WordPress was first released on May 27, 2003 by its founders Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little as a single bit of code to enhance typography of everyday writing. Today it is a free and open-source blogging tool as well as a content management system (CMS). You can use it to create beautiful looking Web sites and blogs. The core software is a result of many volunteer contributions and provides thousands of options for Web sites for plugins, widgets and themes. WordPress is the most popular blogging system on the Web used by more than 60 million Web sites. Usage amounts to more than 60 percent Web sites worldwide and use WordPress for content management.
There are four versions of WordPress in use and by far the Version 4 is the most used version accounting for more than 66 percent of the users and Version 3 practically takes the remainder.
Anyone with a Web host that meets the minimum requirements can download and install software script for WordPress. It is customizable and can be used for anything including full content management system. This is why some of the Fortune 500 companies are using it without paying a single dime for it.