WordPress.com

WordPress.com
Type of site
Blog hosting
Area served Worldwide
Owner Automattic
Created by Automattic
Website wordpress.com
Alexa rank Decrease 50 (January 2018)[1]
Commercial Yes
Registration Optional
Launched November 21, 2005 (2005-11-21)
Content license
GPLv2 or later[2]
Written in JavaScript (since 2015); PHP[3] (2005–2012)

WordPress.com is a blogging platform that is owned and hosted online by Automattic.[4] It is run on a modified version of WordPress, an open source piece of software used by bloggers.[5] This website provides free blog hosting for registered users and is financially supported via paid upgrades,[6] "VIP" services and advertising.

The site opened to beta testers on August 8, 2005[7] and opened to the public on November 21, 2005.[4] It was initially launched as an invitation-only service, although at one stage, accounts were also available to users of the Flock web browser.[8] As of February 2017, over 77 million new posts and 42.7 million new comments are published monthly on the service.[9]

Registration is not required to read or comment on blogs hosted on the site, except if chosen by the blog owner. Registration is required to own, or post in, a weblog. All the basic and original features of the site are free-to-use. However, some features are not available in the free plan: install PHP plugins, customize theme CSS, write JavaScript, domain mapping, domain registration, removal of ads, website redirection, video upload, storage upgrades...[10]

Some notable clients include CNN, CBS, BBC, Reuters, Sony, Fortune.com, and Volkswagen.[11][12][13] It is estimated that more than 30% of internet bloggers use WordPress as their publishing platform.[14]

In September 2010, it was announced that Windows Live Spaces, Microsoft's blogging service, would be closing, and that Microsoft would partner with WordPress.com for blogging services.[15]

Advertising

Readers see ads on WordPress.com pages, though WordPress.com claims that it is rare.[16][17] On its support pages, WordPress.com says it "sometimes display advertisements on your blog to help pay the bills".[18]

Censorship

In August 2007, Adnan Oktar, a Turkish creationist, was able to get a Turkish court to block Internet access to WordPress.com by all of Turkey. His lawyers argued that blogs on WordPress.com contained libelous material on Oktar and his colleagues which WordPress.com staff was unwilling to remove.[19]

WordPress.com was blocked in China, but like other sites, it is intermittently unblocked and blocked.[20]

Matt Mullenweg commented: "WordPress.com supports free speech and doesn't shut people down for 'uncomfortable thoughts and ideas', in fact we're blocked in several countries because of that."[21]

In August 2018, WordPress.com began removing several pages that suggested the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. [22]

Politics

In advance of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey of 2017, a rainbow banner was placed at the top of the WordPress Reader.[23] This was also done in June 2015, in celebration of the US Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.[24]

See also

References

  1. "Wordpress.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  2. "About » License — WordPress".
  3. "Writing a Plugin". Wordpress.org. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "WordPress.com Open". Matt Mullenweg. 2005-11-21. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  5. "WordPress.com and WordPress.org". Support. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  6. "Create A Free Website Or Blog With WordPress.com". Mark Monyhan.
  7. "Argolon Solutions company web-site re-launched as a Wordpress blog" (Press release). Conor's Bandon Blog. 2005-08-08.
  8. "Wordpress.com partners with Flock | BloggingPro". www.bloggingpro.com. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  9. "WordPress.com Stats". WordPress.com. WordPress.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-25. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  10. "Plans". WordPress.com. 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  11. "Case Studies – WordPress.com VIP: Enterprise content management platform". vip.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  12. "Notable WordPress Users". WordPress.com. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  13. "FORTUNE.COM Technology Profile on BuiltWith". BuiltWith. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  14. "10 Interesting Key Facts and Figures about Blogging, Bloggers should know - QUIKRPOST". Quikrpost. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  15. "Welcome Windows Live Spaces Bloggers". The WordPress.com Blog. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  16. "On Ads". The WordPress.com Blog. 2006-09-06. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  17. "Go (Even More) Ad-Free". The WordPress.com Blog. 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  18. "No Ads". Support. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  19. Why We’re Blocked in Turkey: Adnan Oktar from the company's blog, August 19, 2007
  20. "Great Firewall of China". Great Firewall of China. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  21. The Pirate Bay Launches Uncensored Blogging Service TorrentFreak, April 16, 2008 with a note saying "Matt Mullenweg’s response was added to the article after publication."
  22. Jones, Rhett. "Sandy Hook Hoaxer Blogs Start Disappearing From WordPress Sites". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  23. "Christians join calls for WordPress to remove rainbow banner supporting same-sex marriage from hosted sites".
  24. "#LoveWins! LGBTQ Bloggers Make Their Voices Heard".
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