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WPBeginner Turns 10 Years Old – Reflections, Updates, and a WordPress Giveaway ($124,000+ in Prizes)

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

Wow, it’s the tenth fourth. Today, WPBeginner is officially 10 years old — feels unreal to type this!

Like every year, I want to take a few minutes and do a quick recap of all the major things happening in business as well as my personal life.

Bonus: I’m also doing a huge WordPress giveaway with over $124,000+ in prizes from my favorite WordPress products and services.

On top of that, you can also win our exclusive WPBeginner 10th anniversary shirt, and an all expense paid trip to visit me in Palm Beach, FL to get 1-on-1 mentorship from me.

Yes, there are two separate giveaways happening (Birthday Giveaway and Ultimate Fan Giveaway)

WPBeginner Turns 10 Years Old

Since this is a long article, you can easily skip to the section you’re most interested in:

WPBeginner Story

I started using WordPress when I was 16 years old and started WPBeginner at age 19 with a single mission: make WordPress easy for beginners.

Since then WPBeginner has become the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners.

For those of you who’re new, you can read the full WPBeginner story on our about page and use the Start Here page to get the most out of WPBeginner.

Personal Updates

My son, Solomon, is now 2.5 years old. He’s growing up fast and I’m enjoying every bit of time with him. Amanda (my wife) and Solomon have been joining me on a lot of my business trips, and we have taken several fun trips as well.

Since the last WPBeginner anniversary post, we went to Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Mexico (Tulum, Punta Mita, Cozumel, Costa Maya), Canada, and did several trips within USA including the memorable roadtrip through Utah where we saw the top national parks.

Syed, Amanda, and Solomon

Last week, we did our all company retreat in Orlando, FL where we celebrated WPBeginner’s 10th birthday a bit early. Here are some photos from that:

WPBeginner Retreat Photo

WPBeginner Updates

Going into the 10th year, WPBeginner has continued to grow in double-digit percentage (year over year). Aside from tons of amazing WordPress tutorials on our blog, there have been several notable updates from last year, that I’d like to highlight.

1. We launched the WPBeginner Engage Facebook Group

WPBeginner Engage - Facebook Group

A lot of you have been asking for this, so last week we finally launched our Facebook Group.

WPBeginner Engage is a great place to share and learn tips for using WordPress while getting to know other users.

Aside from peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing, we are also going to be doing exclusive prizes and giveaways through out the year.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and join the WPBeginner Facebook Group. I look forward to connecting with you :)

2. New Hosting Infrastructure

In celebration of WPBeginner’s 10th birthday, I got a nice present from our WordPress hosting partner, HostGator. They completely overhauled our hosting infrastructure to make it even more robust and fast.

Here’s an overview of what the new setup looks like:

WPBeginner Hosting Infrastructure

I will be doing a more detailed write up on this in the coming weeks to explain how cool it is, and the performance improvements we have seen.

The additional server resources will be very helpful with our upcoming new tools section on WPBeginner.

I have been a HostGator customer since 2007, and WPBeginner website has been hosted with them since day 1 (see my full HostGator review). I want to thank their entire team that helped us with the upgrade.

Note: WPBeginner is using a custom HostGator cloud setup (not shared hosting). We started with shared hosting when we were small, but as our website grew, we upgraded to the higher plans.

3. Free Courses on YouTube + 141,305+ subscribers

Many of you already know that I’m obsessed with our YouTube channel.

We recently passed 141,305 subscribers.

On top of creating video tutorials for our blog posts, we are now creating exclusive YouTube only content.

Think of these as free mini-courses on: how to grow your email list, how to make money blogging, how to get better at SEO, etc.

WPBeginner YouTube Preview

Seriously, check out all the awesome work our team is doing on YouTube (specially the new Playlists area).

4. Instagram and Pinterest

Several of you asked me why WPBeginner is not on other social media networks outside of Twitter and Facebook.

I didn’t have a good answer because I knew that we should be on these social networks.

Well now we are.

