WordPress - Runs 43% of the Web Because It Just Works

WordPress started as a blogging platform in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg. Twenty-two years later it powers about 43% of websites because it's free, hackable, and there's a plugin for every stupid idea someone's ever had. Not because it's perfect - trust me, it's not.

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com: Pick Your Poison

There are two different WordPress options, and this confuses the shit out of people:

WordPress.org is the real WordPress - free software you install on your own hosting. You control everything, but you're also responsible when things break at 3am. Want to install a plugin? Go ahead. Want to fuck up your database? Nothing's stopping you.

WordPress.com is Automattic's hosted version. They handle the technical stuff, but you're stuck with their limitations. It's like renting an apartment - easier but you can't knock down walls.

For anything serious, use WordPress.org. The .com version is fine for basic blogs, but you'll outgrow it fast.

The Technical Reality

WordPress runs on PHP and MySQL - the same LAMP stack that's been powering websites since the early 2000s. It's not cutting-edge tech, but it works and there are millions of developers who know it.

Latest stable is WordPress 6.8.2 (July 2025). WordPress drops updates every few months, and they'll randomly fuck your site - 6.1 killed our contact forms for three days because of some bullshit theme conflict we didn't see coming. Always backup before updating or you'll be debugging at 3am.

The plugin system is WordPress's superpower and its curse. Need a contact form? There's a plugin. Want to turn your site into an online store? WooCommerce has you covered. But every plugin is another thing that can shit the bed at 2am when you're trying to push an important update live.

The Ecosystem: Plugins and Themes Everywhere

WordPress has over 59,000 free plugins in the official directory. Sounds great until you realize half haven't been updated since Obama was president and the other half are security holes waiting to happen. Real talk: you only need maybe 20 plugins to build almost anything worth building.

Popular tools that actually work:

• Elementor: Page builder used by about 30% of WordPress sites. Creates bloated code that loads slower than molasses but non-technical people love dragging shit around.
• WooCommerce: E-commerce plugin that powers 20% of WordPress sites. Powerful but overcomplicated - had a client spend 3 weeks just setting up shipping rates.
• Yoast SEO: SEO plugin that works but their constant "UPGRADE NOW" notifications will drive you insane.

WordPress Performance: It Can Be Fast

WordPress can handle massive traffic if you know what you're doing. Companies like Microsoft and Forbes use it. But out of the box on cheap hosting, it's slow as shit.

Want fast WordPress? Here's what actually matters:

• Decent hosting (skip the $3/month shared hosting)
• Caching (WP Rocket or similar)
• CDN (Cloudflare is free and works great)
• Don't install 50 plugins just because you can

Most WordPress performance problems come from cheap hosting and bloated themes, not WordPress itself. Fix your hosting first before you blame the software.

Hosting: You Get What You Pay For

WordPress hosting is where most people screw themselves. That "unlimited" $3/month hosting will make your site load slower than dial-up in 1995 - I've watched sites take 15 seconds to load a basic page because someone thought they could save $20/month on hosting. Here's what you actually need:

Shared Hosting ($5-15/month) is fine for personal blogs if you pick a decent provider. Avoid EIG-owned hosts like Bluehost - they oversell servers and your site will crawl. SiteGround is okay but overpriced.

Managed WordPress Hosting ($20-50/month) handles the annoying stuff - updates, backups, staging sites. WP Engine is solid but expensive. Kinsta runs on Google Cloud and is fast as hell. Worth it if you value your time.

VPS/Cloud ($10-50/month) gives you control but requires Linux skills. DigitalOcean is cheap and reliable. Vultr is similar. You'll spend time managing the server but save money and get better performance.

Enterprise Hosting ($200+/month) for sites that can't go down. WordPress VIP, Pantheon Enterprise, or dedicated servers with managed support. This cost us something crazy like $50k in AWS bills for a client's e-commerce site - maybe more, I blocked that trauma out.

Pro tip: Hosting migrations will ruin your weekend - spent 48 hours migrating a client's site only to discover their email routing was hardcoded to the old server AND their SSL cert didn't transfer. The client's contact form was broken for two days. Pick decent hosting from the start or suffer later.

WordPress Security: It's All on You

WordPress itself is secure. The problem is all the plugins and themes people install from sketchy sources. Most WordPress hacks happen because people ignore updates for months and get pwned by known vulnerabilities. Then there's the idiots who install pirated themes that come with backdoors baked right in. And don't get me started on passwords like "password123" (seriously Karen, it's 2025). Oh, and shared hosting that spreads malware faster than office gossip when one site gets compromised.

Actual security practices that work:

• Update everything immediately (yes, plugins break sometimes)
• Use strong passwords and 2FA (Authy or Google Authenticator)
• Install Wordfence or Sucuri - they'll scan for malware and block bad bots
• Backup daily (UpdraftPlus works, test restores annually - learned this when a backup I thought was working threw "Fatal error: Cannot redeclare function wp_head()" and was completely fucked)
• Use HTTPS everywhere (Cloudflare is free and easy)

WordPress security plugins are useful but they can slow your site down. Don't enable every feature unless you need it.

AI Plugins: Mostly Garbage Right Now

Plugin submissions exploded in 2025 with the AI gold rush. Most AI plugins are complete garbage built to cash in on the hype - tested five "AI content generators" and they all spit out the same recycled nonsense. They create generic content that reads like a robot wrote it, slow your site to a crawl, and half the time don't even work.

The AI tools that actually work:

• Content generation: Can write basic blog outlines, but you'll need to edit heavily
• Chatbots: Better than nothing for customer support, but they give robotic answers
• SEO optimization: Auto-generates meta descriptions that are mediocre but save time

Skip AI plugins for now unless you enjoy debugging broken features. Wait for the technology to mature.

Making WordPress Actually Fast

WordPress performance is about eliminating bottlenecks, not adding more plugins. Here's what actually works:

Fix your hosting first. All the caching plugins in the world won't save you from shitty servers.

Caching is mandatory. WP Rocket costs $50/year and just works. W3 Total Cache is free but harder to configure. Cloudflare CDN is free and speeds up global loading.

Optimize images. Use WebP format, compress everything, and lazy load images below the fold. Smush does this automatically.

Clean up regularly. Delete unused plugins and themes. Clean your database annually. Remove spam comments and old revisions.

Most "performance" plugins slow sites down by adding more code. Focus on good hosting, caching, and image optimization first.

Pro tip: WordPress 6.7.1 has a weird bug with Gutenberg blocks that randomly disappear. Skip to 6.7.2 or stick with 6.6.x if you value your sanity. I still don't fully understand WordPress hooks after 10 years - I just copy-paste from Stack Overflow like everyone else.