here are many systems for creating websites, the easiest, most famous, superior and widely used is the WordPress content management system, and many website owners rely on it, including some famous brands such as Microsoft News, BBC America, TED, TechCrunch, and therefore the WordPress system is more famous if We compared it to other systems.
In this article, we will learn how the WordPress system works and what its components are, and we will learn more about the components of the system and how it works from the inside, so that you are more familiar with the contents of the system, and how to use it optimally.
WordPress basics and the programming languages it depends on
WordPress depends on the PHP language, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML, and depends on MySql as a database. If you want to use WordPress only in your work, you do not have to know these languages, because you do all the tasks through the dashboard. Easy-to-use controls and some ready-made templates and add-ons, but if you want to work in the field of website development and design, you will need to learn them.
WordPress is divided into a front-end, which is the content that appears to users, including articles, pages, etc., and on the other hand, it contains a back-end, which is the technical modifications that you make in the control panel, so that it appears to users.
We will give you a quick explanation that shows the difference between the front end that appears to users, and the back end through which you manage and customize the site.
If you go to the control panel, which you often go to through the link: www.DomainName.com/wp-admin,
your WordPress site’s control panel will often appear as follows, through which you manage all the functions of your site and customize it as you want to show it to users.
On the other hand, if you want to preview the front end of the site and how it will appear to users, click on the button in the top menu called the toolbar as follows, and choose Visit the Site.
It shows you the front end of the site that appears to visitors, which they can access directly through your domain name: www.Example.com
WordPress dashboard basics
The control panel is the backend that controls the appearance of the site that appears to site managers. It is divided into three main sections: the top bar, the sidebar, and the data display box.
Through the control panel, you can create articles and pages, manage the site, use and modify its settings, and other tasks. If you own a blog or news site, or want to display products on your site, you can do everything required through the control panel easily.
From the control panel, you can install templates (Themes) that appear to visitors to your site, and install plugins that help you perform many functions, such as creating keywords for your articles and products, and other functions, some of which we will explain in this article in a detailed title.
The top bar contains quick controls, from which you can move between the front and back interface, see explanatory signs with the number of comments, create a new article, and it can contain quick access to your additions. The side bar contains links to all menu properties and has many options.
Branching out from the main menu are sub-drop-down menus to display more items. The main items in the sidebar are Main, Articles, Media, Pages, Comments, Appearance, Add-ons, Members, Tools and Settings. The following figure shows the sidebar and its items and submenus.
The sidebar and its elements are as follows
Main
The main Dashboard shows you some quick dialog boxes, such as a quick draft through which you can write a quick article and save it until it is used and published. It also contains the latest comments made by visitors to the site, and the latest WordPress news and updates.
Articles
Articles contain a submenu consisting of items (All Articles, Add New, Categories and Tags), as follows:
- All Articles : To view and edit articles you have previously written
- Add New: To create a new article from scratch,
- Categories : This is a division of the categories of your articles
- Tags: describe your articles in greater detail without abbreviation
Pages
Pages are everything that appears to you when you click on your site’s menu, such as the About Us page, the Contact Us page, the Privacy Policy page, the Home page, What’s New, Support, and others. The Pages submenu contains
- All Pages shows you all the pages you’ve created and the ability to edit them.
- Add New: To add a new page to your site.
Media
Media simply means all the images and videos that you upload for later use within articles, such as images and explanatory videos, and its submenu contains:
- Library: which helps you see, access, edit and change all media
- Add new: which is used to upload a new photo or video
Comments
Comments are everything that visitors to your site write about their opinion on the article or a question in the articles published on your blog, and you can approve or delete them as much as you want.
Members
It contains the memberships of those responsible for managing the site and are divided into types (subscriber – contributor – editor – writer – manager). Members can be added through the submenu called Add New, and member data can be followed, canceled and modified through all the members present in the same submenu. The personal account of the site owner appears individually in the same list.
Tools
The sub-tools menu specializes in importing and exporting the site’s contents, including articles, pages, and media (to keep a useful copy if the site is attacked by hackers or if the site’s contents are transferred from one host to another). It also shows you the health of the site and information about the site such as details of settings, site configuration, and improvements. Which can be done, and there is also import and export of personal data.
Settings
This tab is concerned with all site settings, and its submenu is divided into (General – Writing – Reading – Discussion – Media – Permanent Links – Privacy).
- General : It contains important characteristics such as the site name, description, link, email address, site language, date and time of use,
- Writing: It contains some important data, such as the default classification of articles, and it appears automatically when you classify any article.
- Reading: It has some special settings, such as choosing whether you want the home page to contain your articles and some default settings for articles
The appearance and additions will be explained in the following two titles.
WordPress templates and their effect on the appearance of the site
The template: It is the form in which your site will appear to visitors. It is the most important part of WordPress. The template is considered a main entry point to knowing how the WordPress system works.
Whether the template is free or paid, the capabilities of each template differ from the other, and all template properties are controlled through the Appearance submenu, which contains: templates, customization, widgets, menus, background, getting started, installing plugins and the template editor, choosing the template that will appear on your site. This is done through templates and then activate the chosen template as follows:
After activation, you can go to Appearance << Customize in the next submenu, from which you can control all the properties of the template, and create the main menu that appears on the front end of your site, as we mentioned previously. Go to the Appearance submenu and choose Menus.
Widgets: They are everything that appears in the sidebar on the front end, and they also appear in the footer of the front end pages of the site. Examples of widgets include the archive, the latest articles, and popular articles. The following figure shows the available widgets and how to choose them.
To know what the footer and sidebar are on the front end or website, see the following figure
You will find other tabs related to the template’s appearance, and they differ from one template to another, aiming to customize the template better, and it is important to know how to customize the template well. You will also find a template editor that helps you modify the template code, but it is not recommended for beginners to use it.
WordPress plugins and their impact on website functionality
Plugins: These are auxiliary codes that help create additional functions for the site. Each new add-on is installed, linked, and activated by going to: Plugins << Add New .
For example, add-ons can help you keep your site secure and prevent it from being attacked, advance your site in search engines, operate and manage online stores, provide a customer service system, analyze and create reports on visitors to your site and its progress, make backup copies of your site, improve site speed, and other various functions.
To create any new add-on, you need to search for the add-on through the WordPress website or from within your site’s control panel. In the ( Add-ons ) tab, you can activate or deactivate add-ons or control their settings completely. Through the Add-on Editor, you can modify the add-on code, but it is not recommended for beginners.
In the end, the WordPress system is an easy and simple system through which you can control all the features and appearance of your site. We hope that we have explained in this article the general idea of how the WordPress system works.