If you love Pinterest, then you can follow WPBeginner on Pinterest to learn about WordPress as well as see other business related tips in our various boards.

If you like using Instagram, then please follow WPBeginner on Instagram to stay up to date with WordPress tips as well as exclusive videos / stories from me.

5. WPBeginner Growth Accelerator Fund

Last year, I created the first ever WordPress focused Growth Accelerator Fund.

The goal was simple: invest in WordPress product and service companies to help them grow their business while creating amazing products for our users.

My first investments as part of the growth fund included: MemberPress, Pretty Links, Affiliate Royale, Formidable Forms, and SeedProd.

Working closely with and mentoring such talented entrepreneurs have been an extremely rewarding experience for me.

WPBeginner Growth Accelerator Mastermind

I plan to open up the growth accelerator applications again next month for our second round of investments. If you have a WordPress focused product or service business, and want to work closely with me, then make sure you subscribe to WPBeginner.

Product Updates

One of the questions that I often get asked via our contact form is what is WPBeginner’s income, and how does WPBeginner make money by giving away all WordPress tutorials for free.

Well, we make money indirectly through our suite of premium WordPress plugins that are now running on over 9 million websites.

WPForms

WPForms is our drag & drop WordPress form builder plugin which turned 3 years old earlier this year.

It is now being used by over 2 million websites and has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating average with over 4200 five star ratings.

This past year, we introduced distraction-free Form Landing Pages and Conversational Forms, two of my favorite addons.

Aside from that, we worked with Google to make WPForms AMP friendly. We also added several powerful features like AJAX form submission, Google reCAPTCHA v3, smart email field, smart phone field, tons of language translations, and a whole lot more.

You can download the free version of WPForms or get WPForms Pro to unlock even more powerful features.

MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights is the most popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. It helps you see all the stats that matter right inside your WordPress dashboard.

This past year, we added several new features to MonsterInsights including expanded page insights, front-end page insights, easy scroll-depth tracking, automatic integrations for ThirstyAffiliates, Pretty Links, LifterLMS, and MemberPress, along with many other powerful features.

MonsterInsights is my most favorite plugin in the world because it helps me easily setup analytics, so I can make data-driven decisions and grow our business with confidence.

You can download the free version of MonsterInsights or get MonsterInsights Pro to unlock more powerful features.

OptinMonster

OptinMonster is the best WordPress plugin to convert regular website visitors into subscribers and customers.

Simply put, it helps you get more email subscribers.

This year we added several exciting features into OptinMonster including: Spin a Wheel gamification campaigns, attention activation, Monster Leads, chatbot integrations, and a whole lot more.

OptinMonster truly is the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world. It will help you instantly boost leads and grow revenue by converting and monetizing your existing website traffic.

TrustPulse

TrustPulse is the best social proof activity notification app in the world.

You have likely seen activity notifications on various websites (specially eCommerce) where they say John from Florida just bought X product.

These social proof notifications can immediately increase your website conversions. Learn more about how TrustPulse work.

You can get started with TrustPulse for free to see the uplift in conversion.

WPBeginner Stories

Several of my friends and well-known entrepreneurs were kind enough to record short videos about WPBeginner’s 10th birthday. Thank you so much y’all, it means a lot to me :)

Over 12 videos in the playlist so far!

Subscribe to WPBeginner

Mega WPBeginner Birthday Giveaway

To celebrate the 10th birthday of WPBeginner, I asked my favorite WordPress plugins, themes, and hosting companies to contribute prizes, and the response was just amazing.

We have $124,000+ worth of premium WordPress plugins, themes, and hosting licenses. There are over 735+ prizes, so yes there will be literally over 700 winners (scroll below to see all prizes).

Winners will be chosen randomly using a random generator script.

All you have to do is enter the giveaway using the widget below:

Note: All winners have been selected and emailed, if you have entered our giveaway please check your inbox

Remember we’re doing two separate giveaways. Above is the birthday giveaway where you can enter to win prizes from top WordPress plugins, themes, and hosting companies.

