What is WordPress? #205
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That's a great call out, Jonathan. At minimum, we should probably add: "WordPress is a free and open source content management system (CMS) [...]." Then I would imagine some contextual color as well. Something that suggests its flexibility of size/purpose, but then brings it back around to plain language if folks just want to know "how to get online". |
sereedmedia
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This is a very existential and important issue, and I agree that it should be defined! I personally explain WordPress as a platform for building and managing websites. Of course the free and open source part @josephahaden brought up is crucial, so I would expand that to: ""WordPress is a free and open source platform for building and managing websites." We could then have a "learn more about WordPress" link that leads to https://wordpress.org/about/ |
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Especially in the context Jonathan is talking about, using wording like Sé suggests is better than "CMS" (because those who don't know what WP is probably won't know know what a "content management system (CMS)" is 😕 |
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“WordPress is a free, open source platform for building and managing websites and blogs.” |
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This is certainly a great call. Thanks for sharing! If the goal is to find and "convince" venues to help support meetup groups by letting them host the events, I would be inclined to add some more context that helps build interest and trust. Perhaps something along these lines:
Additionally, to introduce the community aspect, something like this could be added:
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@rmartinezduque I really like your example, but will comment on that separately. I believe the goal of the ticket is to address the lack of the clear/succinct definition of WordPress on the homepage of wordpress.org. Introducing venue owners to WordPress was what led the OP to look for that definition on wordpress.org. (@desrosj please correct me if I'm wrong on that!) |
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In terms of the top-of-line definition, the audience for the first touch of the homepage certainly includes new users, new developers/agencies, and new clients of developers/agencies/community. To that end, I think we can assume a good baseline for this would be a layperson's familiarity with industry terms. (And anyway since WP language is intended to be at a widely readable level, this is a safe assumption.) "Free and open source" is already a relatively unknown, not easily defined, potentially confusing phrase for a lot of people (including developers!). That said, I think we have to say "free and open source". It's the bedrock of all of this gestures around. It is the core of the WordPress ethos and it really needs to have top billing. So then we have "content management system (CMS)" - another relatively unknown, not easily defined, and potentially off-putting phrase (in English). I think having "free and open source" and "content management system" next to each other in this context presents an immediate obstacle to that baseline understanding. However, because of the ubiquity of streaming platforms and gaming platforms, the word "platform" is very accessible. People know what a "platform" is: Please see attached image of Google trend displaying "platform" vs "content management system".
In terms of internationalization, ChatGPT had this to say: The word "platform" in the context of "website platforms" is a common term used in many languages, including Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese. However, in some languages, there may be more specific or nuanced terms that are more appropriate for describing a website platform. For example, in Japanese, the term "web platform" is often translated as ウェブプラットフォーム (webyu purattofoomu), which is a direct transliteration of the English term. However, there are other terms in Japanese that could be used to describe different aspects of a website platform, such as ウェブサービス (webu saabisu) for web services, or ウェブアプリケーション (webu apurikeeshon) for web applications. |
Yes, thanks @sereedmedia. My mind went a bit further, and I thought of a short boilerplate that could be used/adapted on the website (not necessarily on the homepage) but also come in handy for the particular use case Jonathan commented (people looking for that "official 1-2 sentence paragraph" on the site to explain/pitch what WordPress is to others). Either way, it's just a suggestion. :) |
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@rmartinezduque totally! i agree we need/should have that boilerplate content! and i think the wording and clarity in your suggestion is great! incidentally, that further boilerplate issue reminds me of a very old ticket I found that deals that discusses/drafts boilerplate Five for the Future explanations. i'll find that ticket and link it here for reference. |
This is correct. While I personally was trying to convince a venue to host our local meetup, I only included this detail to illustrate one reason someone may be trying to find that information. I couldn't even find fragments of that definition scattered across .org and I'm very experienced in WordPress. So I'm sure this is a potentially serious gap in our copy for educating and clarifying to visitors what WordPress is and does. |
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Platform does sound succinct to me. Can we check in with Polyglots folks to consider translation implication for several of our main languages? |
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A personal reflection: the only time I've ever used CMS, or said that to others, was appending it to WordPress. I've never had a client or someone I was speaking to mention CMS or content management systems. "Platform" sounds good to my ear. But any other word, or dropping the CMS, I'm in favor of. |
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Refining the example that @rmartinezduque shared and pulling in @sereedmedia and @jennimckinnon's notes:
I put "software" (a very well-known descriptor) by free and open source, then introduced "platform", and finally introduced "CMS" with a button. Does that meet people where they are and point them where they need to go? Or does it look like we can't decide on a term? I think "Find out more about the web's favorite CMS here." is negotiable, but maybe not the button. |
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I agree that CMS needs a place in the description, but I don't like "web's favorite". To my opinion you don't have to emphasive on your success. I like the idea of a button, but [Discover more] is not descriptive enough from an accessability perspective. It should be something like [Discover more features of WordPress]. |
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I think that's a great version, @josephahaden, especially in terms of the sfotware/platform phrasing. I definitely think WordPress is known for its flexibility. However, I wonder if it is actually the case that WordPress is known for its simplicity in getting online. In my experience, it is known as being somewhat confusing to the average user. So perhaps we could focus on some of WordPress's other strengths for that segment, such as "Known for its flexibility and ease of use" or "known for being flexible and user-friendly". Also agree with @jaapwiering that "web's favorite" sounds like marketing hype. How about something like: Find out more about the CMS that powers 43% of the web. (There truly is not a more relevant place for that statistic but on the dot-org homepage.) Building those comments in (plus a tad more on the types of users):
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Josepha's version looks good to me. As far as implementation into designs, we can be flexible, but generally what works best here is making it as short and portable as possible. The fewer words, the larger we can show the text, and the more likely it is to be read in its entirety. |
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Comparing .com and .org home pages, it's completely clear what wordpress is on .com, the word's most popular website builder, but it makes little sense on .org. Publish your passion? Is it a streaming platform like youtube? Or a forum where I can find a community of people with my passions?
