Want to know some cool WordPress facts? WordPress turn 14 years old today, so we thought what best way to celebrate the world’s most popular website building software than to create a top 25 facts about WordPress infographic. Here are 25 most interesting facts about WordPress that you may not know.
You can click on the image below to view the infographic or keep reading the text version 
1. WordPress is Older Than Twitter and Facebook
The first version of WordPress was released on May 27, 2003. This makes WordPress older than both Facebook and Twitter.
2. The Name – WordPress
Christine Selleck Tremoulet, a prolific blogger and a friend of Matt Mullenweg (co-founder of WordPress), suggested the name WordPress.
3. WordPress Powers Nearly 27% of All Websites
According to W3Techs web technologies surveys, WordPress currently powers nearly 27% of all websites.
4. WordPress Dominates 76.4% of CMS Market Share
According to Wappalyzer, WordPress dominates the content management software usage with 76.4% market share.
5. WordPress is Open Source and Free
WordPress is released under GNU GPL license, which allows anyone in the world to download and use it. The source code is freely available for anyone to study, use, modify, and build upon.
See our article on why is WordPress free? What are the costs? What is the catch?
6. WordPress is Not Owned by Any Company
In order to protect the freedoms offered by open source, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg created the WordPress Foundation. This non-profit organization owns the ‘WordPress’ trademark, and protects freedoms offered by the software’s open source license.
For more details see: who owns WordPress and how does WordPress make money.
7. WordPress Doesn’t Have a CEO
Since WordPress is an open source project not owned by any company, it does not have a CEO. The project is run by volunteer developers from all over the world.
There is a thorough decision making process in place which allows anyone to submit bug reports, patches, suggest features, and so on.
8. WordPress powers a Multi-Billion Dollar Economy
Hundreds of companies and thousands of professionals from all over the world sell WordPress based products, services, and solutions. WordPress provides excellent opportunities to thousands of developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to build their businesses upon WordPress.
Check out our list of 20 most influential WordPress businesses and companies.
9. 1.48 Billion Plugin Downloads
WordPress plugin downloads crossed 1.48 Billion total downloads in 2016. That’s 48% increase since 2015 when plugin downloads surpassed 1 Billion mark.
10. WordPress is Used by Governments All Over The World
WordPress powers thousands of government websites in all parts of the world. The list includes dozens of US Federal and State government websites, counties, small towns, high schools, etc.
11. WordPress in Education
WordPress is used by thousands of universities, colleges, and schools all over the world. The open source license allow students and academia to study, modify, learn, and contribute to the development of WordPress core, plugins, and themes.
See our list of 40+ popular universities that are using WordPress
12. More than 50,000 Free Plugins
Plugins are like apps for your WordPress site. There are currently more than 50,000 free WordPress plugins available for download. From creating an online store to adding a contact form, whatever you want to do there is a good chance that you will find a plugin for that.
Take a look at our pick of 24 must have WordPress plugins for business websites.
13. More Non-English WordPress Downloads
In 2014, non-English WordPress downloads surpassed the English version. In later years, WordPress made it possible to install language packs from the WordPress admin area. In the final release of 2016, WordPress added the language switching feature for users on a WordPress site.
14. WordPress is Available in 68+ Languages
WordPress is fully translated into 68 languages, and it is partially translated into dozens more. Many popular WordPress plugins and themes are also available in different languages. It can also be used as multi-lingual platform with the help of plugins like WPML and Polylang.
See our guide on how to install WordPress in other languages.
15. WordCamp Events in 41 Countries
Official WordPress events are called WordCamps. In 2016, there were 115 WordCamp events in 41 countries attended by 36,000 WordPress users.
16. WordPress Meetups in 58 Countries
WordPress meetups are smaller events organized by local communities under the umbrella of the WordPress Foundation. In 2016, there were 3193 WordPress meetups, in 58 countries, attended by 62,566 users.
17. WordPress Cousins
The community behind WordPress also runs sister projects like bbPress, BuddyPress, and GlotPress. They are all open source software built on top of the WordPress core and principles.
18. 11.45% of WordPress sites use SSL Encryption
In 2016, the number of WordPress sites using HTTPS was increased from 4% to 11.45%. It is expected to grow tremendously as WordPress plans to push encryption more pro-actively in 2017. See our guide on how to add free SSL in WordPress with Let’s Encrypt.
19. WordPress is Written in PHP and MySQL
WordPress is written in PHP programming language and uses MySQL for database.
20. 20% of WordPress is Written in JavaScript
20% code in the WordPress core is JavaScript. This is expected to grow as WordPress becomes more and more like an application development framework.
21. Free Community Based WordPress Support
WordPress is a community driven project and support is widely available free of cost. There is an official WordPress support forum which gets thousands of posts every day.
There are also resource websites like WPBeginner where users can find tutorials, watch videos, and learn WordPress.
If you ever have questions about WordPress, simply reach out to us through our contact form. We also recommend looking at our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support and get it.
22. WordPress and Jazz
All WordPress releases are named after Jazz artists. For example, WordPress 1.0 was named after Miles Davis and WordPress 4.6 was named after Pepper Adams.
23. WordPress has a built-in Auto Update System
WordPress automatically updates itself for minor releases. It can also push plugin updates automatically if there is a severe vulneribility found that threatens millions of websites.
24. WordPress.com is Not The Same as WordPress.org
WordPress is the open source software that allows you to build your website. You will need WordPress hosting to install WordPress (see our guide on how to make a website).
On the other hand, WordPress.com is a blog hosting service run by Automattic.
See our guide on the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
25. WordPress for Multisite Networks
WordPress has built-in multisite feature which is hidden by default. It allows you to create a network of websites using the same WordPress installation. For more on this topic, take a look at our guide on how to install and setup WordPress multisite network.
We hope this article helped you learn some new interesting facts about WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to choose the best blogging platform.
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Christine says
Awwww… I feel so honored to be trivia #2! Those early days of WordPress were a special time! People always ask me if I suggested any other names, or what else was considered. I only suggested that one though, and as soon as I suggested it, he went and bought the domain for it! The rest is Internet history! I *heart* WordPress!
Heather O'Connor says
I feel so fortunate to have found WordPress! I made sites for our educational nonprofit site, one for my hubby’s surfing photos and one for my artwork. I’m 74, never had done this before and am happy as a clam! Congratulations to all of you!
Pascal says
Hello WORDPRESS. Thank you for existing, and for using you. Wishing you a Happy Birthday!
Mickey C says
Happy Birthday WordPress!
Johnpaul Onwueme says
I recently joined WordPress, it is very blogging platform to be with.
Happy birthday
Charm Bagasbas says
Happy Birthday WordPress!! You really are a great help especially for non-designers and developers.
Peter C says
You might want to check on whether WP 1.0 was named after Mike Davis or Miles Davis. Almost guaranteed the latter.
Editorial Staff says
Great catch. We fixed it
Admin
Janet says
Thank you. I’ve been thinking about blogging and will use WordPress. You’ve given me the information I need and furled my inspiration.
Bunty oberoi says
Happy birthday wordpress.
Tonya B says
This is great! I just learned so much more about the WordPress platform from this post. I didn’t know WordPress does not have a CEO! Thanks for sharing this.