What Its Worth?
When I take a look at the businesses that have been built solely around WordPress and the entire ecosystem that goes with it, my assumption is that it has created and monetized an industry alongside SaaS solutions (Software as a Service) at around $750M. This being the very least. Combine that with all the consulting and other things done with the platform and my guesstimate would even raise up too $1.5-2B. Yes, thats billion!
That is hugely significant.
And whilst there are a number of other solutions out there; Joomla, Drupal, TYPOlight, Concrete5, SilverStripe and the such, WordPress dominates the pack because Automattic had the right road map in place. Visionary.
Why It Matters?
I love WordPress. I love building on it. A lot of my previous projects and also client websites (60%) are built on the platform. This blog is built on WordPress. To me WordPress matters because it has become one of the best ways to launch a startup.
But the true magic of WordPress is the ability to extend its functionality to create many kinds of web platforms – while keeping your hands (mostly) free of code.
[/blockquote]WordPress and the mindset of doing as little development as possible to validate ideas of mine was and is a big part of how I launched several platforms in the past and current businesses.
Out of the box, WordPress may not be sexy and it may not be perfect but with a little work and understanding it has loads of advantages. The availability of solutions, many of which are free, the skills of many experts and the fact that you can get a lot done with little coding (unless you really have complex projects like mykfit) than this solution is a fantastic starting point for any startup or idea.
In my mind that is one of the main reasons why WordPress matters.
If you have any experience in using WordPress as the foundation for your projects or ideas, than I would love to hear from you below or via mail. If you have been pondering starting something, a blog, a website, a business and are unsure how best to bring it online. Lets have a chat. Contact me as well. It wont cost a thing.