Wow, it’s the tenth fourth. Today, WPBeginner is officially 10 years old — feels unreal to type this!
Like every year, I want to take a few minutes and do a quick recap of all the major things happening in business as well as my personal life.
Bonus: I’m also doing a huge WordPress giveaway with over $124,000+ in prizes from my favorite WordPress products and services.
On top of that, you can also win our exclusive WPBeginner 10th anniversary shirt, and an all expense paid trip to visit me in Palm Beach, FL to get 1-on-1 mentorship from me.
Yes, there are two separate giveaways happening (Birthday Giveaway and Ultimate Fan Giveaway)
Since this is a long article, you can easily skip to the section you’re most interested in:
- Personal Updates
- WPBeginner Updates
- Product Updates
- WPBeginner Stories
- Birthday Giveaway
- Ultimate Fan Giveaway
WPBeginner Story
I started using WordPress when I was 16 years old and started WPBeginner at age 19 with a single mission: make WordPress easy for beginners.
Since then WPBeginner has become the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners.
For those of you who’re new, you can read the full WPBeginner story on our about page and use the Start Here page to get the most out of WPBeginner.
Personal Updates
My son, Solomon, is now 2.5 years old. He’s growing up fast and I’m enjoying every bit of time with him. Amanda (my wife) and Solomon have been joining me on a lot of my business trips, and we have taken several fun trips as well.
Since the last WPBeginner anniversary post, we went to Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Mexico (Tulum, Punta Mita, Cozumel, Costa Maya), Canada, and did several trips within USA including the memorable roadtrip through Utah where we saw the top national parks.
Last week, we did our all company retreat in Orlando, FL where we celebrated WPBeginner’s 10th birthday a bit early. Here are some photos from that:
WPBeginner Updates
Going into the 10th year, WPBeginner has continued to grow in double-digit percentage (year over year). Aside from tons of amazing WordPress tutorials on our blog, there have been several notable updates from last year, that I’d like to highlight.
1. We launched the WPBeginner Engage Facebook Group
A lot of you have been asking for this, so last week we finally launched our Facebook Group.
WPBeginner Engage is a great place to share and learn tips for using WordPress while getting to know other users.
Aside from peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing, we are also going to be doing exclusive prizes and giveaways through out the year.
What are you waiting for? Go ahead and join the WPBeginner Facebook Group. I look forward to connecting with you 
2. New Hosting Infrastructure
In celebration of WPBeginner’s 10th birthday, I got a nice present from our WordPress hosting partner, HostGator. They completely overhauled our hosting infrastructure to make it even more robust and fast.
Here’s an overview of what the new setup looks like:
I will be doing a more detailed write up on this in the coming weeks to explain how cool it is, and the performance improvements we have seen.
The additional server resources will be very helpful with our upcoming new tools section on WPBeginner.
I have been a HostGator customer since 2007, and WPBeginner website has been hosted with them since day 1 (see my full HostGator review). I want to thank their entire team that helped us with the upgrade.
Note: WPBeginner is using a custom HostGator cloud setup (not shared hosting). We started with shared hosting when we were small, but as our website grew, we upgraded to the higher plans.
3. Free Courses on YouTube + 141,305+ subscribers
Many of you already know that I’m obsessed with our YouTube channel.
We recently passed 141,305 subscribers.
On top of creating video tutorials for our blog posts, we are now creating exclusive YouTube only content.
Think of these as free mini-courses on: how to grow your email list, how to make money blogging, how to get better at SEO, etc.
Seriously, check out all the awesome work our team is doing on YouTube (specially the new Playlists area).
4. Instagram and Pinterest
Several of you asked me why WPBeginner is not on other social media networks outside of Twitter and Facebook.
I didn’t have a good answer because I knew that we should be on these social networks.
Well now we are.
If you love Pinterest, then you can follow WPBeginner on Pinterest to learn about WordPress as well as see other business related tips in our various boards.
If you like using Instagram, then please follow WPBeginner on Instagram to stay up to date with WordPress tips as well as exclusive videos / stories from me.
5. WPBeginner Growth Accelerator Fund
Last year, I created the first ever WordPress focused Growth Accelerator Fund.
The goal was simple: invest in WordPress product and service companies to help them grow their business while creating amazing products for our users.
My first investments as part of the growth fund included: MemberPress, Pretty Links, Affiliate Royale, Formidable Forms, and SeedProd.
