25 Interesting Facts About WordPress You Should Know

As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience building websites, I‘ve seen the phenomenal growth and impact of WordPress firsthand. What started as a simple blogging platform back in 2003 has evolved into the world‘s most dominant content management system and website builder.

To showcase how impressive WordPress has become, I‘ve compiled 25 fascinating facts you likely don‘t know:

1. WordPress is Now 19 Years Old

WordPress first launched on May 27, 2003. This means it has been around for over 19 years at the time I‘m writing this in early 2024.

To put WordPress‘s longevity into perspective, consider that it pre-dates when sites like Facebook (2004) and Twitter (2006) were founded. The fact that it has thrived for nearly two decades speaks to the reliable and flexible nature of the open source software.

2. Christine Selleck Tremoulet Came Up With the Name

Originally called b2/cafelog, WordPress only got its iconic name thanks to a suggestion from Christine Selleck Tremoulet in 2003. She was a prolific blogger and friend of co-founder Matt Mullenweg.

Clearly "WordPress" had a better ring to it than "b2"! The memorable name has become globally recognized.

3. WordPress Now Powers over 40% of All Websites

According to W3Techs‘ data, WordPress is used by a staggering 42.5% of all websites on the internet as of January 2024. To visualize just how dominant it is, here is a breakdown of market share among content management systems:

CMS	Market Share
WordPress	42.5%
Shopify	3.9%
Wix	3.8%

With over two times more usage than the second popular CMS Shopify, WordPress has immense market lead.

4. And Over 65% of the Entire CMS Market

When analyzing only content management system usage rather than all websites, WordPress has even more impressive market dominance at 65.5% as of January 2024 according to Wappalyzer data.

Shopify is a distant second at just 5.7% CMS market share globally. No other website building platform comes anywhere close to WordPress in terms of adoption:

CMS	Market Share
WordPress	65.5%
Shopify	5.7%
Squarespace	3.7%

This reveals how WordPress has become the go-to CMS for a strong majority of sites needing advanced content management tools.

5. The Open Source Model Fueled WordPress Growth

As a webmaster, I closely followed WordPress in its early days when the software was first openly released under the GPL open source license in 2003. This free availability and ability for anyone to modify WordPress sparked fast adoption and innovation.

Developers could build custom solutions on top of the core software. The WordPress communitycolaboratively improved it via patches and plugins. This open source ethos still powers the growth and evolution of WordPress today.

6. No Single Entity Owns WordPress

Unlike commercial software with sole owners, WordPress is a completely community-driven open source project. The WordPress Foundation is a non-profit that owns trademarks to protect the freedoms offered by the GPL license.

But there is no single company or owner behind WordPress. Instead, it is driven by the contributions of thousands of developers and users globally. This lack of corporate ownership has allowed WordPress to flourish.

7. Leadership is Handled By Team Leads, Not a CEO

Following its community-first model, WordPress does not actually have an official CEO or executive leadership team. Instead, direction and decision-making for core software is handled through team leads and a public proposal submission process.

As someone who has followed WordPress for many years, I‘ve seen how this decentralized, non-corporate structure has enabled it to stay aligned to user needs rather than profit incentives.

8. WordPress Spawned a Multi-Billion Dollar Economy

The incredible reach and impact of WordPress as an open platform has birthed an entire global economy around it. There are now over 450+ companies worldwide that sell WordPress-related products, services, and support.

The opportunities created by WordPress also employ thousands of developers, designers, trainers, freelancers, and other professionals. This ecosystem is estimated to be worth over $6 billion per year and growing.

9. WordPress Plugins Have Been Downloaded Over 3.5 Billion Times

One major strength of WordPress is its plugin system that allows extending functionality. As of January 2024, the WordPress plugin repository contained over 60,000 free plugins which have been downloaded a staggering 3.5 billion times!

There are also currently over 1 million active plugin installs across WordPress sites, showing how vital plugins are to enhancing what WordPress can do.

10. Major Institutions Like Governments, Universities, and Fortune 500 Companies Rely on WordPress

With its secure and scalable architecture, WordPress can power complex high-traffic websites with ease. This has led to wide adoption across major institutions like government agencies, top universities, non-profits, and Fortune 500 corporations.

Some specific examples are the UK Government, US Senate, Harvard University, NASA, Sony, CNN, and Time Magazine. For large organizations managing public-facing sites, WordPress provides a proven and trusted solution.

11. WordPress Has Been Translated Into Over 100 Human Languages

Thanks to the efforts of polyglots worldwide, WordPress‘s interface has been fully translated from English into over 107 different human languages. This includes Spanish, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and many more.

The availability of WordPress in one‘s native tongue lowers barriers to entry and makes the software more accessible internationally. Many plugins and themes also provide translations.

12. There Have Been Over 1600 Official WordPress Events Held Globally

Since 2007, over 1600 official WordCamp conference events have taken place across 76 countries worldwide. These community gatherings allow users to learn and connect together.

Additionally, there are over 650 local WordPress meetup groups boasting more than 350,000 members who regularly meet to discuss WordPress. This level of global events and dedicated local groups shows the vibrant community supporting WordPress.

Event	Number Held	Number of Countries
WordCamps	1600+	76
Meetup Groups	650+	113

13. Most WordPress Sites Now Use Encrypted HTTPS Connections

After Google prioritized HTTPS websites starting in 2014, there was a big push to enable SSL encryption for better security and SEO rankings.

