In the course of a year, a lot of things happen in the WordPress ecosystem and in 2014, the Tavern published over 900 posts. I’ve created a list of headlines from the first-half of 2014 where you can see the progression of stories, businesses, and products at a glance. The list indicates it was a busy year for several companies.
The stories included here are handpicked based on their newsworthiness, importance, and whether they generated a healthy discussion in the comments. The posts are in chronological order starting with January.
January
- WordPress Plugin Repository Now Rejects Commits With PHP Errors
- Aesop Story Engine: An Open Source WordPress Plugin For Storytelling
- AcademiaThemes – WordPress Themes Specifically For Academia
- WordPress Core Trac Gets a Design Refresh, New Features and Enhancements
- Mentor Others In The WordPress Community With WPMentor
- AppPresser Launches First Mobile App Development Framework For WordPress
- Encouraging Women To Speak At WordCamps
- Cultivating a Culture of Respect in the WordPress Community
- WordPress Adds Per-Ticket Notifications to Trac
- ManageWP Is Now Integrated Into cPanel With SiteGround Hosting
- Matt Mullenweg Takes On New Role As CEO of Automattic
- Data.gov Is Using WordPress and All the Code is Open Source
- WordPress Managed Host NodeKi Goes Bust: No Refunds For Lifetime Customers
- Google Releases Its First Plugin For WordPress Publishers
- Official Git Mirror Now Available for WordPress Core Development Repository
- New WordPress Trac Features Have Been Ported to bbPress and BuddyPress
- GoDaddy Launches Managed WordPress Hosting Service
- WordCamp Paris 2014: Uniting The French WordPress Community
- CodePen Releases Official WordPress Plugin
- Behind The Scenes In The WordPress Plugin Directory With Mika Epstein
- WordPress 3.8.1 Released: Fixes Twitter oEmbed Issues
- PressCastle Aims to Put Every WordPress Theme in One Place
- WordPress Co-Founder Mike Little Gets His Own Wikipedia Page
- WordCamp Norway 2014: WordPress In a Winter Wonderland
- Aesop WordPress Storytelling Plugin Is Now Fully Funded
- High Demand For WordPress Education Prompts Treehouse to Launch New Beginner’s Course
- WordPress Trac Gets New Core Components Overview Page for Filtering Tickets
- Why Post By Email Is Still Available In WordPress
- How WordPress Obtained The W.org Domain
- Jetpack 2.8 Introduces Markdown Module and Adds Publicize Support for Custom Post Types
February
- Try To Locate WordPress On The Map
- New Site Highlights Acts Of Kindness In The WordPress Community
- Gust Plugin Brings the Ghost Admin Panel Into WordPress
- How to Set Up Email Alerts For Topics on WordPress.org
- WiredTree To Sponsor All North American WordCamps In 2014
- WordPress Service Provider BruteProtect Secures Funding, Forms Parka LLC
- Fine-Grained WordPress Trac Notifications Help Core Contributors to Specialize
- WordPress.org Plugin Authors Receive Suspicious Requests For Repository Access
- Piklist WordPress Development Framework Rebrands, Plans to Launch Commercial Products
- Joost de Valk Author Of The WordPress SEO Plugin Acquires WPForce.com
- WPCollab Provides Collaborative Opportunity For New WordPress Plugin Developers
- UpThemes Publishes Open Letter, Sounds Wakeup Call To Other WordPress Theme Shops
- WordPress.com Joins Google, Reddit and Tumblr in Protesting NSA Surveillance
- WordPress E-Commerce Plugins Update to Support Stripe’s Global Expansion of Currencies
- How One Police Chief Is Using WordPress and Jetpack to Fight Crime
- First Steps Taken To Add WordCamp Data To WordPress.org User Profiles
- WooThemes Replaces Theme Club With All Themes Package
- Open Source Federal Learning Registry Offers A Plugin For WordPress Integration
- Aesop Story Engine Now Available On WordPress.org
- Own Your Content: Postcard Social Sharing App Launches With WordPress Integration
- WordPress Theme Shops Move Toward Preserving Data Portability
- Bob Dunn Launches New WordPress Learning Site
- “Adopt-Me” Plugin Tag Is Now in Use in the WordPress Plugin Directory
- WordPress.org Profiles On Track to Be Totally Revamped
- Jetpack 2.9 Introduces Multisite Support and Related Posts Module
- Theme Foundry Partners With Typekit to Add Commercial Fonts to WordPress Themes
- Better WordPress Security Plugin Gets Major Update To Address Security Vulnerabilities
- WordPress.com Partners With Hosted E-Commerce Solutions to Launch Online Stores
March
- BuddyPress to Adopt Features-As-Plugins Model to Develop New Media Component
- WordPress.com Featured On Jeopardy
- MediaTemple Launches WordPress Managed Hosting Package
- CampusPress Launches Managed WordPress Hosting For Multisite Networks
- Widget Customizer Officially Merged Into Core for WordPress 3.9
- BuddyPress and bbPress Websites Are Now Open Source: Contributions Welcome
- What Is The Future Of Comments In WordPress?
