Measuring real success requires more than numbers. However, seeing stats and facts laid out is easier to consume and more memorable. So, for the WebDevStudios 2021 year in review, we pulled together all the numbers, along with some highlights from the year.
Here you go! By the numbers, this is what 2021 looked like at WebDevStudios (WDS), along with some proud highlights. We hope you enjoy this summary of our year.
1650 Hours Contributed to Five for the Future
The last Friday of every month is always dedicated to giving back to WordPress. WDS does this through Five for the Future (5FTF), a WordPress initiative designed to encourage WordPress companies like ours and individuals to donate 5% of company time to contributing to the WordPress core and community.
WDS 5FTF projects vary from plugin development, to the creation of WordCamp talks, to contributing to the WordPress core, and more. Below is a very small sample of just some of the ways WDS staff contributed to Five for the Future.
Busy day beefing up our #nextjs #wordpress starter. Thank you @webdevstudios for the time to give back to open-source! #5ftf https://t.co/3AcS5nK51H
— Greg Rickaby (@GregRickaby) January 29, 2021
Today is for #5FTF @webdevstudios@MrAsharIrfan and I are working on WP Search with Algolia, in preparation for an upcoming release.https://t.co/yv0h3Ta8dy
— Richard Ⓐber (@richaber) February 26, 2021
Thanks to #5ftf @webdevstudios I was able to update my Chillhop Radio app to 2.0.0! The app is a total overhaul to stream the live Youtube stream and includes a new icon!https://t.co/QzN774FWwn pic.twitter.com/GSOrdil0BE
— Aubrey Portwood (@aubreypwd) February 26, 2021
Enjoying another awesome #5ftf @webdevstudios. On a testing/pair-programming adventure with @salcode and @mikelikethebike and it has been a blast! pic.twitter.com/c1T0UfN8fj
— Marty O’Connor (@martinjdolan) February 26, 2021
#5FTF @webdevstudios and I’m preparing for the #WordPress PH mini-meetup tomorrow and working on my animated menu plugin. Join us if you can at (Mini-Meetup) Let’s talk about WordPress 5.7 https://t.co/zlmZUKVGk1
— JC Palmes (@jpalmes) March 26, 2021
Working on my custom WordPress theme at @webdevstudios and learning all the Gutenburg things for this #5FTF!
— Jennifer Cooley (@Jhynnifer) March 26, 2021
24 Project Launches
From small business to large enterprise-level clients, WDS launched 24 new projects in 2021. While each project was unique in its own right and holds a special place in our memories, a few projects worth mentioning include:
- Wall Street Journal
- News Corp
- Monster
- Care.com
- ActiveCampaign
- NBA
- Do the Woo
Note: look for upcoming client success stories to be published on our blog in 2022 detailing some of the client projects listed above.
87 Ongoing Active Clients
Now, it’s a big deal when a business trusts us to build their website, but when an ongoing relationship occurs beyond launch, well, that’s when we feel really special.
In 2021, WebDevStudios provided ongoing support and service level agreements (aka, SLAs) to 87 clients. These types of partnerships mean a lot to us because it allows our team to contribute to the success of our clients on a continuous basis.
190 Maintenance Subscribers
Updates are important, but busy website owners, CEOs, and other professionals don’t always have the time to keep up with all of them. That’s where Maintainn, the support and maintenance division of WDS, comes in to assist. Over the course of this year, the Maintainn team provided ongoing maintenance services to 190 clients.
9 New Hires
Okay, think about it. Twenty-four project launches, 87 ongoing active clients, and 190 maintenance subscribers… yeah, it takes a talented team to handle all that. To make it happen, we added nine new teammates to our crew. See their friendly faces below.
12 Lunch & Learns
Not only does WDS create a remote work culture that supports and provides access to continuing education, we also offer Lunch & Learn events. WDS Engineering Manager, Justin Foell, coordinates them all.
