If you want to build your own website, then you know about WordPress. What you might not know is how significantly WordPress UI has evolved since its humble beginnings in 2003. What once started as a simple blogging platform is now the most popular website management system of them all, running more than 43.3% of the entire web.[1]
What’s more, it is used not only by small business owners, bloggers and people in the web development ecosystem, but also by some of the biggest celebrities and brands out there.
Though, I’m not entirely sure Beyonce is actually aware that she has WordPress running her site, but I digress! Back on topic:
Anyone who has tried setting up a WordPress site knows very well what the platform is capable of nowadays. But what about those early versions? Do you even know what WordPress 0.7 used to look like? Or, when WordPress actually started looking like the WordPress we know now?
Let’s answer these questions today. Here’s a rundown through all of the major versions of WordPress to see how the WordPress UI has been evolving over the years.
The evolution of WordPress UI – 2003 to now
I tried getting and installing every version of WordPress from the official archive, but that turned out much more difficult than it might at first seem.
Long story short, modern PHP and web servers aren’t exactly compatible with those early versions of WordPress (or, rather, it’s the other way around).
Anyhow. After a number of custom modifications to the WordPress installer files, server tweaks, and who knows what else, I managed to get most of the major versions of WordPress up and running! Here’s the evolution of WordPress UI:
WordPress 0.7 – where it all started – May 27, 2003
Release post. This is where it all started. Not much going on yet, though.
WordPress 1.0 “Miles” – January 3, 2004
Release post. Permalinks, multiple categories, comment moderation, all that and more we got in WordPress 1.0.
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WordPress 1.2 “Mingus” – May 22, 2004
Release post. WordPress 1.2 brought us plugins! Also, sub-categories and post previews.
WordPress 1.5 “Strayhorn” – February 17, 2005
Release post. The introduction of themes!
WordPress 2.0 “Duke” – December 31, 2005
Release post. We get a new WordPress dashboard, plus WYSIWYG editing, user roles, and header customizations.
WordPress 2.1 “Ella” – January 22, 2007
Release post. Autosaving added, plus the ability to switch between visual vs text editing.
WordPress 2.2 “Getz” – May 16, 2007
Release post. This version brings us widgets, and full Atom support.
WordPress 2.3 “Dexter” – September 25, 2007
Release post. Tags get introduced, plus a new post status – “pending review.”
WordPress 2.5 “Brecker” – March 29, 2008
Release post. The main dashboard gets redone. There are new dashboard widgets, multi-file uploads, and a password strength meter.
WordPress 2.6 “Tyner” – July 15, 2008
Release post. Post revisions get introduced, along with the classic “Press This!” bookmarklet, plus there are new theme previews.
WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane” – December 11, 2008
Release post. We get a completely new interface for the dashboard!
WordPress 2.8 “Baker” – June 11, 2009
Release post. Various improvements to themes, widgets, taxonomies, and site speed.
WordPress 2.9 “Carmen” – December 19, 2009
Release post. There’s a new global undo/”trash” feature, and built-in image editor.
WordPress 3.0 “Thelonious” – June 17, 2010
Release post. Theme developers get new APIs – allowing things like custom backgrounds, headers, shortlinks, menus and more.
WordPress 3.1 “Reinhardt” – February 23, 2011
Release post. The admin bar gets introduced!
WordPress 3.2 “Gershwin” – July 4, 2011
Release post. The dashboard gets refreshed to tighten the typography and overall design.
WordPress 3.3 “Sonny” – December 12, 2011
Release post. Users get a drag-and-drop uploader, hover menus, a new toolbar, and improved co-editing support.
WordPress 3.4 “Green” – June 13, 2012
Release post. WordPress Customizer sees the daylight!
WordPress 3.5 “Elvin” – December 11, 2012
Release post. Uploading photos and creating galleries gets redone, along with modifications to the main dashboard design.
WordPress 3.6 “Oscar” – August 1, 2013
Release post. Improved autosave and post locking features, plus a revamped revisions browser.
WordPress 3.7 “Basie” – October 24, 2013
Release post. Maintenance and security updates are now installed automatically, plus stronger password recommendations.
WordPress 3.8 “Parker” – December 12, 2013
Release post. A fresh new look for the entire dashboard – the style that we know today.
WordPress 3.9 “Smith” – April 16, 2014
Release post. Improved visual content editing, better image editing, drag-and-drop for images.
WordPress 4.0 “Benny” – September 4, 2014
Release post. Media Library gets redesigned. There are improved embeds, and improved UI for finding new plugins right from the dashboard.
WordPress 4.1 “Dinah” – December 18, 2014
Release post. Distraction-free writing gets introduced!
WordPress 4.2 “Powell” – April 23, 2015
Release post. “Press This!” gets improved. There’s now the possibility to switch themes in the Customizer, plus more streamlined plugin updates.
WordPress 4.3 “Billie” – August 18, 2015
Release post. We can now edit menus in the Customizer, and we get Formatting Shortcuts (Markdown-like).
WordPress 4.4 “Clifford” – December 8, 2015
Release post. WordPress can now handle responsive images better. New REST API infrastructure gets put in place.
WordPress 4.5 “Coleman” – April 12, 2016
Release post. Inline linking gets introduced. The Customizer now has previews for different screen sizes.
WordPress 4.6 “Pepper” – August 16, 2016
Release post. More streamlined updates. Your system’s native fonts are now supported.
WordPress 4.7 “Vaughan” – December 6, 2016
Release post. Themes can now include starter content packages. Video headers are now possible. Users can change admin language in their profiles. REST API Content Endpoints added.
WordPress 4.8 “Evans” – June 8, 2017
Release post. We get new widgets for images, video, audio, and rich text. Nearby WordPress events get displayed on the dashboard.
WordPress 4.9 “Tipton” – November 16, 2017
Release post. There’s been quite a number of cool new features in this one – things like the new scheduler and draft saver for your Customizer changes, a new code syntax error highlighter, and more.
WordPress 5.0 “Bebo” – December 6, 2018
Release post. Finally, the big milestone in WordPress evolution! This new WordPress 5.0 version brought us the highly-hyped block editor called Gutenberg.
What to expect next?
I wonder what WordPress will look like in another 5, 10, 15 years. Where do you think the evolution of WordPress UI will take us next? Feel free to share in the comments.
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