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.png) Homepage as of September 2024 | |
Type of site | Blog hosting |
|---|---|
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | Automattic |
| Created by | Automattic |
| URL | wordpress |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | November 21, 2005; 20 years ago (2005-11-21) |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | JavaScript (since 2015);PHP[1] (since 2005) |
WordPress.com is aweb building platform for self-publishing that is popular forblogging and other works. It is owned and operated byAutomattic, Inc.[2] It is run on a modified version of theWordPress 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 theWordPress Foundation.[7][8]
The website opened tobeta 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 theFlock web browser.[10] As of February 2017,[update] over 77 million new posts and 42.7 million new comments are published monthly on the service.[11]
In September 2010, it was announced thatWindows 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 fromTumblr and WordPress.com toMidjourney andOpenAI.[13]
Registration is not required to read orcomment 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 PHPplugins, customize themeCSS, 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]
On April 9, 2025, WordPress.com launched a freeAI-poweredwebsite builder that enables users to create websites using simple textprompts.[19] The tool automatically generates layouts, text, and images, streamlining the website creation process for beginners and small businesses.[20] Free users receive 30 prompts, while unlimited access is available to Premium and Business plan subscribers with plans to make it available to self-hostedWordPress sites in the future.[21]
In August 2007,Adnan Oktar, aTurkishcreationist, got a Turkish court to block Internet access to WordPress.com for all of Turkey. His lawyers argued that blogs on WordPress.com containedlibelous material on Oktar and his colleagues which WordPress.com staff was unwilling to remove.[22]
In May 2009, WordPress.com was blocked by China'sGolden Shield Project.[23]
WordPress placed arainbow banner atop the WordPress Reader in June 2015, in celebration of theUS Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.[24] This was also done in advance of theAustralian Marriage Law Postal Survey of 2017.[25]
In August 2018, WordPress.com began removing several pages that suggested theSandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.[26]
