What is WordPress
WordPress is a tool used to create and manage websites. It is often called a content management system, or CMS.
A content management system lets you add, edit, organize, and publish content on a website without needing to build the site from scratch or write code. In WordPress, that content might include webpages, blog posts, images, documents, links, forms, or other website materials.
Many colleges and universities use WordPress because it gives faculty, staff, and students a relatively easy way to update website content.
Why WordPress?
WordPress is one of the most popular website-building platforms in the world, powering a large share of websites across blogs, businesses, news organizations, nonprofits, and universities. Its widespread use is part of what makes it valuable to learn: the skills you build in WordPress are transferable beyond a single class or campus project. Because WordPress is widely supported, flexible, and familiar to many web professionals, it remains a practical choice for creating and managing websites without needing advanced coding experience.
What Can You Use WordPress For?
WordPress can be used for many types of websites, including:
- Department or office websites
- Course or project websites
- Faculty or student portfolios
- Blogs or news sites
- Event or program pages
- Digital scholarship projects
Do I Need to Know Code to Use WordPress?
For most basic editing tasks, no. WordPress is designed so that users can create and update content through an editing interface.
You may still need help from your campus web, communications, or instructional technology team for more advanced tasks, such as changing site design, adding plugins, adjusting permissions, or troubleshooting theme-related issues.
Roles
WordPress uses roles to control what each person can do on a site. Each role comes with a set of permissions, called capabilities, such as publishing posts, editing pages, moderating comments, managing users, or changing site settings. WordPress’s default roles are Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber.
| Role | What it means | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Has full control over a single WordPress site, including settings, themes, plugins, users, pages, posts, and comments. | Site owners or trusted staff responsible for the whole site. |
| Editor | Can publish, edit, and delete posts and pages, including content created by other users. Editors can usually manage comments and categories, but not site settings, themes, plugins, or users. | Department editors, communications staff, or faculty/staff managing site content. |
| Author | Can write, edit, publish, and delete their own posts, but cannot edit other people’s content. | Regular contributors who should be able to publish their own blog posts. |
| Contributor | Can write and edit their own posts but cannot publish them. Their work must be reviewed and published by an Editor or Administrator. | Students, guest writers, or new contributors who need review before publication. |
| Subscriber | Has the most limited access. Subscribers can typically log in, manage their own profile, and view restricted content if the site uses that feature. | Basic users, readers, or members who do not need editing access. |
When it comes to assigning roles, the safest rule is: give people the lowest role that lets them do their work. Most users do not need Administrator access. For example, someone writing occasional posts can be an Author or Contributor, while someone overseeing all site content can be an Editor. Keep Administrator access limited to the people responsible for maintaining the site itself.
In Short
WordPress is a website editing and publishing tool. It allows users to create and manage web content without needing advanced technical skills. For many college websites, WordPress provides a flexible way for faculty, staff, and students to keep information accurate, organized, and available online.