- A Look Behind PropsPress: A Site Dedicated to WordPress Contributors
- First WordCamp Dayton A Flying Success
- Aesop Story Engine Launches Commercial WordPress Themes
- WordPress’ Personality Shines Through Again
- The Importance of Mentors: How a High School Student Became a Professional WordPress Developer
- 10up Hires CEO To Help Take Company To The Next Level
- Treehouse Expands WordPress Education to Include BuddyPress Beginners Course
- Better WP Security To Be Renamed, Undergoes Major Changes
- WordPress.com Developer Site Gets a Fresh Look and Updated Documentation
- WordPress.com Formally Opens Its Marketplace to Theme Developers
- WordPress Plugin Repository Now Hosts Over 30,000 Plugins
- CreativeMarket Acquired By The Makers Of AutoCAD
- PhpStorm 8 To Add Official Support for WordPress
- WordPress.com Gets New Standard and Secret Emoticons
- Qik Is Shutting Down, How To Save Your Videos
- WordPress Smiley Wars: Will Core Adopt New Emoticons?
- Why Showing The WordPress Username Is Not A Security Risk
- Pressgram 2.0 Removes Social Layer to Focus on Publishing
- iThemes Working Fast To Fix Users Upgrade Woes
- VagrantPress: A WordPress Development Environment for Themes and Plugins
April
- Okay Themes Pulls Out of Themeforest, Rebrands as Array
- Introduction To Underscores: A WordPress Starter Theme With Konstantin Obenland
- The Combination Of Jetpack and Dreamhost Security Settings Lead To Lost Comments
- WordPress.org Profile Redesign is Live
- DevPress Sold To Unknown Buyer For $14k
- The Idea Of Sponsored Comments Disqusts Me
- Introducing Hookr.io: A New Resource For WordPress Developers
- WordPress 3.8.2: First Security Release Shipped as a Background Update
- Automattic Acquires Longreads, Invests in Digital Longform Publishing
- Breaking: Jetpack Releases Critical Security Update, Immediate Action Required
- Major Milestone For BuddyPress: 2 Million Downloads and Counting
- WordPress Plugin CoSchedule Secures $500K In Funding
- Why WordPress Theme Developers Are Moving Functionality Into Plugins
- WordPress 3.8.3 Released, Fixes Quick Draft Bug
- BuddyPress 2.0 Released: Big Performance Improvements and New Administration Tools
- WordPress 3.9 “Smith” Released
- BuddyPress Development Trunk to Adopt a Grunt-Powered Build System
- Automattic Publishes Transparency Report, Reaffirms Support for Freedom of Speech
- Automattic Introduces Postbot App for Scheduling Photo Posts
- Have You Turned On Akismet 3.0’s Silent Discard Feature?
