{"id":6427,"date":"2021-10-06T09:01:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T09:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/?p=6427"},"modified":"2023-02-21T09:41:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T09:41:11","slug":"wordpress-terms-concepts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Essential Terms and Concepts You’ll Need to Know When Using WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a new WordPress user<\/a>, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on board at first. Learning them is an important task, because you\u2019ll need to understand the platform and how it works as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this lesson, we\u2019ll list some of the key WordPress terms, words, and phrases you\u2019ll come across when using the platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

16 Commonly Used WordPress Terms You\u2019ll Need to Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note that the below terms and phrases aren\u2019t in any specific order. Even so, we\u2019ve grouped some related terms together, so you can compare meanings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, feel free to jump around the lesson to terms you don\u2019t yet know, and come back to those you do. After all, you could learn something new about all of these WordPress terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The WordPress Dashboard (or \u201cAdmin\u201d)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our first term is the first screen you\u2019ll see once you log into WordPress \u2013 the dashboard:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also called the \u201cWordPress admin\u201d, and it\u2019s the place you come to when managing your site. Along the top, you have a toolbar of quick options, and the sidebar contains the different panels relating to your site\u2019s functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main dashboard page you\u2019ll see at first is customizable with various widgets. We\u2019ll have more to say on this later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. \u201cCore\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll often hear developers or other industry speakers use the term \u201cWordPress\u2019 core\u201d or simply, \u201ccore\u201d. It sounds complex, but the reality is more straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It refers to WordPress\u2019 default features and functionality, as it would come once you download it from the WordPress website. When an article talks of core aspects, it means the base functionality of the platform, before you add themes and plugins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

When talking about WordPress Core, we mean the base platform, without extra themes and plugins.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For example, WordPress\u2019 core lets you create posts and pages, add media to your site, work on layouts using the Block Editor, and manage users and their roles. While there\u2019s some core functionality that lets you work on your site\u2019s design (often through the Customizer page), you often want to build your site using visual templates. We\u2019ll discuss this next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Themes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next, let\u2019s introduce themes. These are \u2018skins\u2019 for your website, although the lines get blurred depending on the theme you choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can find both free<\/a> and premium themes, and the best way to preview and install free solutions is through the WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Templates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A template will be a confusing term at first, especially if you\u2019re unsure of the difference between these and themes. With WordPress, a template is a developer-level way of building the underlying code of a page. It\u2019s used with other templates, then \u2018skinned\u2019 with a theme within your installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most non-developers, the look of your site is the result of your theme. This theme is a combination of multiple templates, and it\u2019s a crucial element of your page\u2019s design. In most cases, your theme will consist of header, content, and footer templates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also add further templates for specific pages. This can be straightforward in lots of cases, especially if you use a website builder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Plugins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If themes dictate the look of your site, plugins handle the functionality. Again, the lines get blurred, especially if you consider website builders such as Elementor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You install free plugins<\/a> through the WordPress dashboard, although there are lots of premium plugins available too. For example, WooCommerce<\/a> lets you build an e-commerce site, Really Simple SSL<\/a> helps you transition to more secure site connections, and Wordfence<\/a> is a top-notch security plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Database<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All of the information your site contains has to live somewhere. Your database holds all of your data in \u2018tables\u2019 \u2013 organized partitions in other words. Without a database, your site wouldn\u2019t be able to work with form data, user input, and many other essential elements of your site \u2013 it might not even load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are lots of tools for accessing your WordPress database, such as Adminer and phpMyAdmin. In fact, your database is important to your website\u2019s overall speed too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Hosting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Web hosting<\/a> is where your website is stored, and in part is a high-powered server stored in a safe location. Though, hosting can encompass the whole service you get from a company. For example, there could be dedicated site management, a custom dashboard to use, file access, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need hosting<\/a> if you\u2019re running a WordPress website, so this will be one of the first purchases you make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Pages and Posts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While they both let you display content, pages are more \u2018permanent\u2019, while posts are transient. To put it another way, pages are static, in that they don\u2019t change very much. In contrast, posts have taxonomies to organize and filter them (more of which later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

While they both let you display content, pages are more \u2018permanent\u2019, while posts are transient. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In other words, you use pages for aspects such as contact pages, About Me content, and home page design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Posts \u2013 or articles, blogs, blog posts, and other terms \u2013 are dated and archived for future reading, but are designed to be replaced with similar yet fresher content on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, both posts and pages in WordPress are \u2018default post types\u2019<\/a>. This includes navigation, the revisions you make (which are also saved within WordPress), even media attachments for uploaded assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Revisions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

WordPress offers you a handy way to work on your content and find previous versions. This could be vital if you need to roll back changes on a specific page, or find a phrase or section that you once deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revision history and functionality has its own dedicated page within the WordPress dashboard, and depending on your whole site setup, can store an almost unlimited number of revision points based on your saved changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Permalinks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To give you a one-line summary, permalinks \u2013 otherwise known as \u2018slugs\u2019 \u2013 are the readable URL you\u2019ll navigate to on the web:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WordPress lets you choose a number of different formats for permalinks, although it defaults to the post or page title. It\u2019s readable, and is simple to remember for a visitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Block Editor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is the default way you build content within WordPress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It uses modular Blocks to carve out your design, and you\u2019re able to add lots of various elements and features to your posts and pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Classic Editor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before the WordPress Block Editor<\/a>, we had the TinyMCE Editor<\/a>, now called the Classic Editor<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a jacked up text editor, and lets you not only format your content, but work on structure (depending on any installed functionality).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s being phased out as WordPress needs a more modern way to create content. Though it still has its fans, it\u2019s no longer the default way to work on content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Page or Website Builder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n