Working closely with and mentoring such talented entrepreneurs have been an extremely rewarding experience for me.
I plan to open up the growth accelerator applications again next month for our second round of investments. If you have a WordPress focused product or service business, and want to work closely with me, then make sure you subscribe to WPBeginner.
Product Updates
One of the questions that I often get asked via our contact form is what is WPBeginner’s income, and how does WPBeginner make money by giving away all WordPress tutorials for free.
Well, we make money indirectly through our suite of premium WordPress plugins that are now running on over 9 million websites.
WPForms
WPForms is our drag & drop WordPress form builder plugin which turned 3 years old earlier this year.
It is now being used by over 2 million websites and has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating average with over 4200 five star ratings.
This past year, we introduced distraction-free Form Landing Pages and Conversational Forms, two of my favorite addons.
Aside from that, we worked with Google to make WPForms AMP friendly. We also added several powerful features like AJAX form submission, Google reCAPTCHA v3, smart email field, smart phone field, tons of language translations, and a whole lot more.
You can download the free version of WPForms or get WPForms Pro to unlock even more powerful features.
MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is the most popular Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. It helps you see all the stats that matter right inside your WordPress dashboard.
This past year, we added several new features to MonsterInsights including expanded page insights, front-end page insights, easy scroll-depth tracking, automatic integrations for ThirstyAffiliates, Pretty Links, LifterLMS, and MemberPress, along with many other powerful features.
MonsterInsights is my most favorite plugin in the world because it helps me easily setup analytics, so I can make data-driven decisions and grow our business with confidence.
You can download the free version of MonsterInsights or get MonsterInsights Pro to unlock more powerful features.
OptinMonster
OptinMonster is the best WordPress plugin to convert regular website visitors into subscribers and customers.
Simply put, it helps you get more email subscribers.
This year we added several exciting features into OptinMonster including: Spin a Wheel gamification campaigns, attention activation, Monster Leads, chatbot integrations, and a whole lot more.
OptinMonster truly is the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world. It will help you instantly boost leads and grow revenue by converting and monetizing your existing website traffic.
TrustPulse
TrustPulse is the best social proof activity notification app in the world.
You have likely seen activity notifications on various websites (specially eCommerce) where they say John from Florida just bought X product.
These social proof notifications can immediately increase your website conversions. Learn more about how TrustPulse work.
You can get started with TrustPulse for free to see the uplift in conversion.
WPBeginner Stories
Several of my friends and well-known entrepreneurs were kind enough to record short videos about WPBeginner’s 10th birthday. Thank you so much y’all, it means a lot to me
Over 12 videos in the playlist so far!
Mega WPBeginner Birthday Giveaway
To celebrate the 10th birthday of WPBeginner, I asked my favorite WordPress plugins, themes, and hosting companies to contribute prizes, and the response was just amazing.
We have $124,000+ worth of premium WordPress plugins, themes, and hosting licenses. There are over 735+ prizes, so yes there will be literally over 700 winners (scroll below to see all prizes).
Winners will be chosen randomly using a random generator script.
All you have to do is enter the giveaway using the widget below:
Note: All winners have been selected and emailed, if you have entered our giveaway please check your inbox
Remember we’re doing two separate giveaways. Above is the birthday giveaway where you can enter to win prizes from top WordPress plugins, themes, and hosting companies.
The ultimate fan giveaway where you can win an all expense paid trip + 1-on-1 mentorship from me requires separate entry. Click here to see more details.
