WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg delivered the annual State of the Word address from Tokyo Node Hall in Tokyo, Japan, marking the second time the event was held outside North America. Following last year’s address in Madrid, this year’s event spanned three hours and celebrated Japanese culture and contributions to the WordPress ecosystem.
Mullenweg emphasized the inspiration WordPress has drawn from Japanese culture over the years, highlighting Japan’s unique influence on the platform. The event included presentations by Mary Hubbard, Matías Ventura, and Junko Fukui Nukaga, with a special piano performance by Aiko Takei. Panels in Japan featured thought leaders like Mieko Kawakami, Craig Mod, Hajime Ogushi, and Genki Taniguchi.
The address included reflections on WordPress’s growth, including its role in powering 43.6% of websites globally and achieving a 62.3% market share in the content management system space. In Japan, WordPress dominates with an 83% market share, 31 times greater than Shopify’s presence in the region. The platform recently surpassed 500 million core downloads, with English being the most-used language, followed by Spanish, German, and Japanese.
In 2024, WordPress welcomed 1,700 new themes, 1,000 of which were block themes. The plugin ecosystem experienced a 20% year-over-year growth, with plugins expected to hit 2.35 billion downloads by the end of the year. Mullenweg also praised the Plugin Check tool for improving the plugin review process, reducing reported issues by 41% and increasing weekly approvals by 138%.
The event highlighted significant advancements in Gutenberg, which is entering its third phase focused on collaboration. Lead architect Matías Ventura discussed upcoming features like in-editor commenting and notifications akin to Google Docs and a “Zoom out” feature to streamline editing workflows. Ventura emphasized the importance of making WordPress the best tool for writing, designing, and developing through community collaboration.
WordPress Playground was another focal point, showcasing its ability to run WordPress instantly on any device without hosting. Recent updates include multiple instances in a single window, Blueprints for setting up Playground instances, and a new Playground block for embedding WordPress within WordPress. Mullenweg underscored that these innovations aim to make WordPress more accessible while upholding its open-source principles.
Mary Hubbard, WordPress Executive Director, addressed the community’s concerns about WP Engine and reaffirmed the platform’s commitment to open-source ideals. Hubbard announced enhancements to Learn WordPress, including structured learning pathways, and noted Openverse’s growth to include 884 million images and 4.2 million audio files.
Japanese contributions to WordPress were also celebrated, with Junko Fukui Nukaga sharing updates about the local community. Japan is home to 26 active meetup groups and 11,265 community members who hosted 189 events this year. Notable contributors like Aki Hamano and Akira Tachibana were recognized for their roles in advancing WordPress Core and documentation.
Mullenweg revisited the concept of Data Liberation, emphasizing WordPress’s mission to ensure true freedom and interoperability for its users. He noted that 2024 was a year of growth despite challenges and distractions and praised the community’s resilience and dedication.
The event concluded with a Q&A session where Mullenweg addressed questions about the future of blogging, AI content, digital identity, and democratizing publishing. He reiterated his lifelong commitment to WordPress, viewing it as both an honor and a privilege.
Panel discussions moderated by Mary Hubbard explored the themes of “Publishing in the Open” and “The Future of WordPress in Japan and Beyond.” The State of the Word 2024 reaffirmed WordPress’s vision as a community-driven platform, continually evolving to meet the needs of its users worldwide.