WP Engine: 2019 in Review

At WP Engine, we’re inspired by each and every one of our customers, and we’re committed to providing you with the best platform for your business. As we enter the new year laser-focused on that mission, take a look below as we unpack the past year and explore the highlights that helped you build your best digital experiences yet.

Being Built to Last means innovation that doesn’t stop. 2019 saw the launch of Smart Plugin Manager, as well as the extension of our product offerings to all plan types, including:

• SSH Gateway for shared plan customers
• Global Edge Security for shared plan customers
• WP Engine Site Templates with HubSpot

And it wasn’t just products—our platform became more powerful too, including:

• Large performance gains through continual operating system improvements:
  • The first to introduce next-gen hardware (some customers saw up to 50% performance improvements)
  • A conversion of all compatible customer installs to PHP 7.3
  • Other optimizations helped lower median backend render time by ~15%

As a leading WordPress technology company, our family of brands saw an incredible upward trajectory, including:

• Making more one-click theme setup features available with Genesis including adding “Starter Packs” which allow theme users to select from different configurations of demo content depending upon the type of site being built
• Improving the Genesis CLI
• Releasing and improving eight StudioPress themes
• Adding AMP support to Genesis in partnership with Google
• Supporting Open Graph directly in Genesis
• Incorporating improvements to Genesis for theme developers creating websites with Gutenberg
• Introducing Atomic Blocks Pro, a premium collection of WordPress content blocks

Have you read our award-winning magazine, Torque, the #1 WordPress publication? Whether or not you’ve been a regular reader, the 2019 redesign was a significant upgrade.

The relaunched site combines the very best that WordPress has to offer, including leveraging the power of Genesis, Gutenberg, and WP Engine’s Atomic Blocks plugin. The team that worked on the project developed custom blocks, modified existing blocks, and took advantage of the fantastic library of core blocks to create a fully customizable site experience from the WordPress dashboard. The new Torque design reflects a developer-first mentality that focuses on enhanced usability through improved navigation and content reorganization.

Our Agency Partner Program (APP) helps agencies harness digital innovation to build their business faster, and the word is out. In 2019, the program more than doubled in size.

• 3,666 agencies now in the APP
• 1,929 agencies added to the APP in 2019

Looks like all of you were as excited as we were about adding Flywheel to the WP Engine family! The June 24 announcement represented the largest acquisition in WordPress history.

By combining our strengths we’ll deepen our investment in the WordPress community, and apply our shared values in service of our amazing customers. We are excited for both brands to flourish together in 2020.

In an effort to meet your every digital need, we continue to enhance our platform and make it even more powerful. In 2019, 40,000 new customers joined our family and trusted their online business to us. We’re proud to serve them and each and every one of our 130,000 customers, every single day.

It takes a village, y’all. In 2019, we grew our WP Engine family across our Austin, Brisbane, Limerick, London, Omaha, and San Antonio offices. With this many eyes on your business, the phrase customer-inspired has never been more true.

Torque helps WordPress developers create, grow, and build better experiences online. Check out the top articles from 2019:

1. Why and How to Create a Gutenberg Block – A Tutorial for Beginners
2. Announcing the Torque Redesign
3. What to Do When a Client Is Refusing to Pay You

Our award-winning Velocitize publication informs, educates, and inspires digital marketers and agencies. Here’s what readers loved most in 2019:

1. Just (Don’t) Do It: Nike Gives Amazon The Boot
2. 7 Killer Marketing Videos On YouTube
3. 3 Social Media Sins To Avoid

Announced in June 2019, Engine for Good was created to advance WP Engine’s global impact through three key initiatives: Open Future, Open Doors, and Open Hearts.

• Invested more than 16,500 hours into advancing WordPress
• Focused on advancing opportunities for all. Currently, 66% of the company’s leadership team are women, 30% of its people do not have a college degree, 31% are of non-white ethnicity, and 8% identify as LGBTIQA+
• $260k donated to 30+ charities and community organizations and 1400+ hours volunteered
• $105k donated to local causes most meaningful to our seven offices around the world upon reaching our 100,000 customer milestone

Thank you to all of our customers, partners, and employees who made this last year—and this last decade—such a wonder to behold. We’re looking forward to helping you triumph in 2020. Press ahead!