If you want to create a blog, we definitely recommend WordPress. If you want to create a website based on a Content Management System, you can still use WordPress. However, it will require you to make some customization and be familiar with some PHP coding. In that case you might want to consider Joomla.
If you want to try out Wordpress without actually installing it yourself, visit OpenSourceCMS.com.
As of this writing, the latest version of Wordpress is 2.6. This video shows some of Wordpress 2.6 features. To see what is the latest version of Wordpress of the time of your reading, just visit WordPress.org.
The best way to learn Wordpress is to learn by doing. The simplest thing to do with wordpress is to create a blog by signing up for an account at Wordpress.com. There is no cost to this. This blog will be hosted under a subdomain by Wordpress.com such as (http://example.wordpress.com). But you have the option of purchasing your own domain in the future. Although, if you already have your own domain name and web hosting, you can install Wordpress for free on that server (see section below).
With this, you will be able to use Wordpress to learn how to make post, approve comments, learn about tagging, and so on. Read the user manual (known as the Codex) for Wordpress by going to http://codex.wordpress.org and reading the "Wordpress Lessons" section.
If you already have purchased your own domain name and have webhosting, you can install your own version of Wordpress on your webhost by downloading the Wordpress files from Wordpress.org Note that this is not wordpress.com as in the previous section. But wordpress.org. That is the difference between the two. Wordpress.com is hosted blogs. Wordpress.org is the Wordpress open-source software that you can download and install on your server.
See instructions for installing Wordpress.
Once you have wordpress installed on your own server, you will have full control over the wordpress files. And with knowlegde of PHP and help from the Codex, you can learn to install plugins, modify themes, and even alter core Wordpress functionality.
Wordpress Plugins are code modules developed by other people that will extend the functionality of Wordpress.
See our list of some useful Wordpress plugins