The ultimate fan giveaway where you can win an all expense paid trip + 1-on-1 mentorship from me requires separate entry. Click here to see more details.

Full List of Prizes for WPBeginner Birthday Giveaway:

We have over 70 companies that contributed prizes for our birthday giveaway. Below is the full list of prizes available:

WordPress Hosting:

10 annual licenses of the following hosting products:

  • 1 year of Shared Plus Hosting from Bluehost
  • 1 year of Standard WordPress Cloud Hosting from HostGator
  • 1 year of GoGeek Hosting Plan from SiteGround
  • 1 year of Startup Hosting Plan from WP Engine
  • 1 year of Unlimited Shared Hosting from Dreamhost
  • 1 year of Lite Hosting Plan from A2 Hosting

WordPress Plugins:

10 annual licenses of the following premium WordPress plugins:

OptinMonster / WPForms / MonsterInsights / SeedProd / MemberPress / Pretty Links / Affiliate Royale / AdSanity / AAWP / Advanced Coupons / Advanced Custom Fields Pro / Affiliate Coupons / All in One SEO Pack / Beaver Builder / BirchPress / Blogvault / Booking Robin / S3 Media Maestro / Complianz GDPR / CSS Hero / Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce / Delivery Fees for WooCommerce / Envira Gallery / Full Text Search / Google Fonts for WordPress / Imagely / InfiniteWP / LifterLMS / Malcare / Maps Maker / ProfilePress / PublishPress / Revive Social / Soliloquy / Start Booking / Sugar Calendar / ThirstyAffiliates / UpdraftPlus / Visual Composer / Weglot / Widget Options / WP Rocket / WP Security Audit Log / Yoast SEO Pro

5 annual licenses of the following premium WordPress plugins:

Formidable Forms / Ultimate Member / Groundhogg / WP Dispensary

WordPress Themes:

10 annual licenses of the following premium WordPress themes:

Astra Theme / Elegant Themes / ThemeIsle’s Neve / Themify / CSSIgniter / Anariel Design(6 months) / AccessPress Themes / Organized Themes / Pankogut Themes / Pixelemu / PremiumCoding / Visual Modo / WPZoom / MH Themes / Blogging Theme Styles

Services and Training:

Following companies have donated 10 licenses of their services / training:

Sucuri / LiveChat Inc / ShortPixel / WP Allied / Mfy Messenger Bot Automation / Gutenberg Course by Creator Courses / Custom Types Training Course by Toolset

WPBeginner Swag:

We will also be giving away 100 WPBeginner stickers + our exclusive 10th anniversary shirt.

Syed Wearing WPBeginner T-Shirt

Ultimate WPBeginner Fan Giveaway

Over the last 10 years, I have had the pleasure to meet thousands of WPBeginner readers across the world and learn their WPBeginner story. It’s extremely motivating to hear the impact WPBeginner has on so many people’s careers and businesses.

During these in-person meetings, many of you ask about how I manage multiple companies, my traffic / growth strategy, and in general how everything runs behind the scenes.

That’s why this year, I want to do something special that I have never done before. I’m calling it the ultimate WPBeginner fan giveaway.

Prize:

All expense paid trip for one WPBeginner reader to visit me in Palm Beach, Florida. You will get to spend time with me, get 1-on-1 mentorship + business advice, and enjoy my favorite food / places.

Included in this are:

  • Roundtrip Flight from anywhere in the world*
  • 3 nights hotel stay
  • Meals and Transportation through the duration of your stay
  • Free license for all WPBeginner products

* You must have a valid visa to travel to USA, and you must be 18 years old.

How to Enter:

I want to hear your WPBeginner story.

Tell me where you’re from, how did you first find out about WPBeginner, what have you learned from WPBeginner, what impact has it had on your blog, business, or career, and lastly tell me about your blog / business + your aspirations.

