Happy Birthday, Torque

Four years ago, on the eve of WordCamp San Francisco, we were gearing up to launch our first digital publication – Torque Magazine. Today – millions of pageviews later – Torque has grown into an award-winning site and the leading resource for WordPress news.

Inspired by our desire to give back, Torque was conceived as a way for us share knowledge across the community and contribute in a meaningful way. It’s a place where all WordPress users – regardless of skill level – can come for industry insights to help them grow their WordPress practices and it also provides a platform from which the global WordPress community can share their expertise.

Fast forward four years and Torque remains steadfast in that mission. Its commitment to WordPress and unyielding editorial independence has shaped it into a leading global resource for creatives, businesses, developers, and anyone who uses or has an interest in WordPress. To date, Torque has published thousands of articles from hundreds of different contributors and has a dedicated, passionate editorial staff who drives the publication forward.

Torque, a WP Engine publication, has allowed us to give back to the WordPress community in ways we never could have predicted. In addition to publishing great content daily, Torque has cultivated an entire practice of giving back. From sponsoring WordCamps and WordPress Meetups to launching initiatives like the WordPress Industry Survey, Plugin Madness, and Faces of WordPress, Torque demonstrates the power and importance of contributing to an open-source community.

Torque has also provided us with the added benefit of “eating our own dogfood” (or dogfooding). We are our own customer success story. Not only does this give us more empathy for customers, but it also allows us to test our own products and learn from that in a real-world setting. For example, Torque was an early beta tester of Content Performance, our latest performance intelligence solution. By testing it on Torque, we were able to glean impactful insights that helped us shape the final product.

It’s been an incredible four years and a truly rewarding experience to see Torque grow into an indispensable resource for WordPress. We are excited to see what’s in store for the next four years. Thank you for your readership, support, and inspiration.

Happy birthday, Torque! Carpe diem WordPress!

Heather J. Brunner is Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of WP Engine. With over 27 years of technology expertise, Heather has helped create billions in value, driven customer success and led business strategy and global expansion for both privately-funded new ventures and Fortune 500 companies. Follow Heather on Twitter @heatherjbrunner.