Full List of Prizes for WPBeginner Birthday Giveaway:
We have over 70 companies that contributed prizes for our birthday giveaway. Below is the full list of prizes available:
WordPress Hosting:
10 annual licenses of the following hosting products:
- 1 year of Shared Plus Hosting from Bluehost
- 1 year of Standard WordPress Cloud Hosting from HostGator
- 1 year of GoGeek Hosting Plan from SiteGround
- 1 year of Startup Hosting Plan from WP Engine
- 1 year of Unlimited Shared Hosting from Dreamhost
- 1 year of Lite Hosting Plan from A2 Hosting
WordPress Plugins:
10 annual licenses of the following premium WordPress plugins:
OptinMonster / WPForms / MonsterInsights / SeedProd / MemberPress / Pretty Links / Affiliate Royale / AdSanity / AAWP / Advanced Coupons / Advanced Custom Fields Pro / Affiliate Coupons / All in One SEO Pack / Beaver Builder / BirchPress / Blogvault / Booking Robin / S3 Media Maestro / Complianz GDPR / CSS Hero / Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce / Delivery Fees for WooCommerce / Envira Gallery / Full Text Search / Google Fonts for WordPress / Imagely / InfiniteWP / LifterLMS / Malcare / Maps Maker / ProfilePress / PublishPress / Revive Social / Soliloquy / Start Booking / Sugar Calendar / ThirstyAffiliates / UpdraftPlus / Visual Composer / Weglot / Widget Options / WP Rocket / WP Security Audit Log / Yoast SEO Pro
5 annual licenses of the following premium WordPress plugins:
Formidable Forms / Ultimate Member / Groundhogg / WP Dispensary
WordPress Themes:
10 annual licenses of the following premium WordPress themes:
Astra Theme / Elegant Themes / ThemeIsle’s Neve / Themify / CSSIgniter / Anariel Design(6 months) / AccessPress Themes / Organized Themes / Pankogut Themes / Pixelemu / PremiumCoding / Visual Modo / WPZoom / MH Themes / Blogging Theme Styles
Services and Training:
Following companies have donated 10 licenses of their services / training:
Sucuri / LiveChat Inc / ShortPixel / WP Allied / Mfy Messenger Bot Automation / Gutenberg Course by Creator Courses / Custom Types Training Course by Toolset
WPBeginner Swag:
We will also be giving away 100 WPBeginner stickers + our exclusive 10th anniversary shirt.
Ultimate WPBeginner Fan Giveaway
Over the last 10 years, I have had the pleasure to meet thousands of WPBeginner readers across the world and learn their WPBeginner story. It’s extremely motivating to hear the impact WPBeginner has on so many people’s careers and businesses.
During these in-person meetings, many of you ask about how I manage multiple companies, my traffic / growth strategy, and in general how everything runs behind the scenes.
That’s why this year, I want to do something special that I have never done before. I’m calling it the ultimate WPBeginner fan giveaway.
Prize:
All expense paid trip for one WPBeginner reader to visit me in Palm Beach, Florida. You will get to spend time with me, get 1-on-1 mentorship + business advice, and enjoy my favorite food / places.
Included in this are:
- Roundtrip Flight from anywhere in the world*
- 3 nights hotel stay
- Meals and Transportation through the duration of your stay
- Free license for all WPBeginner products
* You must have a valid visa to travel to USA, and you must be 18 years old.
How to Enter:
I want to hear your WPBeginner story.
Tell me where you’re from, how did you first find out about WPBeginner, what have you learned from WPBeginner, what impact has it had on your blog, business, or career, and lastly tell me about your blog / business + your aspirations.
1. Record a short video sharing your WPBeginner story and upload it on YouTube (public or unlisted). Don’t worry about making it professional quality. It can be as simple as you holding your phone camera up and recording.
2. Send me the YouTube video link using the form below.
Unlike the birthday giveaway, winner is NOT chosen randomly. I will watch each video and hand-pick the winner based on your WPBeginner story.
The deadline to submit your WPBeginner story is: July 19th, 2019 Midnight EST.
Thank You Everyone
I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us in this journey. I really do appreciate all of your retweets, personal emails, content suggestions, and the in-person hugs / interactions at the events.
You all are AMAZING and without you, there is no WPBeginner.
I look forward to another solid year ahead of us.
Syed Balkhi
Founder of WPBeginner
P.S. We’re hiring for several roles as our company grows. If you or someone you know would be interested in being part of our fast-growing team, then please apply here.
M Karthikeyan
I won a Siteground Gogeek hosting from siteground on your giveaway. I really want to say thank you and keep posting motivational tips this help us not to giveup on our sites. you really extend one year of my sites to make my site strong…….Thank u
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for the kind words, and congratulations on winning the prize
Admin
Endrit Baci
Won 1 T-Shirt! thank You!
WPBeginner Support
Awesome, congratulations!
Admin
Vishal Tyagi
How to find that we are winner of not. Have you any process to tell that? It is nice to see that you have completed 10 valuable years. Thanks for your contribution.
WPBeginner Support
All of the winners should receive an email by the end of the week for their prize if you are a winner, we will update the post to state once everyone has been emailed
Admin
Nirmal
Sir When The Results Will Be Declared ?
