WordPress has been around for more than two decades, but there is still plenty about the platform that many website owners do not know.
It started as a blogging tool and grew into a flexible content management system used for everything from small business websites to large publishing platforms.
Here are ten interesting WordPress facts, including a few that explain why it remains such an important part of the web.
1. WordPress started with a fork of another blogging platform
WordPress began in 2003 when Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little created a fork of an existing blogging platform called b2/cafelog.
What started as a relatively small publishing project developed into the WordPress open-source project we know today.
That long history is one reason WordPress has such a mature ecosystem of developers, hosting companies, themes, plugins and support services.
2. WordPress is open-source software
WordPress is released under the GNU General Public License, or GPL.
That means the software can be used, studied, modified and redistributed under the terms of the licence.
This open-source model has helped thousands of developers and contributors build on WordPress rather than relying on a single company to decide how the platform develops.
It is also an important distinction between WordPress.org, the open-source software, and commercial services that use WordPress as part of their offering.
3. WordPress powers a huge share of the web
WordPress remains the world’s most widely used content management system.
According to W3Techs, on 10 September 2026 WordPress was used by 40.3% of all websites they monitor. Among websites where the content management system is known, its market share was 58.8%.
Those figures change over time, so it is more useful to treat them as a dated snapshot than a permanent WordPress fact.
What matters is the scale. After more than 20 years, WordPress still powers a significant part of the public web.
4. There are more than 72,000 free plugins in the official directory
One of WordPress’s biggest strengths is its plugin ecosystem.
The official WordPress.org Plugin Directory currently contains more than 72,000 free plugins.
Plugins can add features ranging from forms and e-commerce to SEO tools, backups, security, performance improvements and integrations with external services.
That flexibility is useful, but more plugins are not automatically better. Every plugin adds code that needs to be maintained, updated and checked for compatibility and security.
Choosing reputable plugins and keeping them properly maintained is more important than simply installing more of them.
5. Themes can completely change how a WordPress website looks
WordPress separates much of a website’s presentation from its underlying content.
Themes control areas such as layouts, typography, templates, colours and other visual elements. The official WordPress.org Theme Directory provides a large selection of free themes, while many commercial and custom themes are available elsewhere.
Modern WordPress themes can also take advantage of blocks and site-editing tools, giving website owners considerably more control over layouts than early versions of WordPress offered.
A theme still needs to be chosen carefully. Design is only one consideration. Performance, accessibility, maintainability and compatibility matter too.
6. Major WordPress releases are named after jazz musicians
WordPress has a long-running tradition of naming its major releases after jazz musicians admired by the project’s core developers.
For example, WordPress 7.0 was named after Louis Armstrong, while WordPress 7.1, released in August 2026, is named “Mary Lou” after pianist, composer and arranger Mary Lou Williams.
The tradition goes all the way back to WordPress 1.0 “Davis”, named after Miles Davis.
It is a small detail, but one that has become part of WordPress culture.
7. WordPress includes a REST API
WordPress is not limited to displaying content through a conventional WordPress theme.
Its REST API allows applications to send and receive WordPress data using JSON.
The REST API is also an important part of WordPress itself. It provides a foundation for features such as the Block Editor and gives developers a structured way to connect WordPress with plugins, applications and completely separate front ends.
That means WordPress can act not only as a traditional website platform but also as a content management layer behind other applications.
8. One WordPress installation can manage a network of websites
WordPress includes a feature called Multisite.
When enabled, Multisite allows multiple websites to be managed as part of a single WordPress network.
Individual sites can have their own content while sharing elements such as users, themes and plugins across the network.
It can be useful for organisations that operate several related websites, such as businesses with regional sites, educational organisations or other groups managing multiple web properties.
Multisite is not the right setup for every collection of websites, but it is a powerful capability built directly into WordPress.
9. WordPress has its own global conference community
WordPress is supported by much more than software alone.
WordCamps and other official WordPress events bring together developers, designers, website owners, agencies, contributors and people who are simply interested in learning more about the platform.
These events take place in different parts of the world and are largely supported by local organisers, volunteers, contributors and sponsors.
The wider community has played an important role in WordPress’s development, documentation, translations, support and ecosystem.
10. WordPress is used at enterprise level too
WordPress may be free and open source, but it is not limited to small websites or personal blogs.
WordPress VIP provides an enterprise content platform built around WordPress for organisations with more demanding requirements around scale, security, governance and publishing workflows.
Large organisations can also build their own enterprise WordPress infrastructure or use specialist managed hosting.
This ability to scale from a simple website to a much larger publishing operation is one of the reasons WordPress has remained relevant for so long.
WordPress continues to evolve
WordPress today is very different from the blogging platform launched in 2003.
It has developed into a flexible publishing system with an enormous ecosystem of themes and plugins, modern editing tools, APIs, Multisite capabilities and a global community behind it.
That flexibility is also why looking after a WordPress website matters. Themes, plugins, WordPress itself, hosting and security all need ongoing attention if you want the site to remain reliable.
If you need help maintaining, fixing or improving a WordPress website, Newt Labs provides WordPress support and ongoing WordPress care plans, as well as one-off specialist help.
