BBC: What do the White House, tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, and Rolling Stone magazine have in common? They all have websites powered by a piece of software called WordPress. 

Now, although many of us may have never heard of it, it plays a crucial role in making the Internet work. The software, free to use, is used by more than 800 million websites. So I decided to catch up with Nick Gernert, CEO of WordPress VIP.

Driving business value with WordPress VIP

BBC: Nick, surveys show [WordPress] software is used by more than 40 percent of the world’s websites. Is it so popular only because it’s free?

Nick: Free is a good price, right? That’s one way to look at it.

There are things that have made WordPress ubiquitous on the web. Essentially, it’s simple. It makes the web [less] technical, open to a broader audience. [Before], you had to understand the nuances of how websites were built.

BBC: For non-techie people like myself, what does the software actually do? How does it work?

Nick: It lets you communicate your thoughts, images, videos—anything to connect with—over the web. Something we all take for granted now. The less you think about that, the better.

“Empathize with the audience. Show up in a way that matters to them. Overblown experiences are slow and cumbersome. Get down to simplicity, web experiences that scale, that move quickly.”

—Nick Gernert, CEO, WordPress VIP

BBC: Nick, as you’ve said, [WordPress] is free. So, how do you make the money to keep it all going?

Nick: Yes, core WordPress software is free. What WordPress VIP does to make money is help organizations deploy infrastructure that allows them to run at a massive global scale. Whether you’re in Australia, Asia, the Americas, our software will reach [audiences] quickly, fast, securely. All things you take for granted and expect from a website.

So if it’s Oscar night or other big moment, [their content] is available and does exactly what customers need. That’s what we’re doing on our side with our customers to help them make money. And then that gets reinvested back into the core [WordPress] software itself so that others can have it for free.

Engaging customers in the post-social world

BBC: Attention spans aren’t long these days—you’ve got only eight seconds before people move on. So how can you make websites keep customers longer?

Nick: Create an experience that’s generating interest and value. What we’ve seen over the past 15 years is a massive use of social networks for connecting with audiences. Now we’re in an era where we’re not so sure about just trusting social networks with our direct relationships with audiences and customers.

Bring them back to the website you own. Organizations are really investing in that and the content they put in front of customers. Look not just at pageviews, but engaged time. We’re seeing folks engaged for two, three, five minutes across multiple parts of a website.

“To do things excellently on the web, you need software and a platform that lets you move quickly and connect authentically with your customers.”

—Nick Gernert

Securing WordPress websites

BBC: One of the important things you’ve said about WordPress is that it’s open source software, which means anyone can come along and [use it]. How do you make sure that people don’t abuse that and sites can stay secure from hackers and the likes?

Nick: We know there are attackers [out there]. But we have a thriving community contributing to WordPress, the software project. So it has more eyes on it than just about any other software that does what ours does.

It’s secure because [that] community is investing in its security. And we’ve built things into our platform, too, like auto updating, consistently working to keep the platform secure. That’s a core tenet.

Scaling digital experiences

BBC: What are your top tips for a great website?

Nick: Empathize with the audience. Show up in a way that matters to them. Overblown experiences are slow and cumbersome. Get down to simplicity, web experiences that scale, that move quickly.

The technology behind that website needs to be one that you’re going to be able to trust for decades. To do things excellently on the web, you need software and a platform that lets you move quickly and connect authentically with your customers.

That’s really where ours shines.