Key facts
- Automattic has launched WordPress.com Education, a free plan for students and teachers.
- The plan provides students with a full WordPress.com domain and free domain names.
- It includes 6 GB of storage, backups, staging sites, and plugin support.
- The program was piloted with 5,000 students across 27 countries.
- A majority of educators reported improvements in student employability and entrepreneurial capacity.
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, is expanding into the education sector with the launch of WordPress.com Education. This new initiative offers a free plan designed for teachers and their students, aiming to equip the next generation with website-building skills.
The suite provides each student with a full WordPress.com domain, along with free domain names on .blog or .art domains. Teachers can offer this program to their classes for the first year without requiring credit card information or a trial period. This allows for integration into courses focused on website development or for various classroom needs, including group projects.
Unveiled at the annual WordCamp US conference, the Student plan is not a limited version of the product. It includes 6 GB of storage, backups, staging sites, and support for plugins, SFTP/SSH, phpMyAdmin, and Studio Sync. Automattic, known for powering approximately 43% of all websites globally with its open-source WordPress software, aims to re-engage younger users who often default to social media profiles for their online presence.
More significantly for Automattic, the student plan seeks to integrate WordPress into classrooms to train future web professionals and to reach underfunded schools due to its free offering. After the initial year, students can opt for a subscription at $2 per month ($24 annually). If they choose not to subscribe, their work will remain accessible on a free WordPress.com site with a free domain, preserving all web pages, posts, comments, and media.
The company reported that a pilot program involving 5,000 students across 27 countries showed positive results, with 88.9% of educators stating that access to the program improved their students' employability and 81.5% indicating an improvement in entrepreneurial capacity.