WordPress is a content management system that allows users to create and manage websites. It uses a database to store website content and files that are queried to display pages. When installed, WordPress creates a database, copies files to the server, and modifies configuration files to connect to the database. Themes determine the look of the site, while plugins add functionality. Content, themes, and plugins are stored in the wp-content folder.

1. How WordPress Works
Content Management System Basics

2. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
Nutshell of a Content
Management System
Database-driven software application
Lives on the web (or a local computer running web
software)
Website content is stored in the database
The software queries the database for the content to
present on a web page
Beauty is complete separation of content from design

3. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
Hosting WordPress
To be on the Internet, your WordPress site will be “hosted” on a
website server for a monthly fee.
You can install web software on your computer that allows you to
run WordPress on your computer, but only you will be able to see it.

4. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
There is no place called
WordPress!
People are often confused by the words “logging into WordPress” as if it
is a singular place. (With the exception of WordPress.com - which is a singular
place.)
WordPress is NOT a computer application, though you can install an
instance of it on your local computer’s web server.
You do not login to WordPress. You login to the WordPress Dashboard
for YOUR specific site via http://yoursitename.com/wp-admin
Every time you create a website, you will install WordPress on that
hosting account for that domain. Each website will have it’s own unique
login and Dashboard and it’s own instance of WordPress files.
Creating a new WordPress website somewhere will not effect the
WordPress website created somewhere else. They are completely
independent of each other.

5. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
What happens when you
install WordPress
When you install WordPress, the following things happen either
automatically via the “one-click installer” script or manually via the
“famous 5-minute install process”:
A MySQL database is created
WordPress files are copied to the web hosting server directory
The wp-config.php file is modified to contain the login credentials
for the database
The WordPress install.php script is run to allow you to give the
new website a title, username, and password
The install script creates a bunch of tables in the database, and you
can the login to your site via http://yoursitename.com/wp-admin

6. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
MySQL Database
All of the text content of your posts and pages and WordPress
settings are stored in a database which is like a large spreadsheet.
The database is stored in a special place on your web host’s
server. Viewable ONLY via your hosting control panel via
phpMyAdmin or shell access (SSH).
You can’t copy or move your database. However, you can export
contents of the database and import it into a new, blank database.
Database

7. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
WordPress Application Files
WordPress is a PHP application that communicates with the
MySQL database to retrieve and display your content in a web
browser
Can be downloaded at http://wordpress.org
WordPress core files
PHP originally stood for Personal Home Page, but it now stands for the recursive backronym PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.

8. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
Understanding WordPress App
wp-admin contains everything needed to display
the WordPress “Dashboard” - we sometimes refer
to this as the “backend”
wp-includes contains essentially the core
functionality of WordPress that allows WordPress
to function on the “frontend" of the site and more
wp-content contains YOUR uploaded content,
including themes, plugins, and media
wp-config.php connects WordPress to the
MySQL database

9. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
wp-config.php
The wp-config.php file is the magical file that allows the
WordPress application to communicate with the MySQL
database.
Without this file set correctly, you will see a 500 server error
in your browser window.

10. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
wp-content folder
This folder is all about YOU! You want to back it up, because it
contains stuff you’ve uploaded.
Themes: consists of PHP files with HTML, CSS, and Javascript
to display your site in a unique way.
Plugins: can be installed to extend the functionality of
WordPress, such as add e-commerce, calendar, galleries, and
more.
Any files you upload: images, documents, audio,
video
Other folders placed there by various plugins

11. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
Themes
The theme you choose determines the look of your site.
The theme consists of PHP files with HTML,
CSS, and Javascript.
You can change your theme without necessarily
effecting the content of your site.
Typical theme files

12. Copyright 2016 Angela Bowman
Bringing it all together
Data Layer
Database
Application Layer
WordPress
Presentation Layer
HTML,
CSS, JS
Browser
Database Management System