How WordPress Changed the Internet
Guest blog by Chris Leveson.
Surely you’re familiar with WordPress, but you may not be aware of just how important it is and how it majorly impacted the internet, as a whole. You see, WordPress was instrumental in the democratisation of website building. It’s been an absolute lifesaver for bloggers everywhere and there are a lot of aspects to it that you may find novel or interesting. Here is how WordPress changed the internet.
How WordPress changed the internet
The massive contribution WordPress made to the online world is that it gave everyone a platform and the necessary tools to start their own website. Creating a website can be a costly endeavour, so having a service that is completely free made a huge impact on the blogging world, especially.
WordPress gave everyone a platform, themes, tools and the opportunity to learn how to code and build their own website from scratch. A lot of the people who used WordPress to create their very first website went on to turn it into a successful business.
Interesting facts about WordPress
- WordPress is the number 1 content managing system online, with a 60% monopoly.
- 1 million new WordPress sites pop up over a six-month period. It’s not a surprise, considering its leading share on the market.
- WordPress is available in more than 60 different languages. While it was originally launched exclusively in English, its immense popularity propelled it onto the global market.
- Org alone receives 175 million unique hits every single month. That number is comprised of users downloading, donating, asking questions, or simply browsing the forums.
- WordPress is the 17th most popular website in the whole world. Blogs from WordPress get over 409 million views per month – the impact it has on the online world is clear.
- Every 6 seconds, a new blog post is created on WordPress. The magnitude of traffic that WordPress blogs get is possible because of the sheer volume of content being created and thanks to how committed and involved the WordPress community is.
- A whopping 34% of the websites present online use WordPress software. Perhaps this is one of the statistics that best illustrates the impact of WordPress and how it was able to change the internet, one blog at a time.
- 14/100 top websites are WordPress sites. It really says something when some of the most popular and respected websites in the world choose WordPress as their platform of choice.
- As you probably already know, WordPress is completely free of charge. It’s free to use, personalise, adjust, etc. There are options that are paid, but everything you need to start your own site is totally free.
- WordPress helps you out with SEO. You surely know that SEO is an incredibly important aspect when it comes to ranking on Google. Well, WordPress lends you a hand by essentially solving a majority of the issues Google may be facing when trying to index your pages. Pretty neat!
- The last summer release (May 2019) garnered 26 million downloads in just one month. Releases take place every six months, with the latest one having come out in October 2019.
- You may have gathered by now that WordPress.org and WordPress.com are not the same things. WordPress.org is a free resource that everyone knows and loves. WordPress.com is the domain created to generate revenue – it offers paid-for hosting services, as well as features and themes; all at a cost.
- What makes the WordPress world go round are the plug-ins. There are more than 55,000 to choose from and they’re the ones that make your website come to life, with basic or more advanced features, including design elements, security features, and others.
- The team necessary to keep WordPress going is smaller than 1,000 members. That’s one of the mind-blowing aspects of it and one of the things that irremediably changed the internet – it demonstrates that greatness can be achieved with a handful of smart, talented, hard-working individuals. And we’re all grateful to them!
- WordPress was put together by a whole team and with good reason – it would take one person around 151 years to build WordPress by themselves.
- Developers who work for WordPress take home anywhere from $20 to $100 per hour for their work.
- WordPress has organically developed a worldwide community that is very committed and close-knit. WordPress fans met up over 4,000 times just in 2017 alone.
Conclusion
WordPress is a really great platform that has come to the aid of many a blogger and people who are interested in creating their own site. It’s free, easy to use, and it offers users liberty and accessibility that they cannot find anywhere else.
In fact, WordPress has effectively changed the internet with its existence, as it has managed to gain a majority share over its competitors. There’s a lot to learn about WordPress, and it all contributes to its success and popularity.
About Chris
Chris Leveson is a writer and blogger with a specific focus on technology and the digital world. Having worked as an online freelancer for many years, he knows the challenges of being a digital entrepreneur and loves to share his thoughts, tips, and advice on a variety of relevant topics.