Thanks to services like LetsEncrypt offering free SSL certificates, most WordPress sites now run over HTTPS. Specifically, over 85% of WordPress sites use encrypted HTTPS connections rather than regular unsecured HTTP, according to January 2024 data from W3Techs.

14. PHP and MySQL Provide the Foundation for WordPress

Under the surface, WordPress is powered by PHP for all server-side scripting, functions, and programming logic. For storing and organizing all data like blog posts, pages, settings, and more, WordPress relies on the MySQL open source relational database.

Together, the combination of PHP and MySQL provide powerful tools to handle the extensive functional needs of WordPress.

15. JavaScript Plays an Expanding Role in Modern WordPress

While PHP runs most core functions, JavaScript has taken on increasing responsibilities in WordPress through its usage in the Block Editor, customization screens, and other interactive interfaces.

Over 20% of the WordPress core codebase now consists of JavaScript and jQuery libraries. As WordPress continues evolving as an application framework, we will likely see JavaScript take on even greater importance.

16. WordPress Benefits From a Vibrant Support Ecosystem

The open source community supporting WordPress creates ample free resources for learning and troubleshooting. This includes:

• Public support forums – The WordPress forums have over 2 million discussion topics and are very active.

• Documentation – Comprehensive developer docs and user guides.

• Local meetups – In-person help from the 650+ meetup groups worldwide.

• Live chat channels – Real-time chat platforms like Slack and Discord.

Paid premium support options are also available via hosts and vendors. But the WordPress community provides phenomenal levels of free help to all users.

17. Every WordPress Release is Named After a Jazz Musician

An injected element of creativity can be seen in how new WordPress versions are codenamed after notable jazz musicians upon release.

For example, WordPress 5.9 was named "Joséphine" after singer Joséphine Baker, while version 4.7 was dubbed "Coleman" after saxophonist Coleman Hawkins.

This fun tradition connects the legacy of jazz with the ongoing evolution of WordPress, hinting at the software‘s creative roots. It certainly beats boring version numbers!

18. JavaScript Accounts for Over 20% of WordPress Core

Reflecting JavaScript‘s increasing role, it now powers over 20% of the core WordPress functionality according to official statistics. JavaScript provides smoother interfaces and interactions without full-page refreshes.

As WordPress expands further into an application development framework, JavaScript will likely take on even larger responsibility in how WordPress works under the hood.

19. WordPress Auto-Updates Keep Sites Secure

Maintaining software security is critically important, which is why the auto-update functionality built into WordPress provides such value. It will automatically install security fixes, bug patches, and minor releases in the background.

Users have control over whether major version updates occur automatically too. This system ensures sites run the most secure and updated CMS codebase possible with minimal effort.

20. WordPress.org is Different Than WordPress.com

There is often confusion between WordPress.org vs WordPress.com. To clarify:

• WordPress.org – The open source CMS software anyone can download and install on web hosting.

• WordPress.com – A restricted hosted blog service owned by Automattic.

When a site says it uses WordPress, it almost always refers to the self-hosted open source WordPress.org software. WordPress.com blogs are more limited.

21. Multisite Allows Running Multiple Sites From One Install

By enabling WordPress Multisite mode, you can power multiple separate websites from a single WordPress installation and database. All sites share the same core files and plugins for efficiency, while still operating independently.

For publishers running dozens of sites, Multisite allows hosting them all from one place while only needing to update WordPress once. This feature demonstrates the scalability of WordPress.

22. International Usage of WordPress is Growing Quickly

While WordPress originated among English-speaking communities, global usage and translation of WordPress has exploded. Installations in languages other than English now outnumber English sites.

Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Arabic speaking countries show particularly fast WordPress adoption. Its flexibility as an open source CMS makes it accessible worldwide.

23. Constant Community Contributions Improve WordPress Daily

The massive WordPress user base empowers rapid software improvements through community-driven development. With an open source model where anyone can contribute, WordPress sees a steady stream of patches, bug fixes, enhancements, and new features suggested and submitted by users worldwide.

Hundreds of volunteer developers help push WordPress forward every day. Being open source allows everyone to help enhance it.

24. WordPress Integrates With Almost Any External Service

The expansive WordPress plugin library allows it to integrate tightly with external platforms and tools. Popular plugins provide deep integrations with email services, payment processors, social networks, analytics, marketing software, and more.

This flexibility and interoperability is why WordPress can accommodate so many use cases. Sites can leverage outside services while remaining within the WordPress ecosystem.

25. Accessibility is a Priority in WordPress Development

Enabling access for all users is a key consideration for WordPress. Its adherence to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines helps ensure the software can be used by those with disabilities.

Specific accessibility features include keyboard shortcuts, ARIA roles, color contrast testing, screen reader support, and more. WordPress aims to be accessible and usable by everyone regardless of physical ability.

Conclusion

I hope these WordPress facts provide deeper insight into what an incredibly dominant, flexible, and community-driven CMS WordPress has evolved into over nearly two decades. It powers over 40% of all websites and continues improving daily thanks to its open source roots.

After relying on WordPress for 15 years as a webmaster, I remain impressed by its constant growth. The future looks bright for WordPress to further innovate and empower websites globally in the years ahead!