WordPress celebrates 20 years today. When I started working with in 2007, it was already powerful and intuitive enough to get my attention. I was looking for a CMS to build a website for one of my nonprofit clients and WordPress helped me do the job.

Over the years, I have see many changes and astounding growth. WordPress started as a blogging platform based on b2/cafelog. Over time, it has become the most popular CMS and a major player among all websites. According to W3Techs, WordPress now accounts for 65% of the CMS market and 43% of all websites.

Growing along with WordPress

I have grown along with WordPress and the WordPress community. As a nonprofit arts administrator, I built and managed several WordPress websites. Over time, I focused more on web developer.

I had developed a mad crush on WordPress. I wanted to learn more, especially about creating themes. It’s been over a decade since I coded my first scratch theme. I am still as interested in theme design and development and WordPress in general as I was then.

If I am writing about growing along with WordPress, I have to mention the community around it. The people who work with WordPress have an amazing drive to learn and share. I am inspired by and grateful to be a part the WordPress community.

Key dates for WordPress themes

In honor of the 20th anniversary of WordPress, here’s my nod to important developments in the theme world.

• 2003 – WordPress started, with Classic theme
• 2005 – Kubrick (Default) and the WordPress theme repository
• 2010 – Twenty Ten, first of the yearly series of themes
• 2011 – Twenty Eleven, the first responsive core theme
• 2012 – Theme Customizer support
• 2019 – Twenty Nineteen, the first block-based core theme
• 2022 – Twenty Twenty, the first full site editing core theme