WPBeginner Support
We are in the process of reaching out to the winners still, apologies for the delay, we will update the post to notify when all of the email outreach has been completed
Admin
Prajyot Kumbharjuvekar
what does 10 annual licenses mean?
WPBeginner Support
an annual license means a license for 1 year
Admin
yugal kishor joshi
I learn a lot from wpbeginner. every time I face a problem. Google shows wpbeginner. when I saw wpbeginner I knew that I definitely got the solution.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we can consistently give the answers to problems you run into
Admin
Nazish Khan
I am from Islamabad,Pakistan. WPBeginner helped me grab the opportunity that really made an impact in my freelancing career. I found the required knowledge for the job from this wonderful resource in just one click. I looked nowhere else and learned the needed skill in no time. I found this one-on-one interaction a very good means to express my deep gratitude to you. Thank you so much Syed and congratulations on completing successful 10 years. My prayers and best wishes for you to continue this wonderful journey and keep making a difference for the umpteen years to come.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words, glad our site could help you as much as it has
Admin
Ayesha
How can I know that if I have won a giveaway prize or not?
WPBeginner Support
We will be reaching out to winners of the prizes to let them know or request additional information depending on the prize
Admin
Naseem Ahmed
❤
Best of Luck for your future journey.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words
Admin
Jean
Congrats on the 10 years of amazing work! This is one of the best resources I use and share.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words and sharing our site
Admin
Kan Rae
Thanks for your service in learning WordPress. And congrats on your 10th anniversary. Keep up the good work.
WPBeginner Support
Glad our videos are helpful and thank you
Admin
Love Panta
Congratulations WPBEGINNER for your 10th Birthday. It was always awesome to use WPBEGINEER from last 2 years. I wish we could learn more from you in later year and we hope we get more better feature in lite version too. At last once again happy 10th Anniversary give moving forward more ahead with more success.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you and thank you for your kind words
Admin
Kishan Kachadiya
This is a very useful site for the most issue and uses in Wordpress.
Thank you wpbeginner
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome and thank you for your kind words
Admin
Gavin
Congratulations on 10 years! A great blog that I love to read and have gained much from. Keep up the good work!
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words
Admin
Eno Unukpo
It is a beautiful thing to see success stories like yours. Thank you for 10 years of unrivaled quality service to the world. I have learnt a lot on the wpbeginner at no extra cost and it all have been very useful to me. Happy anniversary and more feathers to your cap. Will surely partake in the contest.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words and best of luck in the giveaway
Admin
Mit Thakkar
wow! What an epic giveaway! so many sponseres are contributing that’s the main thing.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you like our giveaway
Admin
Muhammad Usman
its a complete package for every WordPress user Thank You Sir Syed Bulkhi and your all team for your efforts thanks u for this web
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words
Admin
Galih Prakoso
Congratulation WP beginner, You have reach the golden age. I remember when I first meet with WP beginner 5 years ago. Until now I have been regular reader from WP beginner. Keep to be the best!,
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for being a reader for all this time and your kind words
Admin
Paul
You did a wonderful job , help many beginners like me. Good Luck in all your ways
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad our articles can help
Admin
Rashid Qureshi
Congratulations on the 10 years milestone
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Orion Cohen
A treasure trove in the sea of web-madness!
Thank you !
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we can be helpful in clearing up confusion
Admin
KESSY JUMA
What a great achievement…!!! You guys are doing a great job and you deserve the best. You make the wheel rolling. I have been blogging for the last 5+ years but monetizing the content is the major challenge I have been facing all through.
But I still hope there will be a day of cheers and joy in the near future!
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for the kind words and hope your monetization goes well
Admin
imran hossain alif
Congratulations on your success. I always follow all type of post from wpbeginner…
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we can continue to have follow-worthy content
Admin
Rafaqat Ali
Congratulations for the journey of successful decade….hope so we will continue to get all good stuff related WordPress.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, and we hope to continue to offer great content
Admin
Jarvis
Congratulations on your well-deserved success.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Clara Pires
Congrats and many thanks!
Every moment of despair I found an article that helped.
All the best
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad our articles could help you solve the problems you ran into
Admin
Munkhbayar
Google takes me here hundreds of time. Loved the WPBeginner!
