WPFolks, a new community platform for the WordPress ecosystem, has been launched by Ankit Panchal, bringing together different aspects of the community into a single space while allocating 30% of its sponsorship revenue to a fund that supports community members to attend various WordPress events.
The gap WPFolks aims to fill
Currently, the WordPress community is spread across multiple platforms, including Slack, Twitter, official forums, Reddit, and local meetups, with WPFolks saying this is the issue it aims to address, “ The WordPress community is real. Its home on the internet has been scattered. You want to share a plugin you shipped, ask about a weird hook, or find a contractor. You open Slack, Twitter, the .org forums, Reddit. Nothing quite fits. WPFolks is one place for all of it.”
WPFolks describes itself as “a community for the people who build on WordPress.”
The WordPress community has seen previous attempts to create a central space, including platforms such as The WP World by Marcus Burnette.
What the platform offers
The community platform includes a WordPress profile feature where users can showcase their wp.org contributions, plugins, WordCamp talks, and skills.
It also features a members section highlighting WordPress people from around the world, along with a plugin showcase and a snippets area for sharing short pieces of reusable WordPress code.
The platform includes an ideas section for plugin and theme concepts, a businesses directory for agencies, hosting providers, and services, and a resources section featuring tutorials and tools.
Users can also explore WordPress events, connect through a community space, and find opportunities via a dedicated jobs board. The jobs board is free for both employers and applicants, “A jobs board — free both ways, no recruiter cuts”
In addition, WPFolks offers deals and discounts, partner listings, a leaderboard highlighting contributors, and a weekly newsletter focused on WordPress.
WPFolks says it has made deliberate trade-offs in how the platform is built, choosing to prioritise a chronological, ad-free experience without algorithmic feeds or paid upgrades, “ We made some choices that cost reach but keep the platform honest. No ads. No algorithmic feed. No “upgrade to pro” coming later. No farming attention. Chronological, free, and built to stay that way.”
Funded by sponsorships, with a community fund at its core
WPFolks platform is funded entirely through sponsorships from companies within the WordPress ecosystem, allowing it to remain free to use without ads, paywalls, or paid tiers.
According to the platform, 30% of all sponsorship revenue is allocated to “The WPFolks Community Fund”, which supports community members with expenses such as event tickets and travel to attend WordCamps and meetups.
The platform says the fund’s activity is publicly visible, with details on funds raised, supported community members, and the events supported made available on its website.
The recipients are selected based on their wp.org contribution score, which is visible on their user profiles, along with financial need and the relevance of the event to their work. The platform adds that community members who receive funding will post about their experience on the platform.
The applications to apply for event support will open soon. Interested sponsors can sign up now and will be contacted once the spots open.