1. Record a short video sharing your WPBeginner story and upload it on YouTube (public or unlisted). Don’t worry about making it professional quality. It can be as simple as you holding your phone camera up and recording.

2. Send me the YouTube video link using the form below.

Unlike the birthday giveaway, winner is NOT chosen randomly. I will watch each video and hand-pick the winner based on your WPBeginner story.

The deadline to submit your WPBeginner story is: July 19th, 2019 Midnight EST.

Thank You Everyone

I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us in this journey. I really do appreciate all of your retweets, personal emails, content suggestions, and the in-person hugs / interactions at the events.

You all are AMAZING and without you, there is no WPBeginner.

I look forward to another solid year ahead of us.

Syed Balkhi
Founder of WPBeginner

P.S. We’re hiring for several roles as our company grows. If you or someone you know would be interested in being part of our fast-growing team, then please apply here.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

153 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. Donna Price says

    Congratulations!! 10 years is impressive! And I learned more today about all that you offer. This is by far, one of my favorite GO TO blogs if I have a WordPress challenge. Always helpful and easy to understand. Great resources and information.

    Congrats on your HUGE success!

  3. Michael says

    Thanks and congrats!

    Hope to get my hand on Visual Composer! Tried the free version and it is amazing. No doubts premium is even better.

  4. ahmed abdul azim says

    congratulations, Syed, I have learned from WPBeginner, a lot tricks that allow me to build professional WP, site using genesis theme, and I know there other staff behind WPBeginner I like to thank all of theme.

  5. Aaditya Sharma says

    Hello sir, great content for beginners as well as for professional. I’m following since last 4 years and learn many things and implements.

    Keep sharing :)
    Thanks

  6. Tarun Kashyap says

    Congrats wpbeginners for your amazing 10 years on the internet.
    .
    I learned a lot from your YouTube channel and blog.

  7. MIMIFTAH says

    I always suggest this site to my clients for any kind of wordpress issue. Congrats on your 10th anniversary and wishing you more years of success.

  8. Anshul Mathur says

    Hi,

    Thanks for reverting back. When I try to open, it is landing me on the “feeds” page.

    Please fix it so I can get some referrals. ;)

    Regards.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      We’ll be sure to look into possible reasons but at the moment links should be redirecting correctly :)

      Admin

  9. Matthew Maginley says

    Congratulations on your longevity and success. Please keep up the good work. You are a great help to the community.

  10. Sandeep Kumar says

    Hello Syed,

    It’s amazing to see the 10th anniversary of WPbeginner. I wish you more success in the year ahead. Stay blessed. Keep growing.

  11. Ruhul Amin says

    Congratulations Syed! You do great work, I have relied on your information from time to time and appreciate the dedication!!

    This content is quite wonderful and I must say I’m enthused with this inspiring achievement.
    I want to use this medium to felicitate wpbeginner on its 10th anniversary. To the founder, Syed Balkhi and the entire team behind the scene, I say more power to your elbow.

    I hope that I emerge as one of the winners of these amazing prices.
    Regards.

  12. Talal Faiz says

    WPBeginner always provide best supportive content for its users. I started using WPBeginner when one day I was searching over internet regarding a query of WordPress and google showed me this website. It has a very fruitful resources. The content is in organized fashion. The Plugins they suggest, the themes they prefer and the toolkit they provide, everything is awesome. This is the reason why I use WPBeginner. Thank you WPBegginer, keep it up !.

  13. Elke says

    Congrats from the buttom of my heart! You all are doing a really great job! I am so happy, that I found you!

    All the very best and “Happy next ten years” !!!

  14. Maria says

    Well done!

    I use this website monthly. I have found all the answers to my WordPress problems :-) thank you!!

