Wow, WordPress is 20

WordPress, the open-source blogging software, is twenty years old. The software’s first official release (WordPress 1.0) was made available on May 27, 2003. I had been using the software for a little longer when it was still in alpha. In 2004, I switched my old website to WordPress, becoming the first major blog to embrace the platform. Considering obsolescence is a given, nothing lasts that long in the technology industry. It might not be as nimble or as basic as it started out, but it can still do one thing — help me maintain a homestead on the Internet, not controlled or defined by a platform.

One of the upsides of WordPress has been my friendship with Matt. We both share the same passion for making publishing on the web open, simple, and easy. It has been a joy to see the evolution of software and Matt over the years. The real reason why WordPress is still around is that it is open source, supports open standards, and, more importantly, supports an ecosystem.

May 27, 2023. San Francisco

Disclosure: True Ventures, where I am a partner, is an investor in Automattic, the company offering WP as a service along with many other offerings.