2020 ~ WordPress Year in Review

by Vipe Team in WordPress Development; Published on 23.12.2020

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2020 was full of events, emotions, and innovations. The world has changed a lot, during this time and we all have learned something new about ourselves and our surroundings. Since there were a lot of changes in real life, the same went for the digital one. In 2020 we witnessed the whole world going online. Every theatrical, concert, education, or training moved their platform into the Internet space for just a few weeks. Suddenly, we all had access to every place and event in the world, while staying in our houses.

A lot of live platforms decided to transfer their qualities into a WordPress website. We will look through the updates which happened in WordPress in 2020 and see how they affected the online world.

Updating was WordPress’s thing

This year WordPress released three new major releases – WordPress 5.4, WordPress 5.5, WordPress 5.6. They all had new features that launched the CMS at even higher levels. It is known that each new WordPress update carries the name of a famous and respected jazz musician, and this year was no different:

Adderley

WordPress 5.4 was released on March 31, 2020, and was named after the American jazz trumpeter – Nat Adderley. He was famous because of his unique style of playing. He liked the conical cornet dark tone more than the cylindrical trumpet bright sound. His music was recognized by the earthy tone that became his signature sign.

WordPress 5.4 had some new features that helped developers manage the hard work they faced when everything had to go online. This included block improvements, adding new social icons and button blocks, features for personal data exports, and many other extensions.

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Eckstine

August 11, 2020, was the date we faced the second major update – WordPress 5.5. It was named after the American jazz and pop singer Billy Eckstine. He was a bandleader and a great performer, with an interesting career and lots of honors. His rich, operatic bass-baritone voice made him popular during the swing era.

The new updates of WordPress 5.5 included some block improvements, auto-updates to plugins, themes, and other features that made the experience with the platform even more pleasant and trouble-free.

Simone

The queen herself! Nina Simone was the name of the last WordPress 5.6 update. Nina Simone was most famous for her singing career as a singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician but she was also known for her activity for civil rights. Her music did not have borders, and she spreads her voice in many musical styles, including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. She also fought for the rights of the Afro-Americans and the end of racial discrimination, being an accurate and honest influencer. Her music is well-known by everyone, and she is well-appreciated even in our days.

WordPress 5.6 was released at the end of the year on December 8, 2020. It included a new theme for the platform, called Twenty Twenty-one, lighter code, and greater security control. It was a breath of fresh air and an early Christmas gift, which we all appreciated.

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Market Share Increase

This year many businesses had to go online, and WordPress opened its doors for them. A lot of physical stores and companies integrated their work into the web. Many of them chose to work with WordPress, and for that reason, it increased its market share drastically.

In 2020 WordPress managed to maintain the position of the most used control management system in the world. It is used by 39,4 % (according to W3Tech as of December 2020) of all the websites, leading the charts by a large percentage among its competitors. What can we say more? In January 2020, the percentage was 35.4%. That means the usage of WordPress is increased with 5% for a year. Because of its large number of users, WordPress develops and updates more and more of its security system. That is also one of the facts many brands are turning to this CMS. With the great variety of “stuff” on the Internet, it is a good idea to be as protected as you can, and WordPress is giving you that.

Online WordCamps

Along with all the events that were broadcasted online in 2020, WordCamp did not lag and held this year’s edition in the digital world. Undoubtedly, this is one of the favorite experiences for the WordPress community, and this year was no different. However, we can all agree on the fact that life connection is much more precious than online, so we all missed life interaction with other developers a little.

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Nevertheless, the organizers of the WordCamp did a great job, and we are all thankful to them. They did their best so that every developer who got involved in the event felt comfortable. They receive one big “BRAVO” from our team! Thank you for making us feel together, even when we were separated.

Our year

Vipe Studio managed to deal with the crisis in the best possible way. We had a great year, full of new adventures, tasks, and clients, which we encountered. Our WordPress developers work hard, so no one was harmed, and the business of our clients managed to survive with no difficulties.

We found new friends in the faces of the clients we started working with. They gave us their trust, and we did our best to prove them right. And the results were fruitful. Our customers recognized Vipe Studio as the reliable partner, they can count on, every time they have a problem with the maintenance of their WordPress website.

To Be Continued…

We are looking forward to the new 2021 and cannot wait for the surprises it has prepared for us. We believe this is the beginning of a better time, filled with positive vibes, more innovations, and an even greater boost of the developer’s life and the WordPress community.