Website Builders such as Elementor empower web creators to visually design professional websites.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Website Builders such as Elementor are a time saving addition to the WordPress ecosystem, allowing web creators to visually design professional websites. They allow you to creatively shape dynamic content into what they need for a vast array of projects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For many users less fluent in code, a robust website builder is essential for creating a website, as you can use a drag-and-drop approach rather than code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Widgets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many WordPress themes include one or more spaces to place further functionality on your site. You\u2019ll often find these spaces in the sidebar or footer of your site \u2013 it\u2019s a perfect place for \u2018widgets\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These offer a contained feature, such as a signup form, a menu, or a block of text. They give you a way to add content to your site that would otherwise need coding or other technical skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress includes a number of default widgets out of the box, but plugins and themes may add extra ones too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. Taxonomies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Categories and tags<\/a> are a great way to organize your content for the benefit of users, search engines, and your own site\u2019s navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Together, they\u2019re called taxonomies, and they split into the following roles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Categories are broad post topics, such as \u201cPlugins\u201d, \u201cBest Themes\u201d, and \u201cTutorials\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Tags are micro-topical, and reference in-content subject matter, such as \u201cresponsive design\u201d when talking about WordPress themes in general.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Another good way to think of taxonomies is that categories are like the table of contents at the front of a book, while tags make up the index at the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    16. \u201cFront End\u201d and \u201cBack End\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Both front end and back end are developer terms that have come into general usage. In a nutshell, the front end is everything a visitor will see in the browser. Your site, in other words. In contrast, the back end is everything else, such as the WordPress dashboard, and your web hosting control panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This lesson has thrown a lot of WordPress terms at you. Though, they\u2019re all vital to learn, as you\u2019ll hear them thousands of times over the course of your journey with the CMS. In fact, there are plenty more terms to learn, and this is one area that won\u2019t stop!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Well done on completing this lesson, and we\u2019ll see you at the next one!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As a new WordPress user, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on board at first. Learning them is an important task, because you\u2019ll need to understand the platform and how it works as a whole. For this lesson, we\u2019ll list some of the key WordPress terms, words, and phrases […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-setting-up"],"yoast_head":"\nGlossary of Common WordPress-Related Terms & Concepts | Elementor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a new WordPress user, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on. We\u2019ll list some of the key terms, words, and phrases you\u2019ll come across.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Glossary of Common WordPress-Related Terms & Concepts | Elementor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a new WordPress user, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on. We\u2019ll list some of the key terms, words, and phrases you\u2019ll come across.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Academy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-06T09:01:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-21T09:41:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/5terms.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nofarS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"nofarS\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Glossary of Common WordPress-Related Terms & Concepts | Elementor","description":"As a new WordPress user, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on. We\u2019ll list some of the key terms, words, and phrases you\u2019ll come across.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Glossary of Common WordPress-Related Terms & Concepts | Elementor","og_description":"As a new WordPress user, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on. We\u2019ll list some of the key terms, words, and phrases you\u2019ll come across.","og_url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/","og_site_name":"Academy","article_published_time":"2021-10-06T09:01:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-21T09:41:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/5terms.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"nofarS","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"nofarS","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/"},"author":{"name":"nofarS","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/d117e0fb6de1bb555cd1eb8442843a90"},"headline":"The Essential Terms and Concepts You’ll Need to Know When Using WordPress","datePublished":"2021-10-06T09:01:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-21T09:41:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/"},"wordCount":1569,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/5terms.jpg","articleSection":["Get Started With WordPress"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/","url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/","name":"Glossary of Common WordPress-Related Terms & Concepts | Elementor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/5terms.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-06T09:01:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-21T09:41:11+00:00","description":"As a new WordPress user, there can be a lot of new words and phrases to take on. We\u2019ll list some of the key terms, words, and phrases you\u2019ll come across.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/5terms.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/5terms.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress-terms-concepts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Elementor","item":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Academy","item":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Wordpress Essentials","item":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Get Started With WordPress","item":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wordpress\/setting-up\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"The Essential Terms and Concepts You’ll Need to Know When Using WordPress"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#website","url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/","name":"Elementor Academy","description":"Page Builder for WordPress","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#organization"},"alternateName":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Elementor-Logo.png","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#organization","name":"Elementor Academy","alternateName":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Elementor-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/e-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/e-logo.svg","width":490,"height":85,"caption":"Elementor Academy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/d117e0fb6de1bb555cd1eb8442843a90","name":"nofarS","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0f7d32dae098853d3fc27ad0efe08cd54c832617d70cf9d3303f1386f9b42b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0f7d32dae098853d3fc27ad0efe08cd54c832617d70cf9d3303f1386f9b42b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"nofarS"},"url":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/author\/nofars\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6427"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9300,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6427\/revisions\/9300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}