    Keep going, beautiful family <3

  15. Aminur Asif Axon says

    It;s been never easy for you bro…
    But you’ve made it!! Wish you and your team a happy life by helping others through your valuable time :)

  16. Ravi Ranjan Kaushik says

    Congratulation for your 10th anniversary, And btw thanks for the giveaway.
    Really looking forward to winning as your timing is perfect, as I have been planning to buy hosting and some plugins for my niche site.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Thank you, glad these companies were willing to help be a part of this giveaway :)

      Admin

  17. Marilyn says

    Congratulations on helping beginners like me for 10 years now! The prizes look amazing but I have to say I am overwhelmed by them and don’t know what they all do or how to use them so am not inclined to enter the draw. I saw you being interviewed by Michael Hyatt in a video for his Platform University Core Curriculum and was impressed by your honesty and integrity. I have followed your advice on several occasions but as a small business owner, blogger and author, I don’t have much time to work on my website which I set up myself by following another techie’s step by step instructions on You Tube some years ago. I am about to follow your instructions to set up Woo Commerce on my site. I like your positive attitude and willingness to help people.

    • Editorial Staff says

      Thank you Marilyn for the kind words. Yes I can understand your concerns about being overwhelmed with the prizes. There are so many of them.

      I recommend entering because you really have nothing to lose. If you win one of the top plugin licenses for free, you can set it up. If you don’t like what you won, then you don’t have to use it :)

      All the best in your journey and I appreciate your comment.

      – Syed

      Admin

  18. Jounayet says

    Congratulations WPBeginner :) It’s really great to make 10 years of journey. I am a big fan of this blog whenever I need any help of wp I don’t forget to come here.

  19. Sandeep jain says

    Congratulations for being 10 year old wp beginner. Syed you are a real inspiration I’m a 39 year gay doing family business from 20years. Now I want to start my blogging journey and wp beginner really making my journey very simple you are awesome brother keep doing best stuff for beginners God bless you. Once again thanks for your wonderful support.

  20. Sher Khan says

    Dear Syed Balkhi,
    Hope you are fine. I am Sher Khan. I belong to Karachi (Pakistan) I have a domain on godaddy. My plan is that if someone wants to build an online store or online shop and they are in search of good domain name as i have like easymagazin.com so they can contact me i will allow them to make by delegate access by godaddy to my domain. they pay me monthly. it can be any website not necesarily shop. i want to keep my domain instead of selling it through auction listing. magazin means shop in macadonian language.so i want that domain should be with me only but the other provider can use the website with my domain for there business and they will be paying you every month. Is this possible. What should i do in this regard, I need sincere guidance. Thanks

    • Editorial Staff says

      Hi Sher Khan,

      I rarely see domain royalty deals these days unless you have a one word or very short domain. In most cases its not in the buyers interest to keep paying a monthly fee and build a brand that they don’t own themselves.

      – Syed

      Admin

  21. Ravinder Kumar says

    Congratulation Sir, I learned many WordPress Tips and Tricks from WPBeginner when I started working as a WordPress Developer since 2011. Your content is genuine and easy to read and understand.

    My mailbox is Full of your Newsletters and WordPress tips. I’m really happy that WPBeginners complete 10Years.

    Thanks a LOT

  22. Ali says

    Hi i was very glad when i found your website.i lerany from there and embedded videos are fabulous.then i visited your channel but i could not believe that all this is FREE. Over all i love this and i bookmarked your website and channel .i always visit this. Thanks for providing such a amazing stuff.

  23. Jephthah Wisdom says

    Wow wonderful, this remains the best WordPress tutorial website in the whole search engine, nothing can ever beat it.

  24. SueJ H says

    Congratulations on your 10th year anniversary. WPbeginner has been my Google when it comes to WordPress. Thank you for keeping the beginner in mind.

    Wishing you another great 10 years.

    Regards,

  25. Rapheal Ogundiran says

    I must commend you guys for the good job, you made it so easy to learn up without struggles. Articles are streamlined to a very best way of understanding. I am sure the world best websites are launched on WP. I became a guru in no time. I can confidently compete with the professionals just with great packaged lessons.

