WordPress ecosystem (Themes & Plugins)

1. WordPress core — the engine (DB + admin + base APIs)
2. Theme — the LOOK (CSS, layout templates, fonts)
3. Plugins — FEATURES (forms, store, SEO, security, …)

You can swap themes without losing content. You can swap plugins without losing content. Content lives in the database — the rest is decoration.

• ~11,000 free themes in the official repo
• Premium themes: Astra Pro, Avada, Divi, GeneratePress Premium
• Page-builder themes: Hello Elementor, Kadence, Blocksy

• ~60,000 free plugins in the repo
• Categories: SEO, security, backup, forms, performance, page builder, e-commerce, membership, LMS

Builders like Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder sit ON TOP of any theme and give you a visual drag-drop editor. Most modern WP sites use a builder — you'll spend Chapters 7-10 of this course inside Elementor.

• Themes/plugins: search inside admin panel (Appearance → Themes / Plugins → Add New)
• Premium: directly from the vendor's site, then upload the .zip