WP GuideWP Guide

WordPress History

A journey through the evolution of WordPress, from its first release in 2003 to the modern block editor and AI-powered releases.

20030.7

The First Release

Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little fork b2/cafelog to create WordPress, publishing the first version on May 27, 2003.

20041.0 Davis

Plugins & SEO-Friendly URLs

WordPress 1.0 introduces the plugin architecture and clean permalinks, making it easy to extend and optimize.

20051.5 Strayhorn

Themes & Pages

Version 1.5 introduces the theme system and static pages, transforming WordPress from a blog engine into a CMS.

20052.0 Duke

WYSIWYG Editor

A rich visual editor, AJAX-powered admin, and the Akismet anti-spam plugin make content creation smoother.

20072.1 Ella

Autosave & Spell Check

Autosave protects your work, while the spell-check feature improves the writing experience.

20103.0 Thelonious

Custom Post Types & Multisite

WordPress becomes a true CMS with custom post types, taxonomies, and built-in Multisite network support.

20123.5 Elvin

New Media Manager

A redesigned media uploader and gallery management make handling images far more intuitive.

20154.4 Clifford

Responsive Images

WordPress starts serving responsive images automatically, improving performance on mobile devices.

20185.0 Bebo

Gutenberg Block Editor

A revolutionary block-based editing experience replaces the classic editor, changing how content is built.

20205.5 Eckstine

Auto-Updates & XML Sitemaps

Built-in automatic plugin/theme updates and XML sitemaps improve security and SEO out of the box.

20226.0 Arturo

Full Site Editing

Site-wide editing with blocks expands, allowing users to design headers, footers, and templates visually.

20246.5 Reggie

Font Library & Performance

A built-in font library, faster template loading, and deeper design tools improve the site-building experience.

20267.0 Armstrong

AI-Powered WordPress

The latest major release introduces AI abilities, a modern command palette, and a refreshed dashboard design.