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@josephahaden's boilerplate description of WordPress checks a lot of boxes and puts this discussion in a good place.
Putting a number in the boilerplate carries a bunch of risks. The number is subject to change and makes it difficult to update in all the places where this will be used. People fixate on numbers and it becomes a constant source of worry(I know there are other discussions about this number and depending on the source you check WP's popularity differs.) Plus, if the number were to dip, that is not a good look for the brand. 43% is only good if WP continues to increase its share. Favorite as mentioned above adds subjectivity and where there is subjectivity skepticism can be found. Best to avoid. Vague and superlative don't necessarily need to sound like hype though. Something positive-neutral sounding like "Discover what the web's most popular CMS can do for you" could very well accomplish these three things:
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Can we combine @sereedmedia's tweaks with @jpantani's tweaks? That gives us something like this (with some additional de-fluffing and consolidation):
(though I reckon that 'get started' article needs to be a bit more... humanized) |
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This is getting closer and closer. Separating Software, Platform, and CMS into three sentences has a distinct advantage by refining what the software does and bringing people along in a succinct way. Building off @jonoalderson's suggestion. In the end, it's a boilerplate so it won't be the most natural-sounding summary out there but covers a vast majority of what we'd like it to. |
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@desrosj We're at #WordCampLisboa2023 and decided to leave our insights about this issue. First thoughts: Look at it as from the client perspective, of someone who has no idea what WordPress is or what the possibilities of this tool (or platform) has. We must differentiate between the websites WordPress.com and WordPress.org. On the other hand, wordpress.org is free, but is mainly for technical users who rather install on their own hosting. If we look at the speed of information consumption nowadays, is fast, and mainly video and /or images with short and direct messages to clearly pass key information. With that said, our suggestions are:
The reason behind having a broader approach to the possibilities ( including e-commerce and LMS) and showing it from the beginning, is purely because it's a reality of the WordPress implemented solutions nowadays. This video / slides should have nice and clear images that will help people understand the key information points. Moreover, we suggest having a CTA to "What's new in WordPress" which will resume the main new features of the latest WordPress version. We didn't mention anywhere the expressions, "CMS - Content Management System" and "Open Source" because at this stage those in our opinion are not needed. Natacha Gomes and João Tiago Ogando ([email protected]) João Tiago Ogando is a WordPress user, such as myself, with extensive knowledge of WP, and we are both at #WordCampLisboa2023. |
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This is a great subject. I would like to add that it could be beneficial to make the differentiation of both WordPress and I believe it would be helpful to write the name like this: WordPress.org and WordPress.com right on the homepages. Many people get confused with both of them and do not understand the differences. I believe adding .org and .com at the end can help to understand better what WordPress is and how big it is. |
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About WordPress WordPress.com WordPress.org WordPress.org provides tools in the form of plugins, themes, and documentation that allows advanced users to create rich user interfaces, take advantage of web services, and even use the platform solely to relay data to other websites. |
Well, after so Much time I still see the same confusing websites. No sign of changes! Hope you make progresses! |
I don't necessarily agree with that, or at least, WP.com is not limited to that kind of user. |
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I appreciate all the iterations getting to a well-defined description. Alternatively I'll point out that if someone wanted a much more concise option (which could reference back to a canonical, more complete description) that they could use what's in WordPress'
EDIT: We can thank (blame?) @pento for that latest variant of a description with Nacin and Koop originally added back in 2013. |
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Just thought I'd give my 2 cents on the messaging of WordPress.org. I agree with the callouts from Jonathan. When I look at the page, we may be missing the mark on storytelling of what WordPress is in relation to the target. Think of these questions: If the current page doesn't tell that story, then we may need to think about a messaging roadmap and focus on the basics of who is the target audience, what problems WordPress solves, and how economical is it for everyday users. A document outlining the following would be a good place to start:
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and others
I was recently sending out some emails to potential local meetup venues and I was looking for an official 1-2 sentence paragraph explaining the software that I could use as a starting point in my emails to explain the meetup group.
I noticed that the wordpress.org home page (and the entire site that I could tell) does not actually say what WordPress is. There's a lot of examples of what it can do or how it can be used, but no boiled down factual summary of "what is WordPress?". If I were someone who had no idea what WordPress was and landed on the home page, I'm not sure I'd be able to figure that out. Even on the about page, the Our Story section is a bit vague on these details.
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