Major Components of WordPress

The WordPress Core is the foundation of WordPress. It contains all the files and code required for WordPress to function.

• Login system
• Dashboard
• Media Library
• User Management
• Posts
• Pages
• Comments
• Themes support
• Plugin support
• Database connection
• REST API
• Security functions

wp-admin/
wp-content/
wp-includes/

index.php
wp-config.php
wp-login.php
wp-load.php
wp-settings.php
xmlrpc.php

• Runs the website
• Handles requests
• Connects to the database
• Loads themes and plugins

WordPress stores almost everything inside a MySQL or MariaDB database

• Posts
• Pages
• Users
• Settings
• Menus
• Widgets
• Comments
• Categories
• Tags
• Plugin settings

Table – Purpose
wp_posts – Posts, Pages
wp_users – User accounts
wp_options – Website settings
wp_comments – Comments
wp_terms – Categories & Tags
wp_postmeta – Custom fields
wp_usermeta – User information

Without the database:
• No content
• No users
• No settings
• No website

A Theme controls the appearance of your website.
Think of it as the “design” of your website.

Controls

• Colors
• Fonts
• Layout
• Header
• Footer
• Sidebar
• Homepage
• Blog Layout

Theme Files

style.css
functions.php
index.php
header.php
footer.php
sidebar.php
single.php
page.php
archive.php

Types

• Free Themes
• Premium Themes
• Custom Themes
• Child Themes
• Block Themes

Examples

• Twenty Twenty-Six
• Astra
• Kadence
• GeneratePress
• OceanWP

Plugins add new functionality to WordPress.
Without plugins, WordPress provides only basic features.

Plugins Can Add

• Contact Forms
• SEO
• Security
• Backup
• Caching
• Membership
• LMS
• WooCommerce
• Social Sharing
• AI Tools

Popular Plugins

• Elementor
• WooCommerce
• Yoast SEO
• Rank Math
• Contact Form 7
• WPForms
• UpdraftPlus
• Wordfence
• LiteSpeed Cache

Posts are used for regularly updated content.
Examples
• Blog articles
• News
• Tutorials
• Announcements

Features

• Categories
• Tags
• Comments
• Author
• Publish Date
Example
Top 10 SEO Tips
Latest WordPress News
How to Install Plugins

Pages contain static content.
Examples
• Home
• About Us
• Contact
• Services
• Privacy Policy

Characteristics

• No Categories
• No Tags
• Usually timeless
• Organized hierarchically

The Media Library stores all uploaded files.
Supports
• Images
• Videos
• Audio
• PDF
• Documents
• SVG (with appropriate configuration)

Common Image Formats

• JPG
• PNG
• GIF
• WebP
• AVIF

WordPress supports multiple user accounts.

User Roles

Role Permissions
Administrator – Full access
Editor – Manage all content
Author – Publish own posts
Contributor – Write only
Subscriber – Read content

Categories organize posts into broad topics.
Example

• SEO
• WordPress
• PHP
• Hosting
• Digital Marketing

Tags describe specific topics within a post.
Example

• Elementor
• WooCommerce
• AI
• Speed Optimization
• Rank Math

Menus create website navigation.

Examples
• Primary Menu
• Footer Menu
• Mobile Menu

Menu items can include:

• Pages
• Posts
• Categories
• Custom Links

Widgets add content to predefined widget areas.

Examples

• Search
• Recent Posts
• Categories
• Social Icons
• Calendar
• Contact Information

Common locations:

• Sidebar
• Footer
• Header (theme-dependent)

Custom Post Types allow you to create new content types beyond Posts and Pages.

Examples

• Products
• Courses
• Events
• Testimonials
• Portfolio
• Team Members

Taxonomies group and organize content.

Default taxonomies:

• Categories
• Tags

Custom taxonomies:

• Course Levels
• Product Brands
• Event Types
• Departments

Visitors can leave comments on posts.

Features include:

• Moderation
• Spam filtering
• Reply threads
• Approval workflow

The Settings section controls the site’s global configuration.

Includes:

• General
• Writing
• Reading
• Discussion
• Media
• Permalinks
• Privacy

Depending on the theme, you can customize your site’s appearance.

Common customization options:

• Logo
• Site Icon (Favicon)
• Colors
• Typography
• Menus
• Widgets
• Header
• Footer
• Templates
• Template Parts

The Block Editor lets you build pages using reusable content blocks.

Common blocks:

• Paragraph
• Heading
• Image
• Gallery
• Columns
• Buttons
• Lists
• Video
• Table
• Cover
• Group
• Spacer

The REST API allows external applications to communicate with WordPress.

Common uses:

• Mobile apps
• Headless WordPress
• React applications
• Vue applications
• External integrations

WP-CLI is the command-line interface for WordPress.

Examples:

• wp plugin install
• wp plugin update
• wp theme install
• wp db export
• wp cache flush

It is widely used by developers and hosting providers to automate WordPress tasks.