Today, we’re celebrating 20 years of WordPress.com! We set out to put the power of publishing into everyone’s hands, and since then, millions of you have used it to build amazing things.
Our beginnings and our purpose
On June 20, 2005, WordPress project co-founder Matt Mullenweg hired Donncha Ó Caoimh (a software developer and WordPress contributor) and Automattic was born. Their mission: create a hosted version of WordPress that anyone could use.
After beta testing in August 2005, WordPress.com launched publicly on November 21, 2005. Here’s what the homepage looked like:
We’ve come a long way from these humble beginnings, but our purpose hasn’t changed much: democratizing publishing and ecommerce.
A place for every website
Today, WordPress.com powers all kinds of websites. People all around the world use our platform to build:
- Professional portfolios where creatives showcase their work and attract new clients, like standup comedian Aparna Nancherla, film director Mike Flanagan, and visual artist Ana Teresa Fernández.
- Membership communities that bring together people with shared interests, like the Bedfordshire Bird Club.
- Cutting-edge educational websites from institutions like the UC Berkeley Center for Psychedelics.
- Popular blogs like the experimental art project PostSecret, sci-fi author John Scalzi’s Whatever, and food blogger Vegan Bunny Elle.
This is just a small handful of examples. From simple sites to online stores, no matter what you want to create and share on the web, WordPress.com gives you the tools to make it happen.
What are you creating with WordPress.com?
The WordPress.com story isn’t just ours. It also belongs to everyone who has chosen our platform to create and share on the web.
From our first homepage to the millions of sites hosted on our platform today, every WordPress.com website represents someone who decided to put their ideas into the world. We’re honored to be part of that journey.
Tell us your story. How did you find WordPress.com? What have you built? Drop a comment below! After 20 years, we still love seeing what you’re creating.
