10 Popular Sites Built with WordPress
In this article we’ll be looking at some of the popular websites in the world that are built on WordPress. So you can see that the platform isn’t just for bloggers and small businesses.
Why WordPress?
But let’s have a little recap first. What exactly is WordPress and just why is it so popular?
Started in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little, WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) which allows for websites to be built quickly, cheaply and then managed easily. WordPress has been designed to be multimedia friendly and can be easily customised by the use of themes.
A low barrier to entry, ease of use and being open source has made WordPress the go-to tool for anyone wanting to build a website. So now that you know why WordPress is so popular, let’s look at some famous sites that are built on the platform.
Usain Bolt
Since his breakout performance in the 2008 Olympics where he won gold and broke records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, Usain Bolt has become a household name. And with his superstar status, came the need for a superstar website that would feature not only the athlete but also his foundation, a range of media and an online store. All of these are easily built in WordPress. Only the online store is a link to a third-party site.
The only downside that we can see with this site is that it isn’t responsive. The layout doesn’t adapt to a mobile phone however, the design does seem to be from 2012 and could easily be updated.
TED Blog
Technology, Entertainment and Design. These are the core aspects of the TED conference and the reason why TED talks are so popular online. While the videos can be found on YouTube and the main website is custom-built, the TED blog – which features the latest news and articles – is built in WordPress. The site matches the branding and design of its parent site seamlessly as well as linking to content from social media channels and other sources.
Renault
The main website of the global automotive giant Renault has many layers and various types of content. The dense sites features news about the company, annual reports, social media posts and even links to its job vacancy section.
Renault uses WordPress to combine all these features together and the site features various layouts and content types on the main page. The end result is that a user can easily explore different aspects of the Renault brand without leaving the home page.
Katty Perry
She is undoubtedly one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now. And with her wild colourful style, it’s quite surprising that Katy Perry’s website is actually very simple, clean and you guessed it: Built on WordPress.
It is quite a dense website, featuring tour dates, latest music videos, news, blog posts and more. The site is, of course, mobile response and also features a range of social media links to cater to the pop star’s wide demographic.
Sweden
When you think of government websites, stuffy, plain design and confusing menus are what normally come to mind.
The website of the Swedish Government is exactly the opposite. The WordPress built site has content arranged in easy to access categories and uses the now-familiar WordPress ‘Tags’. The image-heavy site looks more like a magazine than a governmental site and is the ‘face’ of the country on the internet.
BBC America
If you’re from Europe or the Commonwealth, then you’re very familiar with the British Broadcasting Commission – The BBC. It has been around since the 1920s and has been in USA since 1998.
Their WordPress site is interesting because it features links to episodes and movies. You can find your favourite show or movie and clicking the link will take you to your cable account giving your direct access to shows via your cable provider.
The direct linking to video’s means that we can see this site being used on smart TVs and tablets.
Snoop Dogg
Shizzle my nizzle! Did you know that the bizzle kizzle Snoop D oh double gizzle has his website built on the WordPress? Like other artists/musician websites we’ve featured in this list, Snoop Dogg’s website features his music, videos and his business interests. All of which have been seamlessly blended into the dark and modern tones of the website.
Social media icons and links are also incorporated into the websites top banner – which is important considering how prevalent Snoop Dogg is in media.
The Whitehouse
Possibly the most surprising site on this list is the White House. While this site is more of a marketing and promotional piece containing news, info and news clips from the White House. It still has the “.gov” extension which is reserved for most government sites.
Redesigned under every government, the White House website is considered one of the best in the list of United States Federal Government sites. Previously built on a range of other platforms, the current site migrated to WordPress in 2017. The site also uniquely features a petition section where petitions can be submitted to the White House directly.
Angry Birds
The most downloaded freemium game of all time, Angry Birds more than just a video game. It’s a cultural phenomenon. Even if you didn’t play the game you’ve seen or heard the colourful birds trying to rescue their eggs from some nasty looking pigs.
The success of the game lead to the phenomenon being spread across multiple forms of media, including a feature film. This website serves as the ‘catch-all’ for all the different places that Angry Birds can be found. From this site, you can get links to the different games, watch clips and animations, explore different characters and of course, hit the online shop to get some angry birds merchandise.
Obama Foundation
The people’s president is using the people’s platform. After completing his presidency, Barack Obama setup the Obama Foundation. Based in Chicago, the foundation has a range of scholarships as well as the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK).
The site is content-heavy and holds information on both the scholarships as well as the MBK alliance. It also holds a history of Obama’s time in office as well as sign-up opportunities for scholarships and internships.
Noel Anthony
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