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WordPress is an online instrument used for blogging. Originally it was created in 2001 by a French man named Michel Valdrighl and it was then completed by Malt Mullenweg.
Mullenweg took over with the intent to help his friend Mike Little create a catalog. The first version was released on May 27, 2003, and shortly after, in January 2004, it received its second update. In May 2004, version 1.2 of WordPress was released, and introduced plugins to the site.
Unlike other platforms, WordPress has the ability to provide both creative freedom and customization, giving them the upper hand. This gained them user preference throughout the blogger community.
Another popular outlet used by bloggers was Moveable Type. When WordPress released their update with the plugins, the conflicting terms in Moveable Type’s licensing pushed users toward WordPress more. Having no restrictions was the upper hand, and allowing creativity and flexibility was something that many users preferred.
With the influx of users, they expanded in both community and software. In 2005, version 1.5 “Strayhorn” and Version 2.0 “Duke,” introduced pages, comment modifications, new looks for themes, and dashboards for administrators. Overall, this allowed users to edit and open posts without having to reload the page they were actively working on.
In 2008, a web design company by the name of Happy Cog created a new interface for WordPress. In 2006, Mullenweg obtained ownership of “Automatic,” and in 2010, he transferred his ownership to WordPress. This transfer alone ensured the growth of the company, and made sure it would not have to depend on another company or any other developers.
In 2010, WordPress 3.0 introduced “Thelonious.” It ultimately became a stronger CMS. It also brought on more modifications, such as customized post types, taxonomies were improved, backgrounds were customizable, they created headers, menus, and more utilities for users. This led to the success of being known as the most popular CMS in 2013. In 2016, version 4.5 “Coleman” was released. This update allowed users to add online links, make shortcuts for formatting, and previews were more responsive.
In comparison to Medium, which was not a full management system, blogging and the community was a super focus. Medium wanted its bloggers and users to have the same experience online and connect them to stories that mattered to them most. Their downfall when competing with WordPress was that they did not have plugins. However, they did allow their users to focus more on having notes and being responsive instead of just straightforward commenting, also they let their users have custom domains.
Another platform, by the name of “Tumblr,” combined both social interaction and blogging. It was creative instead of formal. Its biggest push was the fact that it was created by Yahoo in 2003. Unlike those two platforms, both Wix and Weebly were website builders with predesigned templates, which allowed complete blogging freedom under a certain structure. Wix also had a touch of e-commerce for any purchasing needs, if anyone ever wanted to exceed their online base in comparison to Weebly, which only had the drag and drop option.
Written by Khora Jackson
Edited by Jeanette Smith
Sources :
WordPress: WordPress: Its History and Why You Should Use It
wpbeginner: WordPress Competitors- 16 Popular Alternatives to WordPress
Featured Image Courtesy of Supprtpdx’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License