WordPress News Roundup May 2014: WordPress 3.9.1 Release, Automattic Raises $160 Million at a $1.16 Billion Valuation

May 2014 put a price on WordPress’s biggest company. Automattic raised $160 million at a valuation of $1.16 billion, its first funding in six years. In core, WordPress 3.9.1 showed just how well automatic updates were working, and the JSON REST API reached version 1.0, starting the long road toward core.

WordPress also turned 11, while two of the ecosystem’s best-known companies, WooThemes and WP Engine, spent part of the month dealing with unhappy customers.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Investments

• Automattic raises $160 million: On May 5 Matt Mullenweg announced new funding for Automattic. The $160 million round was led by Insight Venture Partners, with participation from True Ventures, Chris Sacca and Endurance, and was reported at a $1.16 billion post-money valuation. Automattic had raised only $12 million in outside capital before, the last in 2008. Matt said the money would help the company grow and invest more in marketing.

WordPress Core Updates

• WordPress 3.9.1: After three weeks and more than 9 million downloads of 3.9, 3.9.1 shipped on May 8 with 34 bug fixes for multisite, widget previews in the Customizer, the updated visual editor and playlists, plus performance improvements.
• 97% automatic: Andrew Nacin reported that about 68,000 sites updated in the first seven minutes, more than a million in the first 100 minutes, and that over 97% of 3.9.1 updates happened automatically.
• JSON REST API 1.0: Ryan McCue and team released version 1.0 of the JSON REST API plugin on May 27, and it was slated for possible inclusion in WordPress 4.1.
• Accessibility testing: Contributors began work on automated accessibility testing for core.

Other WordPress News

• WordPress turns 11: The community marked WordPress’s 11th birthday on May 27.
• WordCamp Miami: WordCamp Miami, with a BuddyCamp and a children’s workshop, was one of the month’s biggest events.
• Jetpack 3.0: Released on May 20, Jetpack 3.0 added bulk module management, site verification tools and Twitter cards.
• WP Rocket: WP Rocket announced its commercial caching plugin, focused on ease of setup, to the wider WordPress community.
• WordPress for iOS in Apple ads: WordPress for iOS appeared in Apple’s new iPad advertising campaign.
• Make by The Theme Foundry: The Theme Foundry released Make, a free theme with a built-in drag-and-drop page builder.
• GoDaddy support changes: GoDaddy dropped email and ticket support in favour of phone and live chat.
• Automattic and API copyright: Amid the Oracle v. Google court battle over APIs, Automattic stated that it did not claim copyright on its own APIs.
• Android drops Gingerbread: WordPress for Android announced it would no longer support Android 2.3 “Gingerbread”.
• Business community: The WordPress Entrepreneurs group passed 500 members, and WordCamp Vancouver announced a developer-focused edition for July.
• AppBuddy: AppPresser debuted AppBuddy, a mobile app framework for BuddyPress communities, at BuddyCamp Miami.
• WordCamp feedback: WordCamp Central proposed centralising post-event attendee surveys so organisers could compare results across events.

Security Alerts and Plugin Vulnerabilities

• WooThemes fraud investigation: WooThemes investigated reports of fraudulent charges on customers’ cards. A Sucuri audit found three modified files on its server, and WooThemes, which did not store card details, published the steps it was taking.
• All in One SEO Pack: All in One SEO Pack released an important security update at the end of May.
• WordPress.com disclosure debate: A WordPress.com vulnerability reported by an outside researcher prompted debate about responsible disclosure.

Industry Trends and Insights

• Unicorn status: Automattic’s valuation matched the roughly $1.1 billion Yahoo had paid for Tumblr a year earlier, and showed investors saw long-term value in an open-source-rooted business.
• Hosting under scrutiny: A widely shared customer exposé of WP Engine’s support led the company to respond publicly, a sign of growing pains as managed hosts scaled.
• Net neutrality: The US Federal Communications Commission’s proposed rules on internet “fast lanes” worried publishers, and some WordPress developers responded with protest plugins.

Theme of the Month: Make

Make, from The Theme Foundry, offered a free, GPL page-builder theme on WordPress.org at a time when most drag-and-drop builders were premium. It made layout building accessible to users who could not afford commercial frameworks.

Plugin of the Month: WP Rocket

WP Rocket arrived on many WordPress users’ radar this month as a premium caching plugin with sensible defaults, a contrast to the complex settings screens of the established free options. It quickly became a popular choice for site owners who wanted speed without configuration.

Founder of the Month: Matt Mullenweg

Four months after returning as CEO, Matt Mullenweg secured Automattic’s largest funding round to date, along with a valuation above $1 billion. The capital set the stage for Automattic’s expansion over the following years.

Looking Ahead to June 2014

WordPress 4.0 development continues, with internationalisation improvements and a new plugin installer among the planned features. Tickets for WordCamp Europe in Sofia are expected to go on sale, and the REST API team will keep refining the plugin ahead of a core merge proposal.