By Marieke van de Rakt and Joost de Valk
WordPress marketing is a collaborative effort. WPBeginner, Yoast, BobWP, Siteground, Post Status, and the Repository are just a few of the many, many brands and individuals advocating for WordPress.
We’re incredibly proud of the WordPress community. Amid the recent drama, we feel the community’s role and importance are severely overlooked. Our community comprises fantastic people who have also excelled in marketing WordPress, helping it grow into the world’s largest CMS. In this blog post, we’ll discuss our view on the impact of the WordPress community on the growth of WordPress.
Make the Pie Bigger
During his traditional Q&A session at WordCamp Europe (Paris, Vienna, one of these), Matt Mullenweg spoke about WordPress’s growth. He encouraged us to “make the pie bigger,” something he’s said since at least 2014, emphasizing that as WordPress grew, everyone in the community would benefit from our collective efforts. That phrase, “making the pie bigger,” became our guiding principle.
At Yoast, we fully embraced this idea. We shared updates about WordPress on our blog, newsletter, and social channels. At every SEO conference we attended, going back to 2006, we advocated for WordPress, promoting its benefits to a broader audience. We also contributed to WordPress core, developed free plugins, translated strings, and helped organize WordPress events. All of these actions supported the growth of WordPress.
Automattic and Matt Mullenweg have undeniably had a tremendous impact on WordPress software. Everyone — hosts, plugin developers, agencies — benefitted from their contributions to WordPress. In return, Automattic also thrived thanks to the marketing power of the WordPress community. WordPress (and, with it, WordPress.com) wouldn’t be as widespread without the passionate promotion by the countless WordPress brands and community members. The strength of the community’s marketing has been pivotal in our collective success.
How Marketing Works
To truly appreciate the role of the WordPress community in driving the growth of the world’s largest CMS, it’s essential to understand the science of marketing that backs it up.
Studies show that marketing messages are much more effective when they come from independent sources or trusted opinion leaders rather than directly from the brand (e.g. Hou, 2022, Momtaz et al., 2011). This indirect approach, called social proof, makes audiences more likely to trust the message as they see it endorsed by others (Cialdini et al, 1999). When a recommendation comes from a figure they respect, like an expert or a community leader, it carries even more weight, increasing credibility and influence within the audience’s social circles (Wojdynski & Evans, 2016).
Direct brand messaging often has a limited impact on changing consumer behavior immediately. Instead, it shapes opinions over time through key figures in social networks (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955). According to the “two-step flow” model, messages reach the so-called opinion leaders first, who then interpret and share this information with their communities. People are more likely to trust and act on the recommendations of these figures, whose endorsements feel more personal and relevant to their needs (Berger, 2014).
Marketing messages hardly ever reach people directly from the main brand. To successfully grow a brand, one needs to convince the opinion leaders. Let’s look at how the WordPress brand grew, shall we?
Bloggers, Believers, and Brand Builders: The Early Advocates of WordPress
WordPress grew mainly because a vibrant community of early bloggers acted as influential voices, what researchers call opinion leaders or influencers (e.g., Kavanaugh, 2006; Yefanow & Tomin, 2020). Initially, WordPress was a platform for bloggers: a hub for influential voices to connect and create. Many users shared their enthusiasm for the software, writing posts and spreading the word. Notable figures like Matt Mullenweg himself, Lorelle VanFossen, Liz Strauss, Chris Lema, and Syed Balkhi were among these early advocates. Their blogs reached thousands and inspired others to start their own WordPress blogs, gradually creating a vast network of niche blogs, each speaking to a unique audience but all promoting WordPress.
This early community advantage set WordPress apart from other CMS platforms by fostering a loyal, decentralized network of opinion leaders. Each community leader shared WordPress’s benefits in their own way: Joost and Jono Alderson spoke at numerous SEO conferences, introducing WordPress to new audiences, while agency owners from companies like HumanMade and 10up spread the word to clients. Hosting companies like WP Engine and Pagely organized events like Decode and Pressnomics, which were dedicated to educating and inspiring their communities about (the business of) WordPress.
The strength of WordPress’s growth strategy came from its network of bloggers, speakers, and opinion leaders, whose enthusiasm made promoting WordPress feel almost effortless. Their collective support was WordPress’s marketing machine, showcasing how “many hands make light work.”
Influencer Marketing: How WordPress Built a Movement
Today, influencer marketing is enormous. We often think of celebrities endorsing fashion brands or luxury goods getting commissions in return. However, WordPress had influencers long before it became a trend. Bloggers, speakers, and community leaders championed WordPress without needing pay—they were passionate about the platform. This genuine belief in WordPress as the best CMS made their message far more powerful and persuasive.
WordPress YouTubers: Reaching a New Generation
Today’s WordPress influencers reach new audiences, especially on YouTube, appealing to a younger, often less tech-focused crowd. Creators like Ferdy Korpershoek, Darrel Wilson, and WPcrafter have hundreds of thousands of subscribers, gaining viewership far beyond the official WordPress channel.
These YouTubers are compensated for their content through advertising and affiliate partnerships, yet WordPress doesn’t pay them. Instead, they’re supported by companies and brands in the WordPress ecosystem, such as Elementor, GoDaddy, Yoast, and Awesome Motive. This diverse sponsorship shows how WordPress has inspired a community-driven network of old and new advocates essential to its growth.
WP Community and Automattic – symbiotic relationship
Many WordPress companies would never have grown without Automattic’s unrelenting efforts to improve WordPress, the software. However, Automattic, WordPress.com, Woocommerce, and Jetpack would not have grown so much without the unrelenting marketing efforts of the WordPress community.
The growth of WordPress is a testament to what a passionate community can achieve together. Automattic’s ongoing software innovations and the community’s commitment to spreading the word have created a symbiotic ecosystem that benefits all. WordPress’s success story shows how community and collaboration can make an impact far beyond what any organization could accomplish alone.
In Conclusion: A Community-Driven Legacy
The WordPress journey from a simple blogging tool to the world’s leading CMS has been made possible by the passion and dedication of its community. From early bloggers to today’s YouTube influencers, countless voices have spread the WordPress mission. This collaboration — where Automattic’s innovations and the community’s marketing meet —demonstrates that true growth comes from empowering others. Together, we’ve created something much greater than any one brand or platform alone could achieve.
Let’s hope that WordPress remains a tool by the people, for the people.
