---
title: "WordPress"
type: entity
tags: [cms, php, open-source]
last_updated: 2026-05-01
---

## Overview

WordPress is an open-source CMS (Content Management System) written in PHP, powering 40%+ of all websites globally. Primary use cases: blogs, brochure sites, WooCommerce e-commerce stores, headless CMS with REST/GraphQL API.

## Aliases
- WP
- WordPress.org (self-hosted vs wordpress.com)

## Key Characteristics

- **Editing simplicity**: Gutenberg block editor (5.0+), intuitive for non-technical editors
- **Plugin ecosystem**: 60,000+ plugins via wordpress.org repository
- **Theme system**: Child themes (never modify parent directly), code-first registration of post types/taxonomies/fields
- **Configuration**: Settings in `wp-config.php` or code — not the database
- **Custom post types & taxonomies**: Registered in code via `register_post_type()` / `register_taxonomy()`, not UI
- **ACF Pro**: Advanced Custom Fields plugin for structured content; field groups synced via ACF JSON

## WordPress Coding Patterns

### Register Custom Post Type (code, not UI)

```php
add_action( 'init', function () {
    register_post_type( 'case_study', [
        'labels'       => [
            'name'          => 'Case Studies',
            'singular_name' => 'Case Study',
        ],
        'public'        => true,
        'has_archive'   => true,
        'show_in_rest'  => true,
        'menu_icon'     => 'dashicons-portfolio',
        'supports'      => [ 'title', 'editor', 'thumbnail', 'excerpt', 'custom-fields' ],
        'rewrite'       => [ 'slug' => 'case-studies' ],
    ] );
} );
```

### Gutenberg Custom Block (block.json + PHP render)

**block.json** defines the block schema and registers editor + render scripts. **render.php** handles server-side rendering without JavaScript dependency.

### ACF Block Registration

```php
add_action( 'acf/init', function () {
    acf_register_block_type( [
        'name'            => 'testimonial',
        'title'           => 'Testimonial',
        'render_callback' => 'my_theme_render_testimonial',
        'category'        => 'my-theme',
        'supports'        => [ 'align' => false, 'jsx' => true ],
    ] );
} );
```

## Connections

- [[CMSDeveloper]] uses WordPress as a primary CMS platform
- [[ContentModel-first]] applies to WordPress content modeling before theme code
- [[CodeOverConfiguration]] — WordPress settings belong in wp-config.php or code
- [[WooCommerce]] extends WordPress for e-commerce use cases
- [[HeadlessWP]] — WordPress as headless backend with Next.js/Nuxt front-end

## Sources
- [[engineering-cms-developer]]