March 2021 was an active and important month for the WordPress ecosystem. Core development moved forward with a major release, while plugin authors, hosting providers, and the wider community continued to adapt to changing performance, security, and business needs.
From WordPress 5.7’s release to growing interest in block-based editing, e-commerce, and modern development approaches, the month reflected steady progress across the platform. Collaboration, innovation, and ecosystem growth remained at the center of WordPress’s evolution as it prepared for the next phase of development.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Investments
March 2021 showed steady consolidation within the WordPress ecosystem, as companies expanded their offerings across hosting, monetization, security, and content management. These acquisitions reflected a clear focus on long-term growth and stronger product ecosystems.
InMotion Hosting Acquires RamNode
InMotion Hosting, through its parent company Web Ventures, acquired RamNode, a cloud hosting provider known for high-performance infrastructure. The acquisition strengthened InMotion’s cloud and managed hosting capabilities, particularly for developers and resource-intensive WordPress sites.
MonetizeMore Acquires Advanced Ads
MonetizeMore acquired Advanced Ads WordPress plugin, widely used by publishers to manage and optimize ad placements. This move aligned with MonetizeMore’s core focus on ad monetization and revenue optimization for content-driven WordPress websites.
PublishPress Acquires Simple Tags Plugin
PublishPress acquired the Simple Tags plugin, a long-established taxonomy and content organization tool for WordPress. The acquisition complemented PublishPress’s existing suite of editorial and publishing plugins aimed at content-heavy websites and professional publishing teams.
Together, these acquisitions highlighted ongoing strategic growth within the WordPress industry during March 2021, with companies strengthening their positions in hosting, monetization, security, and content workflows.
WordPress Core Updates
March 2021 was defined by the release of WordPress 5.7 “Esperanza” on March 9. The update focused on improving usability, performance, and security, while refining the Block Editor experience.
This release also introduced technical changes that required attention from developers, helping prepare the platform for future updates and smoother workflows across themes and plugins.
Other WordPress News
March 2021 brought several important developments across the broader WordPress ecosystem, beyond core releases and acquisitions. These updates highlighted growing interest in performance, search integration, and modern site architectures.
- WP Engine Launches Atlas Headless WordPress Platform: WP Engine introduced Atlas, a headless WordPress platform designed to help developers build faster, more flexible, and more secure websites using modern frameworks.
- Microsoft Proposes Automatic URL Submission to Bing: Microsoft proposed a WordPress core feature that would automatically submit new and updated content to Bing and other search engines, aiming to improve site discoverability.
- Preparation for WordPress 5.8 Begins: Core teams started early planning for WordPress 5.8, focusing on refining workflows, feature direction, and long-term roadmap alignment.
- WP Notify Feature Development: Discussions and development continued around WP Notify, a proposed system to improve how WordPress communicates updates and notifications to users.
March 2021 highlighted WordPress’s growing focus on performance, search visibility, and modern development tools, while continuing to strengthen its open-source community and ecosystem.
Security Alerts & Plugin Vulnerabilities
March 2021 was a critical month for WordPress security, with multiple high-impact plugin vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild. Security teams and plugin developers responded quickly, but the incidents highlighted how plugin-related flaws remain the biggest risk for WordPress sites.
- The Plus Addons for Elementor Zero-Day Vulnerability: A critical zero-day flaw allowed attackers to create administrator accounts and take full control of affected sites. Patches were released promptly, and security providers such as Wordfence deployed firewall rules to block active attacks.
- HT Slider for Elementor Vulnerability: A medium-severity issue allowed unauthenticated attackers to create arbitrary posts on vulnerable sites. While less severe than full takeovers, it still posed content integrity risks.
- Thrive Plugins and Themes File Upload Flaw: A serious file upload vulnerability affected multiple Thrive products, exposing over 100,000 sites. Hosting providers and managed WordPress platforms acted quickly to patch affected installations.
- ThemeGrill Demo Importer Alerts: Ongoing alerts continued around the ThemeGrill Demo Importer plugin, which could allow site takeover and data deletion if left active and unpatched.
Security trends during March 2021 showed an unusually high number of exploited zero-day plugin vulnerabilities. Most incidents originated from plugins and themes rather than WordPress core, reinforcing the importance of cautious plugin management.