This year, he set a goal to work with the team to present 12 Lunch & Learns, and we did it! We covered both technical and off-the-wall topics that ranged from browser debugging tips to the history of pockets.
“Lunch & Learns are steadily becoming part of our culture,” remarks Justin. “Everyone at WDS is eager to keep learning and sharing. It’s also great practice for people looking to speak at a local WordCamp. Practicing your presentation skills in front of your peers is a great way to iron out the kinks before bringing it to a wider audience.”
13 WordPress Talks
Justin’s advice about using WDS Lunch & Learns as opportunities to practice presentation skills seems to be paying off as our team members gave 13 WordPress talks at WordCamps, WordFest Live, and other conferences.
Topics included full-site editing, accessibility, how to organize company-wide contribution to 5FTF and more. You can view WDS’ renowned speakers, most of whom presented multiple talks in 2021, below.
~32,820 Tacos Given
Did your eyes pop out of of your head reading that header? We don’t literally give out tacos at WebDevStudios, although we would if we could. We rely on the Hey Taco! Slack integration to provide our team with a reward system.
Essentially, we reward one another virtually, using the taco icon. These tacos, in turn, can be collected and redeemed for various rewards, such as gift cards or a day off from work.
We must really like each other, because in 2021, we have collectively given out approximately 32,820 tacos. (That number is an estimate because, at the time of publishing this blog post, the year had not been completed.)
Highlights
If all of this data has not been enough to give you an overview of what happened at WDS in 2021, here are some highlights and proud moments to round out our year in review.
WordPress 5.7 & 5.8 Contributors
Christina Workman is a noted contributor of WordPress 5.7, while both Michael Beckwith and Michael Joseph Panaga are noted as contributors of WordPress 5.8.
Custom Post Type UI Hit 1,000,000 Active Installations
WDS’ most popular WordPress plugin, Custom Post Type UI, hit a milestone in 2021 with over 1,000,000 active installations.
Ninth Edition of WordPress for Dummies Released
Not only is Lisa Sabin-Wilson the COO and Co-Founder of WebDevStudios, she is also is the subject matter authority on WordPress and is the For Dummies™ brand franchise author on all things WordPress. In 2021, Lisa published the 9th edition of WordPress For Dummies.
WDS Named WordPress VIP Gold Agency Partner
Twenty twenty-one was monumental for WDS in so many ways. One of which is it marks the year WebDevStudios was named a WordPress VIP Gold Agency Partner. This was an especially big honor because WDS was the first agency in several years to enter this significant partnership at the Gold level.
“This is exciting for our company because we have operated in the WordPress space for 13 years,” Lisa writes in the announcement article, adding, “In fact, over the years, we’ve worked on several projects on the VIP platform already; TIME, MSNBC and MSNBC Latino are projects we built and launched on VIP a decade ago—so I guess you could say we’ve been VIP from the beginning. Cementing our partnership now, in 2021, is kind of like coming home for us.”
WDS Next.js WordPress Starter Launched
WebDevStudios believes in the power of Headless WordPress, so much so, we developed our very own Headless WordPress Starter powered by Next.js. You can access the WDS Next.js WordPress Starter on GitHub.
Our First-Ever Headless WordPress Webinar
Our dedication to Headless WordPress expanded in 2021 with a Headless WordPress webinar presented online during the Halloween season. Aptly titled “The Legend of the Headless Website,” not only did the event feature easy-to-understand facts about going headless, our team showed up in costume. Watch the webinar below.
Looking Forward to the New Year
Whew! What a year in a review that was, but our energy and enthusiasm for making the web a better place are thriving.
Your success is our mission. How can WebDevStudios help you with your business and marketing goals in 2022? As you can see, we are a productive team of knowledgable experts ready to present solutions to any challenge. Contact us and let’s chat about partnering up on your next website project in the new year.
Congratulations on your 2021 successes. Wishing you an even more fruitful 2022.