WordPress Extensions

We often install the Open source (free, and developed by a community of programmers, rather than one, paid, team) Content Management System (CMS), WordPress.

WordPress was originally a blogging platform developed by Matt Mullenweg, but, in its short history, the software, which runs on (also Open source) PHP and MySQL, has developed into far more than that.

There are many ways to extend wordpress, but the two main ones are using WordPress Plugins and WordPress themes.

What is the Difference Between Plugins and Themes?

A WordPress Plugin is an enhancement to the WordPress software designed to fulfill a specific purpose. For example, we use a “plugin” to drive the image slideshow on the homepage of this website.

A WordPress Theme is a “skin” or “template” which determines the style of your whole website when viewed by ordinary visitors.

Where to Get WordPress Plugins and WordPress Themes

Plugins and themes may be downloaded for free, or for a fee (premium plugins and premium themes) from many locations. The official WordPress repositories are 100% free, though often can contain “lightweight” or “freemium” versions of “pro” (premium) plugins or themes.

The Official WordPress Repositories

Official WordPress repositories can be found at:

Go Bespoke – Create A Theme Unique to You

So, WordPress Themes are available to anyone to download – whether free or paid – so maybe you want to make a website that is 100% unique. A lot of businesses see this as a must. Fortunately, it is not hard to further extend WordPress, and create unique experiences. That is why roughly 30% of all websites are now using WordPress as a CMS.

If you want to go bespoke, and have a one-off user experience, you’ll want to create a bespoke theme specifically for your website.

This is where web designers and web developers like our team here at Silicon Dales fit in. We take your vision, and turn it into a WordPress setup, utilising the best theme styles and WordPress plugins to create a successful web experience for your business clients.

WordPress websites built in the Silicon Dales include stylish design, but also an insistence on best practice where SEO is concerned, in order that your website should work not only to provide information to existing customers, but to put you in front of new business, too, for free (well, without paying for search engine marketing on top of your website design!).

Do It Yourself?

Can you do it yourself? Of course, but we do it for our clients, quickly, and efficiently, allowing you to get on with business!

If you want advice, however, our blog has a lot of WordPress tips and tricks to help you build on our initial success, whether or not you use our creative and design services.

Just contact us if you want us to build you a new website – that is unique and bespoke to your business – using WordPress.

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