WordPress.com launches free student plan for web creators

WordPress.com has introduced a free Education plan aimed at high school and college students who want to build their own websites. The service lets teachers create accounts for their classes, granting each learner a personal domain, access to a curated set of plugins, and a suite of design tools that mirror the platform’s premium features.

Under the Education program, schools can manage multiple student sites from a single dashboard, simplifying onboarding and ongoing support. Students receive a sub‑domain (for example, studentname.wordpress.com) that can later be upgraded to a custom domain at no extra cost, provided they remain within the program’s guidelines. The plan also includes unlimited storage, basic SEO tools, and the ability to install popular plugins such as contact forms and galleries, which are typically reserved for paid tiers.

WordPress.com says the initiative is designed to nurture the next generation of web creators by removing financial barriers and offering a professional‑grade environment for learning. The company reports that more than 1,000 educational institutions have already signed up for the beta, with early feedback highlighting the ease of use and the value of real‑world experience students gain while building portfolios, blogs, or small business sites.

The Education plan is free for both teachers and students, though schools must verify eligibility through a simple registration process. While the core features are complimentary, WordPress.com will continue to market its paid plans to students who outgrow the free tier, offering advanced analytics, e‑commerce capabilities, and priority support.

By bundling domain registration, plugin access and a professional editor into a single free offering, WordPress.com hopes to cement its role as the go‑to platform for budding developers and content creators in academic settings.

Original reporting: TechCrunch.