The report was written by Noel Tock, co-owner of Human Made, a WordPress VIP Gold Partner, takes a strong position against competing ‘headless’ solutions.
More specifically, that innovation is slowing down in the propriety CMS space and that the opposite is true for WordPress.
It also highlights the maturity and sophistication of the Block Editor:
The Block Editor (previously “Gutenberg”) has had a tremendous amount of effort invested, but a huge chunk of that has been in 2024, just at a time when competitors have had to cut back on development and innovation.
Noel introduces an idea that will likely be covered at WordCamp Asia this coming week, at the Campfire: Is AI a magic button? panel discussion; that WordPress will be able to build an ‘intelligence content operating system’ powered by AI, leveraging the vast contributor population underpinning the project.
He makes some other interesting points, always explaining them in the broader context of the market and trends. You can download the report from the news post on WordPress.org.
What about non-Enterprise WordPress in 2025?
We’ll need another report for that, but this one is important for the ecosystem too. We all benefit if WordPress is recognized as a leader in the Enterprise space, and trusted for its features, scalability, and security. The WordPress brand needs its perception shifted away from the usual negative labeling associated with open source. Positioning it as a true innovator, and an engine for a better operating system for the digital world, which I wrote about in my Marketing WordPress: 0.75% for an (updated) future post (and one of Matt Mullenweg’s ideas).
As a community, we need to share and amplify these ideas. Sharing Noel’s report, or writing about it, will help.
A great example of how to write and present a report
I can imagine Human Made‘s Head of Sales wanting Noel to present at every pitch, articulating very clearly the challenges and solutions. Sharing market insight and the data prove points.
I heard him speak for the first time at WordCamp Asia last year, when he talked about The Future of WordPress. His ideas were original, interesting, and, as I have mentioned already a couple of times in this post, set in context of markets, ecosystems, or whatever matters.
The WordPress in 2025 report is just as good, sharing original thinking, data and packaged in an easy-to-read format. It’s not too long and they’ve done a great job on the design as well. Use it as a source of inspiration the next time you have to produce a report.
WordPress Marketing is dead, long live WordPress Marketing!
I’ll conclude with an observation about the symbiotic relationship between the project and one of its key contributors.
At the time of writing, very little happening with Make WordPress.org Marketing. I’m hoping something new will be announced, or at least brainstormed, at Contributor Day this coming week. In the meantime, content like Noel’s WordPress in 2025 report can help fill the gap. The report was published in the News section of WordPress.org, and I’m hoping some PR money will be spent towards it too.
Why don’t you do the same? Can you publish a report about the value WordPress helps generate in your market or niche?
More about the future of WordPress as WP:25
It’s a free virtual event hosted by Human Made where Noel will share his thoughts about where WordPress will be in 2030, along with a number of other talks, panel discussions and showcases by “industry pioneers, core contributors, and visionary business leaders”.
Date: 6 March 2025
Time: 3pm GMT / 10am ET