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we’re ranking so well and you like our content
Admin
Donna Price
Congratulations!! 10 years is impressive! And I learned more today about all that you offer. This is by far, one of my favorite GO TO blogs if I have a Wordpress challenge. Always helpful and easy to understand. Great resources and information.
Congrats on your HUGE success!
WPBeginner Support
Thanks and thank you for the kind words. Glad we can be helpful
Admin
ahmed
How to participate ?
WPBeginner Support
You would want to log in to the giveaway in that section of the post
Admin
Michael
Thanks and congrats!
Hope to get my hand on Visual Composer! Tried the free version and it is amazing. No doubts premium is even better.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
ahmed abdul azim
congratulations, Syed, I have learned from WPBeginner, a lot tricks that allow me to build professional WP, site using genesis theme, and I know there other staff behind WPBeginner I like to thank all of theme.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you and thanks for your kind words
Admin
Mensah Tenasu
I love wpbeginner this is a place where I learnt much about WordPress
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we could help you learn
Admin
Aaditya Sharma
Hello sir, great content for beginners as well as for professional. I’m following since last 4 years and learn many things and implements.
Keep sharing
Thanks
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words and for following us for so long
Admin
Tarun Kashyap
Congrats wpbeginners for your amazing 10 years on the internet.
.
I learned a lot from your YouTube channel and blog.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we could be a helpful resource
Admin
MIMIFTAH
I always suggest this site to my clients for any kind of wordpress issue. Congrats on your 10th anniversary and wishing you more years of success.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words and thanks for recommending us
Admin
Foskaayforum
Congratulations. Your journey is inspiring
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Anshul Mathur
Hi,
Thanks for reverting back. When I try to open, it is landing me on the “feeds” page.
Please fix it so I can get some referrals.
Regards.
WPBeginner Support
We’ll be sure to look into possible reasons but at the moment links should be redirecting correctly
Admin
Franci Hoffman
Congratulations, Syed, and thank you for your help and professionalism.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you and thanks for your kind words
Admin
Matthew Maginley
Congratulations on your longevity and success. Please keep up the good work. You are a great help to the community.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we can be a part of such an awesome community
Admin
Elliyas
Congratulation, Sir Syed!
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Sandeep Kumar
Hello Syed,
It’s amazing to see the 10th anniversary of WPbeginner. I wish you more success in the year ahead. Stay blessed. Keep growing.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words
Admin
Ruhul Amin
Congratulations Syed! You do great work, I have relied on your information from time to time and appreciate the dedication!!
This content is quite wonderful and I must say I’m enthused with this inspiring achievement.
I want to use this medium to felicitate wpbeginner on its 10th anniversary. To the founder, Syed Balkhi and the entire team behind the scene, I say more power to your elbow.
I hope that I emerge as one of the winners of these amazing prices.
Regards.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words and using our content
Admin
cato
Congratulations
WPBeginner Support
Thank you
Admin
Talal Faiz
WPBeginner always provide best supportive content for its users. I started using WPBeginner when one day I was searching over internet regarding a query of WordPress and google showed me this website. It has a very fruitful resources. The content is in organized fashion. The Plugins they suggest, the themes they prefer and the toolkit they provide, everything is awesome. This is the reason why I use WPBeginner. Thank you WPBegginer, keep it up !.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words and glad our recommendations could help
Admin
Zia
That’s Awesome Guyz.
Keep providing the best content.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, we’ll keep making great content
Admin
Elke
Congrats from the buttom of my heart! You all are doing a really great job! I am so happy, that I found you!
All the very best and “Happy next ten years” !!!
WPBeginner Support
Thank you and thanks for your kind words
Admin
Maria
Well done!
I use this website monthly. I have found all the answers to my Wordpress problems
thank you!!
Keep going, beautiful family <3
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad we can be helpful
Admin
Aminur Asif Axon
It;s been never easy for you bro…
But you’ve made it!! Wish you and your team a happy life by helping others through your valuable time
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for your kind words
Admin
Ravi Ranjan Kaushik
Congratulation for your 10th anniversary, And btw thanks for the giveaway.
Really looking forward to winning as your timing is perfect, as I have been planning to buy hosting and some plugins for my niche site.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad these companies were willing to help be a part of this giveaway
Admin
Mohamed
Hi Sayed,
Keep going, wish you all the best.
Editorial Staff
Thanks Mohamed
Admin