- ThemeLab Acquired By Syed Balkhi
- Automattic Snaps Up Scroll Kit to Add to the WordPress.com Product Team
- WordPress Code Reference is Now Live
- WordPress 4.0 Kicks Off Development Today, Helen Hou-Sandí to Lead Release
- WordPress Commercial Theme Businesses Offer Advice On Hiring Support Staff
May
- WP Rocket Launches Commercial Caching Plugin for WordPress
- The Mina Olen Free WordPress Theme Experiment
- WordPress Query Monitor Plugin Crosses 10,000 Downloads
- GoDaddy Removes Ticketing and Email Support In Favor Of Phone and Live Chat
- Automattic Is Raising $160M in New Funding
- New wptheory Service Launches WordPress Websites in a Day
- WordPress Contributors Move Toward Automating Accessibility Testing
- AppPresser Debuts AppBuddy Mobile App at BuddyCamp Miami
- More Than 97% of Updates to WordPress 3.9.1 Were Automatic
- BuddyCamp Miami 2014 In Review: Presentations and Slides From the Event
- Recap Of WordCamp Miami 2014
- WooThemes Continuing To Investigate Reports Of Fraudulent Activity
- The Ability To Anonymously Complain About WordPress May Soon Disappear
- WP Ninjas Launch Ninja Demo: A Complete Demo Solution for WordPress Products
- Why BuddyPress and bbPress Themes Don’t Exist
- Font Awesome Finally Adds WordPress Icon in 4.1 Release
- Automattic Doesn’t Claim Copyright On Their APIs
- WordCamp Miami Kids’ Workshop Launches the Next Generation of Bloggers
- WordPress for Android Will No Longer Support Gingerbread
- Jetpack 3.0 Released, Adds Bulk Module Management, Site Verification and Twitter Open Graph Support
- WP Engine Addresses Critics Following Damaging Exposé of Its Customer Support
- WordPress Entrepreneurs Group Reaches 500+ Members
- The WordPress Training Initiative
- WordPress JSON REST API Version 1.0 Released
- bbPress 2014 Survey Results Show Users Are Still Disappointed with Lack of Features
- WordPress for iOS Featured in Apple’s New iPad Advertising Campaign
- WordPress Celebrates Its 11th Birthday
- TeslaThemes Celebrates One Year Of Being In Business
- Alex Shiels Proposal For Improving The WordPress Plugin Management Page
- Feuilles App Aims to Replace Editorially, Offers Publishing to Github, WordPress, and Dropbox
- WordPress Plugin All In One SEO Releases Important Security Update
June
- Press75 Acquired by Westwerk for Undisclosed Amount
- WordPress.com VIP Releases Presentation Documents and Resources Under Creative Commons License
- WordPress in Vietnamese: Now 100% Translated
- WordPress.com to Implement SSL for All Subdomains, Joins the Fight Against Mass Surveillance
- bbPress 2.5.4 Security Release Available: Immediate Update Recommended
- DMCA Takedown Notice Issued Against Fork Of WP Migrate DB Pro
- Why Comments Still Matter
- WP Engine to Sponsor Two Full-Time WordPress Core Contributors
- Michael Oeser of DER PRiNZ Acquires WordPress Theme Company ThemeShift
- New Data Shows WordPress Support Forum Registrations Surged Between 2009 and 2012
- PressWork to Relaunch Under New Ownership
- Clef Partners With Softaculous To Provide 2-Step Authentication For Automated WordPress Installs
- VersionPress Aims To Bring Version Control To The Masses
- ThemeFurnace Relaunches, Introduces Lifetime Club Membership
- WordPress Trunk Adds New Beta Testing Tab to Plugins Screen
- Forbes Publishes Transcript Of Extended Interview With Matt Mullenweg
- VersionPress Adopts The GPL Software License
- WordPress Themes Suck at Accessibility: It’s Time to Fix It
- What’s Your Perception Of ThemeForest?
- WordPress JSON REST API Version 1.1 Released with New Authentication Documentation
- WordPress Security Alert: New Zero-Day Vulnerability Discovered in TimThumb Script
- Pods Framework For WordPress Releases Update To Patch Security Vulnerability
- The GPL License Doesn’t Provide The Freedom To Infringe Registered Trademarks
- WPSeek Mobile: A WordPress Function Reference on the Go
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the list of posts from July-December. Which stories of 2014 do you remember most and are there any that you would add or remove from the list?
Category: News
June, Photocrati released NextGEN Pro so WordPress users can sell images efficiently :-)