Chapter 26. WordPress.com and the Automattic Products

IN THIS CHAPTER

  • About Automattic

  • Taking a look at Automattic's propriety products

  • Using WordPress.com themes

  • Getting your plugin included in WordPress.com

  • Buying premium Word Press.com features

WordPress.org is the home of the open source, self-hosted WordPress software. Everything on http://wordpress.org is owned by the community, even though Automattic is the sponsor. Automattic has even gone out of its way to ensure that all of the core developers of WordPress are not Automattic employees.

WordPress.com, however, is a commercial venture of Automattic. It is one of the largest hosted blog platforms in the world using WordPress MU. Having a blog on WordPress.com is a free and easy way to get started blogging without having to install the blogging software yourself or wrestle with hosting.

Through this chapter, I'll discuss not only the WordPress.com offering, but also other products that Automattic provides to their own customers and the greater community.

About Automattic

Automattic was started by Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, several years into the WordPress project. Matt has become the public face of WordPress and is frequently on the speaking circuit, travelling to WordCamps around the globe, representing both WordPress and Automattic.

Note

For more information about the beginnings of WordPress, see Chapter 1.

The company is currently made up of approximately 40 employees around the world. Many work in San Francisco, but ...

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