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WordPress.com

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This article is about the commercial blog host WordPress.com. For the open-source software, see WordPress. For the text processing software by Corel, see WordPerfect.
WordPress.com
Homepage as of September 2024
Type of site
Blog hosting
Area servedWorldwide
OwnerAutomattic
Created byAutomattic
URLwordpress.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedNovember 21, 2005; 18 years ago (2005-11-21)
Current statusActive
Written inJavaScript (since 2015); PHP[1] (since 2005)

WordPress.com is a web building platform for self-publishing that is popular for blogging and other works. It is owned and operated by Automattic, Inc.[2] It is run on a modified version of the WordPress software.[3] This website provides free blog hosting for registered users and is financially supported via paid upgrades,[4] "VIP" services and advertising.

While Automattic is among the many companies contributing to the WordPress project,[5][6] neither it nor WordPress.com are affiliated with the WordPress software/project or the WordPress Foundation.[7][8]

History

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The website opened to beta testers on August 8, 2005[9] and opened to the public on November 21, 2005.[2] It was initially launched as an invitation-only service, although at one stage, accounts were also available to users of the Flock web browser.[10] As of February 2017, over 77 million new posts and 42.7 million new comments are published monthly on the service.[11]

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.[12]

In February 2024, Automattic announced that it would begin selling user data from Tumblr and WordPress.com to Midjourney and OpenAI.[13]

Features

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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.[14]

If the free plan is in use, readers see ads on WordPress.com pages, though WordPress.com claims that it is rare.[15][16] On its support pages, WordPress.com says it "sometimes display[s] advertisements on your blog to help pay the bills".[17] In order to remove the ads, users need to purchase a Plan that starts at $4 a month (if billed annually).[18]

Politics

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In August 2007, Adnan Oktar, a Turkish creationist, got a Turkish court to block Internet access to WordPress.com for 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]

In May 2009, WordPress.com was blocked by China's Golden Shield Project.[20]

WordPress placed a rainbow banner atop the WordPress Reader in June 2015, in celebration of the US Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.[21] This was also done in advance of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey of 2017.[22]

In August 2018, WordPress.com began removing several pages that suggested the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Writing a Plugin". Wordpress.org. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "WordPress.com Open". Matt Mullenweg. 2005-11-21. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  3. ^ "WordPress.com and WordPress.org". Support. 2008-12-02. Archived from the original on 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  4. ^ "Create A Free Website Or Blog With WordPress.com". Mark Monyhan. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  5. ^ "Automattic". Automattic. Archived from the original on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  6. ^ "Automattic". Five for the Future. 2019-10-29. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  7. ^ Reimnitz, Nathan (2018-05-14). "WordPress.com vs WordPress.org: What's the Difference?". Go WordPress. Archived from the original on 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  8. ^ "WordPress vs WordPress.com". WordPress.org Forums. 2018-12-09. Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  9. ^ "Argolon Solutions company web-site re-launched as a Wordpress blog" (Press release). Conor's Bandon Blog. 2005-08-08. Archived from the original on 2006-05-20. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  10. ^ "Wordpress.com partners with Flock". BloggingPro. Archived from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  11. ^ "WordPress.com Stats". WordPress.com. 8 December 2006. Archived from the original on 2018-03-25. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  12. ^ "Welcome Windows Live Spaces Bloggers". The WordPress.com Blog. 2010-09-27. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  13. ^ Cole, Samantha (2024-02-27). "Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users' Data to Train AI Tools". 404 Media. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  14. ^ "Plans And Pricing". WordPress.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  15. ^ "On Ads". The WordPress.com Blog. 2006-09-06. Archived from the original on 2018-06-11. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  16. ^ "Go (Even More) Ad-Free". The WordPress.com Blog. 2008-09-18. Archived from the original on 2018-06-11. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  17. ^ "No Ads". Support. 2009-01-09. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  18. ^ "WordPress Cost | WordPress Price | Compare Our Plans". WordPress.com. 2016-02-23. Archived from the original on 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  19. ^ Why We're Blocked in Turkey: Adnan Oktar Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine from the company's blog, August 19, 2007
  20. ^ "AFP: Blogging guru chips away at Great Firewall of China". Google.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  21. ^ Baeta, Hugo (June 30, 2015). "#LoveWins! LGBTQ Bloggers Make Their Voices Heard". Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  22. ^ "Sight Magazine - Christians join calls for WordPress to remove rainbow banner supporting same-sex marriage from hosted sites". sightmagazine.com.au. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  23. ^ Jones, Rhett (August 16, 2018). "Sandy Hook Hoaxer Blogs Start Disappearing From WordPress Sites". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 19, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
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