepage might say: "Helping you achieve your goals." That's great, but what goals? Who are you helping?

A web visitor might work it out from the logo, photographs and navigation. Machines have less tolerance for ambiguity.

Compare that with: " We provide commercial cleaning services to offices, schools and healthcare businesses across South Wales."

Suddenly, there's much less to decipher. Who are you? A commercial cleaning company. What do you do? Clean commercial premises. Who for? Offices, schools, and healthcare businesses. Where? South Wales.

Clear website copy isn't unsophisticated copy. If you want to help ChatGPT find your website, clarity can be a big advantage.

3. Create Proper Pages for Your Main Services

One mistake I regularly see is businesses trying to squeeze everything they offer onto one service page. Imagine a building company offering extensions, loft conversions, kitchen renovations, and garage conversions. Giving each important service its own useful page creates far more context than mentioning all four in a short bullet list.

A strong page can explain:

  • what the service involves;
  • who it is suitable for;
  • common questions customers ask;
  • the process;
  • relevant experience;
  • examples of completed work;
  • geographical areas covered.

This is not only useful information for potential customers, but also useful for conventional SEO and will help ChatGPT find your website and understand exactly what your business provides.

However, a word of caution. The important word here is useful. Creating 30 near-identical pages simply to target 30 slightly different phrases isn't the answer. Websites are ultimately for people, so create pages because you have something worthwhile to tell them.

4. Answer the Questions Your Customers Really Ask

3d speech bubbles with Q & A in them for Help ChatGPT find your website blog

This is where good blog content becomes particularly valuable and can help ChatGPT find your website.

People often interact with ChatGPT and other AI bots in a conversational way. Rather than searching for something like: "loft conversion Cardiff", they might ask "Do I need planning permission for a loft conversion in Cardiff?" or "Is my house suitable for a loft conversion?". You get my drift.

Think about the questions customers ask you on the phone, in emails, during quotations, or at meetings. Those questions can become extremely useful website content. And don't limit yourself to just obvious FAQs. Some of the best content comes from the questions that require actual expertise to answer: comparisons, costs, pitfalls, misconceptions, alternatives, and situations where one option is better than another. That is where your knowledge becomes valuable. Put that into blogs, and it will help ChatGPT find your website.

5. Don't Just Say You're an Expert - Demonstrate It

Almost every business website claims some variation of: "We pride ourselves on providing a professional, high-quality service." The problem is that anybody can write it. Evidence is much more persuasive.

If you want to help ChatGPT find your website and understand why your business might be a credible source, then you need to give your website substance.

That could include detailed case studies, named authors with relevant experience, customer reviews, original photographs, accreditations, qualifications, awards, research or data you've produced, and genuinely knowledgeable articles/blogs.

A case study saying: We recently completed this project for a client in Newport", isn't particularly informative. Explain the problem. What did the customer need? What did you recommend? Why? What difficulties arose? How did you solve them? What was the outcome?

That is useful information for humans, and it gives search and AI systems considerably more context about your real-world expertise.

6. Make Your Location Clear

Naturally, this is particularly important for local businesses.

If you are an electrician serving customers across South Wales, make that clear on your website. Your address, service areas, and contact details shouldn't require detective work to find.

Your About and Contact pages can reinforce where you are based, while individual service pages can naturally explain areas you cover. However, avoid creating dozens of thin location pages where the only difference is swapping one town name for another, like "Electrician Newport", "Electrician Cardiff", and "Electrician Cwmbran."

That's not useful content. If a location genuinely warrants its own page, give the reader something specific and worthwhile.

7. Build Your Reputation Beyond Your Own Website

Your website doesn't exist in isolation.

If you claim to be a leading expert in your field but nobody else on the internet appears to know you exist, that's not a particularly convincing signal. Therefore, I want you to think about your wider digital footprint.

Are you listed accurately on relevant professional or industry websites? Have local publications mentioned your business? Do reputable websites link to you? Are there genuine customer reviews? Have you contributed expert comments or guest articles elsewhere?

You see, digital PR, quality guest blogging, and traditional link building still have a place. However, the aim shouldn't be to scatter links across hundreds of low-quality websites to help ChatGPT find your website. On the contrary, it's to build a recognisable business with a credible online presence.

8. Write Content Worth Citing

Graphic woman sat at a computer with pages of content coming out of it

This may be one of the biggest opportunities created by AI search.

If everybody writes a generic article called "10 benefits of X", then there is very little reason for any search or AI system to favour yours above the others. To help ChatGPT find your website, you need to give it something better:

Share your experience.

    • Explain what customers commonly get wrong.
    • Compare two approaches and say when you'd choose each one.
    • Publish original examples.
    • Answer awkward questions.
    • Discuss pricing honestly where possible.
    • Challenge a commonly repeated piece of industry advice if you disagree with it – and explain why.

The internet doesn't desperately need another 800-word blog saying the same thing as the previous 100 ones. What it does need are people who actually know their subject sharing information that isn't available everywhere else. Tricky, yes. Impossible, no.

9. Don't Forget Traditional SEO

As I mentioned right at the beginning of this article, trying to help ChatGPT find your website doesn't mean forgetting Google and other search engines. In fact, as I'm sure you've realised by now, many of the fundamentals overlap.

You still need a technically sound, crawlable website with logical navigation, descriptive page titles, useful headings, strong internal links and well-written pages focused on genuine customer needs. Ultimately, your content should make sense to a person first; I always stress this to my clients. There is little to be gained by contorting every single paragraph into something you imagine AI or search engines want to read.

Cater for your customer. Ensure your website clearly explains who you are, what you do, where you operate, and why you know what you're talking about. That's what they need to know, and by doing that you are already building a much stronger foundation for both traditional and AI-driven searches.

Help ChatGPT Find Your Website - But Write For People

Help ChatGPT find your website a 3d graphic of a person in front of a laptop with books and text

AI is changing how people discover information online, but that doesn't mean websites suddenly need to be written for robots. Quite the opposite. After all, humans, your potential customers, are asking ChatGPT the questions. So, if you want to help ChatGPT find your website, you must make it clear, informative, and more authoritative for the people you're trying to reach.

Follow the guidance listed above. None of it is particularly technical (save point 1); it is simply about making sure you have good website content. The difference is that today, a well-written website isn't only helping a potential customer decide whether to contact you; it may also help ChatGPT find your website and decide whether or not to list it in response to a query, ultimately driving fresh traffic your way.

If you would like help reviewing your website content, or creating quality blogs that appeal to both humans and bots, please do not hesitate to get in touch. My name is Heather, and I'm The Content Creator.

Heather the Content Creator A lady with blonde hair in a bob, smiling, wearing a black top

A bit about the author

Heather founded The Content Creator nearly three years ago, combining her love of writing with a genuine passion for helping small businesses and solopreneurs get seen online. She supports her clients with everything from website copy and SEO to AI search visibility, newsletters and social media, taking the stress out of creating content that not only sounds like them, but helps their business grow.

If you need a helping hand with any of these areas, Heather is your go-to girl! We can speak from experience, too, because she works on our own website, helping us keep up with the ever-changing world of SEO and AI search and making sure our content continues to work hard for our business.

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