WordPress Traffic Passes TypePad, Execs Getting Rich?
WordPress is now the No. 2 most-visited blog host, passing rival SixApart's TypePad last month, according to the latest tally from Nielsen Online. WordPress-hosted sites drew 11.4 million unique visitors last month …
Context & Ripple Effects
The ranking comes straight from Nielsen Online's tally: WordPress-hosted sites drew 11.4 million unique visitors last month, enough to displace SixApart's TypePad as the No. 2 most-visited blog host. The two rivals took opposite strategic paths into 2007 — SixApart spent June releasing Movable Type 4.0, its first major update since 2004, and open-sourcing the platform alongside the beta, while WordPress kept shipping rapid point releases like 2.2 "Getz" with Widgets integration.
WordPress also carried visible baggage into this milestone: users criticized its built-in WYSIWYG editor as inadequate beyond minor formatting, and in March the project had to rush out 2.1.2 after a cracker planted an exploit in 2.1.1 downloads. Passing TypePad anyway suggests the free-hosted model, not polish, was winning the traffic race.
First-order effects
- TypePad, which charges subscription fees, now trails a free host by Nielsen Online's visitor count — its pitch has to shift from 'hosting' to features and support that justify paying.
- SixApart faces pressure on both fronts at once: its hosted TypePad service just lost the No. 2 spot while its newly open-sourced Movable Type competes with WordPress for the installed base.
Second-order effects
- Paid blog hosts across the market face a pricing problem once the largest free alternative outranks them — expect freemium tiers or bundled services rather than pure subscriptions.
- Blog advertising networks and sponsors follow concentrated audiences, so WordPress.com's growing reach makes it a stronger negotiating partner with ad buyers than smaller hosts.
Third-order effects
- If free hosting keeps winning traffic, blog-platform economics shift from charging writers to monetizing scale — domains, plugins, support, and ads — a structure that favors large operators like Automattic and squeezes mid-sized subscription hosts.
- Open-sourcing core software, as SixApart did with Movable Type 4.0, looks less like generosity and more like table stakes when your rival's free product sets the audience benchmark.
The trend: Hosted blogging traffic is consolidating around free, open-source-backed platforms, forcing paid hosts like TypePad to compete on value-added services instead of hosting itself.