WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) originally created as a blog-publishing system, but which has evolved and became a strong foundation for many types of websites, including online stores, galleries, mailing lists, forums, Polls, Mobile applications, and much more.

It has one of the most active online development communities with thousands of developers who have contributed and are contributing to WordPress by creating custom plugins, themes and other tools to help users design and launch their websites.

WordPress is the most popular CMS, it is used by 35.9% of all websites worldwide, which represents 62.7% market share for CMS.

To function, WordPress has to be installed on a web server, either part of an Internet hosting service like WordPress.com or a computer running the software package WordPress.org in order to serve as a network host in its own right. A local computer may be used for single-user testing and learning purposes.

Do not confuse WordPress.org (Self-hosted Platform) and WordPress.com (Hosted Platform)!

• WordPress.org creates and hosts the WordPress software, while WordPress.com provides freemium hosting using the WordPress software.
• WordPress the software is able to be self hosted or hosted with assistance on any website or server, while WordPress.com is simply one such provider for WordPress software hosting.

Pros:

• Easy installation (~5 minutes), Intuitive user interface
• Provides a powerful editor that allows you to easily format your content
• Has over 55,000 plugins to help your website meet your needs
• Has a strong and dynamic community
• Manual supports – Online Help – Trainings – Forums – Developer Community – Code Skeletons

Cons:

• CMS most targeted by hackers, due to its wide distribution
• Plugins often have security holes

For better management of the technical infrastructure and regular updates, it is advisable to get WordPress from a web hosting service provider.