WordPress Journey-Evolution Of WordPress Development From 2003 – 19
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What is WordPress? 
WordPress is a software that stores content & gives users an authority to create & publish web pages 
with the help of domain name & hosting services. It is supportive of mailing lists, blogging, forums & 
online stores & does great usage of MySQL or MariaDB database server along with SQLite database 
engine.
WordPress (WP), a modern-architectured personal publishing software can be called a “stable 
product” as it lives by focusing on the web standards & the user experience with its every version 
release.
WordPress is a vast topic in itself. When it comes to adapt WordPress development, It comprises a 
huge list of its services from WordPress web development to WordPress plugin development, custom 
theme development to interface customization and more.
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Let’s discuss the versions 
of WordPress & their 
updates/features, right 
from present till the 
initial launch of 
WordPress 0.7 in 2003.
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2019 – Versions 5.1 “Betty” & 5.2 
“Jaco”
5.1 Betty
Released on 21st Feb 2019, named in honor of  Jazz vocalist “Betty 
Carter”.
“Site Heath” to notify admins about PHP’s outdated versions.
Improved performance of the new block editor, smooth & fast typing.
Will be notified as “doing it wrong” while registering REST API 
endpoints.
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5.2 “Jaco”
Released on 7th May 2019 & named after renowned Jazz bassist “Jaco Pastorious”.
Site health feature (as in 5.1) added 2 pages to deal debugging 
common configuration issues. Space to keep debugging information 
for the site maintainer. 
13 new icons – Instagram, suite for BuddyPress, rotated Earth icons 
for global inclusion – placed on the dashboard.
Plugin compatibility check – for automatically recognizing the 
compatibility between the site version of PHP & the installed plugins.
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2018 – Version 5.0 (Bebo)
 
Released on December 6, 2018 (was translated to support 37 languages), introducing a new block editor, made 
possible by 432 developers.
 
2017 – Versions 4.8 & 4.9
 
4.8 (Evans)
• New widgets for audio, video, image.
• WP event streams visible on the dashboard.
• API, to make editor portable on different areas via plugins.
 
4.9 (Tipton)
• Saving of design drafts for final review & alteration before posting.
• Design locking so that no two designers bring in the change at the same site.
• A prompt to protect new draft designs.
• Pinning code errors to fix them instantly.
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2016 – Versions 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
4.5 – Coleman
• Coleman brought the addition of inline links, formatting shortcuts, 
responsive views for the mobile, tablet & desktop screen.
• Improvements in script loading speed and additional support for image 
resizing and custom logos.
4.6 – Pepper
• This version came with the updation of emoji support, including all the Unicode 9.0 emoji characters.
• AJAX search on both “Add new plugin screen” and “installed plugin screen” -which makes a simplified workflow.
• Easy detection of broken URLs while typing
4.7 – Vaughan
• Introduced new theme “ twenty seventeen” for business sites backed by creative homepage & site setup experience.
• Stack of language-specific fonts, custom color scheme, media library became searchable by its filename.
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2015 – Versions – 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
4.2 – Powell
• Powell introduced the emoji support to make the content more decorative, more intuitive update & install of the 
plugin from plugin screen.
• Extended character support in Chinese, Japanese, Korean characters, musical, mathematical symbols & more.
• Improved display of themes in the admin panel with Chrome compatibility & color contrast.
4.3 – Billie
• Site owners were able to manage their site favicon (a group of small icons related to the web page) on both 
mobile & desktop – making site icons to be theme independent & out-of-the-box.
• Improved password processes for security purposes.
4.4 – Clifford
• Welcome to the new theme “Twenty Sixteen”, followed by great oEmbed support to have rich displays from 5 new 
providers – VideoPress, Speaker Deck, ReverbNation, Reddit Comments, Cloudup.
• Major improvements in the integration of REST API structure, term metadata, query for comments, the inclusion 
of two new Objects – Term & Network.
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2014 – Versions – 3.9, 4.0, 4.1
3.9 – Smith
• The visual editor was found much better in terms of speed, accessibility & mobile use.
• Themes were navigable from the appearance section now, enhanced audio & video playlist support, gallery 
previews now from the editor, live widgets & header previews were now possible.
4.0 – Benny
• Visual editor expands to fit well around content, language management possible from the dashboard.
• The plugin area was improved, showcasing more details, making search experience much better.
• Improved media experience on all screen sizes.
 
4.1 – Dinah
• There was an introduction of “distraction-free writing mode” (hiding all the tools to have concentrated writing).
• 44 languages were introduced, now it is easy to switch to any translation via “general settings” screen.
• Great support from “Google’s Noto Font Family”, making typography readable on any particular screen size.
• Clean & clear designed blog-centric theme, making content display always on the center of the screen – whether 
viewed on a tablet, PC or mobile. 
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2013 – Versions – 3.6, 3.7 & 3.8
3.6 – Oscar
3.7 – Basie
3.8 – Parker
2012 – Versions – 3.4, 3.5
3.4 – Green
3.5 – Elvin
2011 – Versions 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
3.1 – Reinhardt
3.2 – Gershwin
3.3- Sonny
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2010 – Versions 3.0
3.0 – Thelonious
2009 – Versions 2.8, 2.9
2.8 – Baker
2.9 – Carmen
2008 – Versions 2.5, 2.6, 2.7
2.5 – Brecker
2.6 – Tyner
2.7 – Coltrane
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2007 – Versions 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
2.1 – Ella
2.2 – Getz
2.3 – Dexter
2005 – Versions – 1.5, 2.0
1.5 – Strayhorn
2.0 – Duke
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2004 – Versions 1.0, 1.2
1.0 – Davis
• This version introduced to the browser installation, multiple category selection 
support, search engine permalinks, intelligent upgrade code and enhanced 
import for moving from other systems to WP.
• Addition of a new template tag showing the link of the admin page for editing 
posts & comments (only if the permission is granted).
1.2 – Mingus
• In this version, introduction to plugins, hierarchically category support, OPML 
import & export along with introductory language support were major 
updates. 
• Another set of features was –  password encryption, unlimited update service 
pinging & automatic thumbnail creation.
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Bottom line!
 
This was the 16-years long journey of WordPress ever since 2003. With each version, this 
content management system has always tried bringing a redefined user-experience, 
interactive interface & customized features – via all possible worldwide technical support & 
user’s problem statements.
 
Thinking of collaborating with WordPress web development company? Infoxen Technologies 
is a Gen-Z IT consultant & entrepreneurial-level software producer, extending one of its 
services as WordPress development company to help startups, brands, individuals formulate 
their digital presence via out-of-the-box WordPress web development, WordPress plugin 
development, customized theme development, WordPress maintenance and more to 
position brand image rightly with profit-curving returns.
+91-120-4106877 www.infoxen.com [email protected]
+91-120-4106877 www.infoxen.com [email protected]