nexus/wiki/entities/WordPress.md

title, type, tags, last_updated

title	type	tags	last_updated
WordPress	entity	cms php open-source	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)

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

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