    Well done WP team. Cheers

  26. Joseph Savage says

    Syed,
    Congratulatons on your incredible journey! I just started building my first site ever two days ago, and I found your website yesterday. I have already started using your advice, and I am a big fan! While I hold several professional degrees, website building seemed a daunting task. But your approach is stepwise, logical, and modular, making it MUCH easier for me to concentrate on the things I am having difficulty with, yet moving forward in a logical and efficient way. All the best, and I hope there will be many years of growth ahead. — JS Savage

    • Editorial Staff says

      Thank you for your kind words Joseph. Glad you’re finding the articles useful. If you need any assistance, feel free to reach out to our support and we’d be happy to help you in your WordPress journey.

      -Syed

      Admin

  27. Sanjay Shrestha says

    Really well done! Can’t believe you’re just 19 married and with a kid. Amazing giveaway!

  28. Ben C. Oguzie says

    I love this. WPBeginner was where I started to learn blogging with WordPress. It has been helpful since then. In fact, is my first call of search in whatever I am looking for in WordPress.

  29. Anshul Mathur says

    Hi,

    Congratulations on your 10th anniversary and wishing you more years of success. I am an avid reader of WPBeginner and often visit it to check about the new updates.

    I am hoping to win something in the giveaway, but having a problem with the referral link. It is not landing on the correct page. Either it is not working properly, or the plugin you are using for giveaway have functionality issues.

    Kindly check it once, and let me know.

    Regards

    • Editorial Staff says

      Thanks for entering the giveaway and your comment Anshul.

      Yes, I’m trying a new plugin that we have built. What error are you running into with the referral link? It should redirect users back to this post.

      Admin

  30. Gabriel N Kalu says

    Congratulations on your 10th anniversary. I wish many more anniversaries even as we continue to learn more from your site day by day.

    You all at WPBeginner remain richly blessed.

    Thank you.

  31. MWL. HEMEDI says

    Wow!! I’m celebrating 5 years since I started to read your blog in 2014, Long way, WPBeginner is my first destination when I want to learn anything about WordPress Online. Thank you @SyedBalkh you have become my role mode and I have listed you in my about page proudly. https://mwlhemedi.com/kuhusu-mimi, It is Swahili Blog.

  32. Lukmon Obafemi says

    This content is quite wonderful and I must say I’m enthused with this inspiring achievement.
    I want to use this medium to felicitate wpbeginner on its 10th anniversary. To the founder, Syed Balkhi and the entire team behind the scene, I say more power to your elbow.

    I hope that I emerge as one of the winners of these amazing prices.
    Regards.

  33. Vidya Sury says

    Congratulations, Syed! WPBeginner has added so much value to thousands of bloggers, helping then with free solutions. I bookmarked this site years ago when I was looking for information about a plug-in and this had been my go-to for all things WordPress since then. Wishing you many decades of scaling heights. Thank you from my heart for the fantastic support ❤️

  34. Suzanne Jackson says

    I have learned to love WordPress. I am 73 years old and began 18 months ago creating my website with the assistance of daily phone calls at 20 minutes each (one day I spent 6 hours redialing and asking questions) and by the end of the month was able to have IPage upload everything and viola the website was live. I work a little bit every day (because I have another job too) and each day I learn more and more. I tried other premade websites prior to selecting WordPress and none made as much sense nor was as complete. So thank you for all you have done in helping me realize a 20 year old dream.

    • Editorial Staff says

      So glad to hear your WordPress journey Suzanne, and I’m really glad that we were able to help. I appreciate you and congratulations on your success.

      -Syed

      Admin

  35. Neal Umphred says

    Lá Breithe Shona Duit!

    I have een using WordPress for more than six years and have been turning to WPBeginner for advice for almost as long.

    Keep on keepin’ on!

  36. Doug Rees says

    Congratulations Syed! You do great work, I have relied on your information from time to time and appreciate the dedication!!

  37. Mogis says

    Congratulations Syed, I am the first commenter on this blog, I have been a regular reader of your blog and learned many things, many info regarding plugins, & increasing site load speed. Keep doing amazing job. Wishing you more successful, more you give to community, more you will get in return

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