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WordPress on AFS

UIT is modernizing content management systems and moving to the cloud. As a result, WordPress on AFS will not be available for new sites as of May 1, 2021. WordPress on Stanford Domains is the recommended solution for individuals and groups interested in creating personal or collaborative sites using WordPress. For official department websites or those with more complex needs, Stanford Sites is the primary content management system. Additional information can be found on the WCMS WordPress Hosting project page.

WordPress is an open-source web publishing platform. Originally built for blogging, WordPress has evolved into a multi-purpose CMS (content management system) used by companies and individuals alike to publish all kinds of websites.

Features

WordPress is popular with many users and site owners because of its

  • ready-to-go chronological blog structure and navigation,
  • option to install a free or low-cost (non-Stanford) theme,
  • easy editing of posts or pages, and
  • easy sharing/linking of content via feeds and social media.

Designed for

Stanford departments and officially recognized groups.

Requirements

Willingness to apply periodic maintenance updates.

Data security

May not be used to store High Risk Data, as defined by the Information Security Office.

Rates

Free of charge.

Get started

Get help

Learn more

See also

Alternatives

While WordPress is an option for general web publishing at Stanford, there may be better options depending on your needs. For example:

  • Stanford Sites provides quicker, easier ways to create and manage a department website — especially if the site will have a complex structure or multi-layered navigation.
  • Stanford Domains is a free, self-service web publishing tool used to create personal digital spaces for various media, e.g., portfolios and wikis. Stanford students, faculty, and staff can register a free subdomain (mysubdomain.su.domains) and install WordPress, MediaWiki, Drupal, or other popular open-source applications.
  • The Google Sites component of G Suite (formerly Google Apps at Stanford) is a good choice if your users and editors will want to do lots of real-time collaboration on pages or uploaded files.

Before choosing which tool to use, please review the important considerations at Compare WordPress and Drupal (Stanford Sites) and explore all the options for hosting a website at Stanford.

Last modified July 23, 2021