Updated: 10 August 2026
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a free & open source blogging tool and Content Management System, which runs on a web hosting service.
With a new and clean installation of WordPress you can maintain a Blog, only. However the functionality can be extended considerably by the addition of Plugins, for example the WooCommerce plugin converts WordPress into an online store.
The appearance of WordPress front-end pages are modified by Themes e.g. StoreFront is a theme distributed by the creators of WooCommerce and is the benchmark theme for rendering products and shopping-cart features.
Notes
- Lookup WordPress releases https://wordpress.org/download/releases
- Version number can be found in file
wp-includes/version.php