Automattic Launches Free WordPress.com Education Plan for Teachers and Students
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, is making a major push into education with the launch of WordPress.com Education, a free classroom-focused offering designed to help teachers introduce students to website building, digital publishing, and online project creation.
The new program gives educators a simple way to bring WordPress.com into the classroom without requiring a credit card, trial setup, or upfront payment. Teachers can provide students with free access for the first year, making it easier for schools, including those with limited budgets, to use professional website tools as part of their curriculum.
WordPress.com Education is aimed at classes where students learn how to create websites, manage online content, build portfolios, or collaborate on digital projects. It can also be used for group assignments, creative writing projects, art showcases, class blogs, entrepreneurship lessons, and other activities that benefit from having a live website.
Each student receives access to a full WordPress.com site, along with a free domain name using either a .blog or .art domain. The plan also includes plugin support, giving students more flexibility to customize and expand their websites beyond basic publishing.
Automattic introduced the new education product during its annual WordCamp US event, emphasizing that the Student plan is not a limited or stripped-down version of WordPress.com. Instead, it includes a strong set of features intended to give students hands-on experience with tools commonly used in real-world web development and site management.
The plan includes 6 GB of storage, backups, staging sites, plugin support, SFTP/SSH access, phpMyAdmin, and Studio Sync. These features allow students to experiment with website design, content management, troubleshooting, and development workflows in a practical learning environment.
The move comes at a time when many young people build their online identities primarily through social media platforms rather than personal websites. By bringing WordPress.com into schools, Automattic hopes to introduce students to the value of owning and managing their own web presence.
WordPress remains one of the most widely used website platforms in the world, powering a significant portion of the internet through its open-source software. For students, learning how to use WordPress can provide useful digital skills that apply to blogging, web design, marketing, business, publishing, and freelance work.
The free first-year access also makes the program more accessible to underfunded schools. Teachers can integrate WordPress.com into lessons without asking students or families to pay immediately, lowering the barrier for classrooms that want to teach practical digital skills.
After the first year ends, students who want to keep the upgraded Student plan can continue using it for $2 per month, or $24 per year. If they choose not to subscribe, their work will not be deleted. Instead, their site will move to a free WordPress.com plan with a free domain. All pages, posts, comments, and uploaded media will remain intact, allowing students to keep their projects online.
Automattic says the program was tested with 5,000 students across 27 countries before launch. According to the company, 88.9% of participating educators said the program improved students’ employability, while 81.5% said it helped strengthen students’ entrepreneurial skills.
With WordPress.com Education, Automattic is positioning WordPress as more than just a website platform. It is presenting it as a practical learning tool for classrooms, helping students gain experience in digital publishing, online branding, web development, and creative entrepreneurship.
For teachers looking to prepare students for a digital-first world, the new WordPress.com Education plan could offer an accessible way to combine creativity, technology, and career-ready skills in one classroom-friendly package.
