WordPress Comparative Terms every Web Developer should know

In the previous article, we explored some key terms in PHP and MySQL — essential building blocks that help clarify backend development concepts. Now, let’s take it a step further! In this article, we’re diving into some important comparative terms in WordPress. Whether you’re just starting out WordPress learning or looking to solidify your understanding, this is where the backend magic begins!

1 – What is the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com?

1 – wordpress.org is where you can download the WordPress software to use on your own web hosting account. 1 – wordpress.com is a hosted service where you can set up a website or blog that runs on WordPress.

2 – In wordpress.org, the WordPress software is totally free thanks to open source development. 2 – In wordpress.com, get basic website functionality with a free plan, but users will need paid upgrades to take advantage of additional features.

3 – In wordpress.org, upload your own plugins to extend functionality. 3 – In wordpress.com, no plugin uploads are allowed in free plans.

4 – In wordpress.org, access and customize all backend code, database and files. 4 – In wordpress.com, no backend code, database or file access.

5 – In wordpress.org, upload your own free, premium or custom themes to customize your website. 5 – In wordpress.com, choose from available free or premium themes. No theme uploads.

6 – In wordpress.org, use your own custom domain name for your website’s URL. 6 – In wordpress.com, free plans will be a subdomain of wordpress.com.

2 – What is the difference between Posts and Pages?

1 – Posts are timely and come with dates, author attached to them. Posts mostly contain dynamic content for your website. 1 – Pages are meant for timeless content that your visitors can reference at any time.

2 – You can organize Posts in categories and tags. 2 – Pages are hierarchical and you can organize as child and parent pages.

3 – Posts are personalized and include details such as published date, author, category, and tags. 3 – Pages are universal and it doesn’t matter who published or when published.

4 – Posts come with a comment section and you can also add the functionality of social sharing. 4 – Pages are used to publish the type of content that doesn’t require social interaction or comments sections.

5 – Posts: Examples such as Blog posts, News articles, Event announcements etc. 5 – Pages: Examples such as Home, About, Services, Portfolio etc.

3 – What is the difference between category and tags?

1 – Category and tags both are WordPress taxonomies.

2 – Categories help you broadly group your posts. 2 – Tags help you to describe specific details of posts.

3 – Categories are hierarchical which means you can create subcategories. 3 – Tags are not hierarchical.

4 – WordPress posts must have a category. 4 – It may be possible posts don’t have tags.

4 – What is the difference between theme and plugin?

1 – A WordPress theme is a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface of the website. 1 – A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that developers can add to a WordPress website.

2 – A WordPress website must have one theme to activate. 2 – It may be possible there is no plugin in the WordPress website.

3 – A WordPress website can have only one theme active at a time. 3 – You can active as much plugins as you want in the WordPress website.

4 – Mostly theme is working with WordPress website frontend. 4 – WordPress plugin is working with WordPress software core functionality.

5 – What is the difference between plugins and mu-plugins?

1 – plugins location is at wp-content->plugins directory. 1 – mu-plugins location is at wp-content->mu-plugins directory.

2 – plugins can be activated and deactivated by the admin dashboard. 2 – mu-plugins always activate and not deactivate by the admin dashboard.

3 – WordPress does not auto-load plugins. 3 – WordPress autoloads mu-plugins.

4 – WordPress loads plugins after mu-plugins. 4 – WordPress loads mu-plugins first.

5 – You can use plugins to add features like SEO, contact forms etc. 5 – You can use mu-plugins for site critical functionality that should never be disabled.

6 – What is the difference between multisite and multilingual?

1 – A multisite setup means running multiple websites from a single installation of WordPress. 1 – A multilingual setup refers to a single website that serves content in multiple languages.

2 – Content is unique per site in multisite network. 2 – In multilingual, it has translated versions of the same content.

3 – In multisite, users can vary per site. 3 – In multilingual, the same users for all languages.

4 – In multisite, it manage several separate sites that might share same resources. 4 – In multilingual, it reaches a diverse audience who speak different languages.

5 – Multisite example: A company managing websites for different brands or regions. 5 – Multilingual example: A corporate website that offers English, Spanish, and French versions.

7 – What is the difference between wp_ajax and wp_ajax_nopriv?

1 – wp_ajax handles AJAX requests when the user is logged in. 1 – wp_ajax_nopriv handles the same requests, but it fires only when the user is logged out.

8 – What is the difference between meta_query and tax_query?

1 – Developer apply meta_query on custom fields in order to be returned in the query results. 1 – Developer apply tax_query in the WP_Query class to specify a set of taxonomy terms that a post must belong to in order to be returned in the query results.

2 – Using too many meta_query will affect the performance of the query. 2 – tax_query is faster than meta_query.

9 – What is the difference between wp_register_script and wp_enqueue_script?

1 – If you want to register your scripts, but not directly load them in your pages, you can register the files once using wp_register_script(). 1 – wp_enqueue_script() directly load scripts in the pages.

2 – When you want to conditionally load a script. 2 – When you want the script to definitely load on the current page/screen.

10 – What is the difference between get_posts() and WP_Query()?

1 – get_posts is a simplified way to retrieve a list of posts. 1 – wp_query is a full-featured class to create custom queries with greater flexibility. Ideal for complex queries and full control.

2 – get_posts returns an array of post objects. It does not modify the global $wp_query or loop variables. 2 – wp_query returns a WP_Query object, which contains posts and methods for controlling pagination, loops, etc.

3 – Use get_posts() for simple, non-paginated post lists. 3 – Use WP_Query for anything complex—pagination, custom loops, meta queries, etc.

11 – What is the difference between do_action and add_action?

1 – add_action register (add) a function (callback) to a specific action hook. 1 – do_action trigger (run) an action hook. This is where the actual execution happens.

2 – add_action( ‘my_custom_hook’, ‘custom_hook_callback’); 2 – do_action(‘my_custom_hook’);

12 – What is the difference between add_filter and apply_filter?

1 – add_filter register a function to a filter hook. 1 – apply_filters run data through all registered filters.

2 – add_filter( ‘custom_filter’, ‘custom_filter_callback’); 2 – apply_filter(‘custom_filter’);

13 – What is the difference between action hook and filter hook?

1 – action hook make WordPress so customizable. 1 – filter hook modify the existing WordPress data and replace it with the custom value.

2 – add_action(‘wp_enqueue_scripts’, ‘enqueue_assets’); 2 – add_filter(‘the_title’, ‘custom_title’);

14 – What is the difference between plugin_dir_path and plugin_dir_url?

1 – plugin_dir_path get the filesystem path to the directory of a specific plugin file. 1 – plugin_dir_url get the URL to the directory of a plugin file.

2 – /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/my-plugin/ 2 – https://example.com/wp-content/plugins/my-plugin/

3 – require_once plugin_dir_path(__FILE__) . ‘includes/my-helper.php’; 3 – wp_enqueue_script(‘my-plugin-script’, plugin_dir_url(__FILE__) . ‘assets/js/script.js’, array(), ‘1.0’, true);