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Introducing our first auto-generated chart – WordPress Versions Lifespan. Historical chart displaying lifespan (in days) for each major WordPress version.

Source

Version lifespan is the difference (in days) between two major WordPress versions. In other words, how long did it take to release the next major version. The data is based on release dates of all the major WordPress versions.

History

For the first couple of years WordPress had no official release schedule. With the release of WordPress 2.1 in January 2007, it was decided to adopt a regular release schedule every 3-4 months (90-120 days).

Insights

According to the chart, for a short period of time the goal was achieved (2.1 – 2.6), then for a long period of time they exceeded this goal (2.7 – 3.7), and in recent versions the core team managed to achieve this goal again (3.8 – 4.6). A third of all the major versions exceeded this goal. WordPress 4.7 had a longer lifespan and seems like WordPress 4.8 will have a long lifespan too.

The chart by itself does not explain the trends, it only shows historical information reflected from the data. Technical analysis alone does not mean anything without a context. For example, large WordPress agencies offering maintenance and upgrade services can better predict future releases based on historical version lifespan. WordPress backup plugins can adjust their marketing strategy and plan smarter advertising campaigns based on historical version lifespan. Managed WordPress hosting providers can plan server allocations and expenses reports months in advance (even a year in advance). I can easily think of ten more examples…

Have other insights? Share them in the comments area below!