WordPress has recently turned 15 years old, which makes it a teenager in the human world, but a well-established veteran of the digital world.
The combination of simplicity, versatility, and durability has served WordPress well over the years as it continues to be the most popular of website design platforms.
Today, over 30% of all websites on the internet use the WordPress platform, making it hugely popular. But how did it start, what changes have been made since its beginnings, and what might we expect in the foreseeable future for WordPress?
Origins Of WordPress
WordPress came out of the existing blog software of the early 2000s, propelled by designers Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. Their decision to produce a new software system for building websites was officially launched on May 27th, 2003.
The first edition was an instant hit because it has improved on previous designs while incorporating a user-friendly approach. By May of the following year, the 1.2 version was released that included plugins, an architecture that would become the backbone of the system. The plugins allowed for changes to be made by open source communities which led to great innovations and changes to WordPress.
Changes To WordPress Over The Years
The most notable changes to WordPress started in the early years of the software when it expanded from its humble origins to become the powerhouse it is today.
WordPress 1.5: Released in February 2005, this version came with comment moderation tools, a new Theme system, the Kubrick default theme which is no longer in service, but most importantly, it came with pages. By adding pages, WordPress began to look much like it does today.
WordPress 2.0: Released in December 2005, the major change was a new administrative dashboard that revitalised the old one. It also offered a new admin UI and Akismet anti-spam plugin that was pre-installed.
By 2008, A new WordPress interface was designed by Happy Cog which changed how WordPress operated. Plus, new features such as single-click updates, plugin installation that was built-in, and shortcodes were introduced that made it more flexible while keeping its simplicity.
WordPress 3.0: The custom post types, backgrounds, menus, headers, and improved taxonomies that were also customisable helped move WordPress into CMS territory. The 3.7 version released in 2013 allowed for automatic updates in terms of minor releases, which saved considerable time and effort. Add to this the responsive design with the 3.8 and a revolution was taking place.
Since then, WordPress has continued to bring changes and improvements to their software system. Offering clean, easy-to-use features combined with streamlining the process to make it even more user-friendly.
The Future Of WordPress
Although the changes to WordPress have been many over the years, there is little doubt that the future of this web design platform will continue to stay true. It’s simplicity, robust nature, and variety will continue to expand along the same lines as before. There will not be a massive overhaul or innovation that changes the basic structure of WordPress until the internet itself has changed in such a way.
WordPress will remain the result of how open-source communities have pulled together to create a marvellously popular program that does not compromise the freedom of the software itself.
WordPress will continue to innovate thanks to these communities for the foreseeable future.