Industry Trends & Insights
March 2021 reflected several clear trends shaping the direction of WordPress, driven by platform growth, editor evolution, and changing business needs.
- WordPress Market Share Continues to Grow: WordPress powered roughly 39.5% of all websites globally in 2021, reinforcing its position as the dominant CMS, well ahead of competitors like Shopify and Wix.
- Expansion of the Block Editor and Full Site Editing (FSE): Development continued on Gutenberg Phase 2, extending block-based editing beyond content into headers, footers, and site-wide layouts. This shift pointed toward more no-code design control for non-technical users.
- Strong Growth in WooCommerce and E-commerce: The ongoing move to online business accelerated WooCommerce adoption. WooCommerce remained the primary e-commerce solution within the WordPress ecosystem, powering millions of online stores.
- Rising Enterprise Adoption and Security Focus: Large organizations increasingly relied on WordPress for high-traffic sites, highlighting the platform’s scalability. This trend also increased demand for managed hosting and advanced security solutions.
- Greater Emphasis on Performance and SEO: With Google’s Core Web Vitals gaining importance, performance optimization became a priority. Developers and site owners focused on lightweight themes, cleaner code, and reducing plugin bloat.
- Developer Innovation and Modern Architectures: Interest grew around JavaScript-driven development, particularly with React for custom blocks, along with the early adoption of headless WordPress setups for flexibility and speed. Search integration discussions also continued, including proposals for automated URL submission to search engines.
Together, these trends showed WordPress evolving beyond traditional publishing into a flexible platform for modern websites, e-commerce, and enterprise use.
Theme of the Month: Crocoblock
Crocoblock stood out in March 2021 for its powerful suite of JetPlugins built specifically for Elementor. The theme ecosystem focused on dynamic content, advanced layouts, and custom post type flexibility, making it a strong choice for developers building complex WordPress sites.
Its emphasis on scalability and design control aligned well with the growing demand for no-code and low-code site building during this period.
Plugin of the Month: OptinMonster
OptinMonster continued to lead as a conversion optimization plugin for WordPress. Known for its popup campaigns, lead generation tools, and behavior-based targeting, it helped site owners turn traffic into subscribers and customers.
As online competition increased in 2021, tools focused on conversions and audience growth became essential, placing OptinMonster firmly in the spotlight.
Agency of the Month: Seahawk Media
Seahawk Media earned recognition in March 2021 for its growing presence in white-label WordPress services. The agency worked closely with hosting providers and businesses to deliver WordPress design, development, and maintenance at scale.
Their focus on reliability, performance, and long-term partnerships made them a trusted name within the WordPress services ecosystem.
Host of the Month: Kinsta
Kinsta stood out as a premium managed WordPress hosting provider known for performance and developer-friendly infrastructure. Built on Google Cloud Platform, Kinsta emphasized speed, security, and scalability for high-traffic WordPress sites.
Its continued focus on managed solutions reflected the rising demand for performance-optimized and hassle-free WordPress hosting in 2021.
Founder of the Month: Pippin Williamson
Pippin Williamson is the founder of Sandhills Development and a long-time contributor to the WordPress ecosystem. He is best known for creating and maintaining widely used tools such as Easy Digital Downloads and AffiliateWP, which power thousands of WordPress-based businesses.
In March 2021, Williamson’s work reflected the growing maturity of WordPress as a platform for serious commerce and membership sites. His focus on clean code, developer-friendly architecture, and sustainable open-source businesses influenced how plugins were built, maintained, and monetized across the ecosystem.
His approach to long-term plugin maintenance and transparent development made him a respected figure among developers and product founders, reinforcing WordPress’s role as a foundation for scalable digital businesses.
Looking Ahead to April 2021
April 2021 was expected to continue WordPress’s momentum around editor evolution, performance, and platform stability. Core contributors and developers were preparing for deeper work on WordPress 5.8, with ongoing focus on the Block Editor and early Full Site Editing features.
The ecosystem was also set to see more experimentation with headless WordPress, performance optimization in response to Core Web Vitals, and continued growth in WooCommerce-driven e-commerce. As development progressed, collaboration between core teams, plugin authors, and the wider community remained central to shaping the next phase of WordPress.