phpWordPress, made by Spoonlabs, announced its news on this site from 2004 to July 2006. The archived record runs from version 2.52 in December 2004, through version 3.0 in October 2005 and version 3.2 in May 2006, to the July 2006 announcement that the product would become Vivvo.
This page is a timeline of what the phpWordPress site announced between late 2004 and July 2006. It draws on the archived news page and on announcements the staff posted to the support forum. Forum usernames in the archive are redacted, and we keep them that way. For the product’s release-by-release changes see what was new in each release; for the wider story see the history hub.
What did phpWordPress announce, and when?
The table merges the archived news page with the forum announcements. Where the two disagree on a date or an end date, both are given.
| Date | Item | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Dec 2004 | Version 2.52 released, with a new template system | forum thread 1 |
| 27 Apr 2005 | New modules: dynamic sitemap, multilanguage support, RSS filter | forum thread 30 |
| 8 May 2005 | Full multilanguage support; plug-ins for mailing list, sitemap, link directory | news page |
| 15 Aug 2005 | Summer discount: Enterprise licence at $199 (end date given as 25 Sep on the news page, 1 Sep on the forum) | news page |
| 2 Oct 2005 | Non-profit offer: Enterprise licence at the Professional price, saving $80 | news page |
| 19 Oct 2005 | Version 3.0 announced, after almost a year in development | forum thread 58 |
| 1 Dec 2005 | Patch for a critical SQL injection vulnerability | forum thread 72 |
| 7 Dec 2005 | AJAX-powered features added in version 3.0.1 | news page |
| 21 Dec 2005 | PRWeb release: a new aggressively priced version with AJAX features | news page |
| 7 Feb 2006 | Commercial templates offered, sold exclusively | forum thread 144 |
| 14 Feb 2006 | Hosting moved to a faster dedicated server | news page |
| 3 Apr 2006 | New website with template and site galleries (forum post dated 5 Apr) | news page |
| 8 May 2006 | PRWeb release for version 3.2, from Ann Arbor, MI | news page |
| 7 Jun 2006 | Upgrade patch with several updates and fixes | forum thread 233 |
| 12 Jul 2006 | Product renamed Vivvo; site contents move to vivvo.net | news page |
What does the pattern of announcements show?
Product releases and patches make up about half the items. The rest are discounts, hosting notices and a new template business, so the news page doubled as a sales channel.
The security entry is worth reading on its own. The December 2005 post named the vulnerable parameters and said every copy sold after 1 December 2005 already included the fix. It gives a firm date for a version 3.0 weakness.
What was phpWordPress?
phpWordPress was a self-hosted PHP news and article manager. Its archived home text describes software that helps you “create a full article website easily”, with layouts you can change and groups of people managing content through a built-in privilege system. It was sold in three packages: Standard at $159, Enterprise at $239 reduced to $195, and Developer at $1399 reduced to $999.
It had no connection to the open-source WordPress project. Every archived page says so in its footer, and the phrase “the site is not affiliated with the open-source program WordPress in any way” appears with a pointer to WordPress.org for visitors who arrived by mistake.
Who made it?
Spoonlabs, a small software company. The footer reads “Copyright 2004-2006 SpoonLabs.com”, and the May 2006 press release is datelined Ann Arbor, MI. The forum posts come from staff titled Product Line Manager, Lead Developer and Moderator.
In July 2006 the product took the name Vivvo and the site moved to vivvo.net. This section covers only the phpWordPress years. It makes no claim about Vivvo’s later products, and Vivvo is a separate brand that this site does not imitate.
How does a 2005-06 PHP article manager compare with publishing tools today?
The core idea is familiar: articles, categories, authors, templates, comments, feeds and a sitemap, administered through a browser. What has changed is mostly the surrounding expectation.
- Licensing. phpWordPress was sold per domain, with support and updates lasting six months on the Standard and Enterprise packages and for life on Developer. Today the open-source licence model is common, though commercial and hosted products remain.
- Admin experience. Its headline 2005-06 feature was updating parts of a page without a reload. That is now taken for granted.
- Search visibility. Friendly URLs, meta fields and a Google XML sitemap were selling points. They are now baseline expectations for any publishing system.
- Extensibility. Plug-ins and a plug-in manager were an add-on you paid for. Extension ecosystems are now a normal part of choosing a CMS.
If you are choosing a system for a news or magazine site today, start with the history hub for context, then compare current options against your own editorial workflow rather than a feature list from 2006. The about page explains how this site works.
Questions people ask
When did phpWordPress become Vivvo?
The archived news page announces the change on 12 July 2006. Vivvo inherited the v3.25 release, and the site contents moved to vivvo.net. Existing licence holders kept their support and upgrade entitlements.
Was phpWordPress related to the WordPress blogging software?
No. Spoonlabs sold phpWordPress as a commercial product, and every archived page says the site was not affiliated with the open-source WordPress program. The shared name is a coincidence of history.
Who made phpWordPress?
Spoonlabs. The archived pages carry a 2004-2006 SpoonLabs copyright line, and the May 2006 press release is datelined Ann Arbor, Michigan.
What was the last news item on the archived site?
The rename to Vivvo on 12 July 2006. The previous item, on 7 June 2006, was an upgrade patch for what became the v3.25 release.
Sources
- On 1 December 2004 the support forum announced that version 2.52 was released, featuring a new template system. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 27 April 2005 the forum listed new modules: a dynamic sitemap, multilanguage support for static elements, and an RSS filter for administrators. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- The news page dated 8 May 2005 says the Article Manager was enhanced to full multilanguage support, with plug-ins for a mailing list, automatic sitemap and link directory. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- The news page dated 15 August 2005 offered the Enterprise licence for $199 until 25 September; the forum post of the same day gave the end date as 1 September. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 2 October 2005 the news page offered non-profit and charitable organisations the Enterprise licence for the price of the Professional licence, saving $80. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 19 October 2005 Spoonlabs announced version 3.0 of phpWordPress Article Manager, after almost a year in development, with 20% off the new Enterprise licence. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 1 December 2005 the forum announced a patch for a critical SQL injection vulnerability in the poll, category and ctg parameters of index.php, and said versions sold after that date included the patch. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- The news page dated 7 December 2005 says AJAX-powered features were added in version 3.0.1; the forum thread lists rotating headlines and search auto-complete. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 21 December 2005 the news page recorded a PRWeb release saying Spoonlabs launched a new aggressively priced version of phpWordPress with advanced AJAX-powered features. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 7 February 2006 the forum announced that commercial templates were on offer, sold on an exclusive basis and removed from the gallery once bought. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 14 February 2006 the news page announced a move to a faster dedicated server. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- The news page dated 3 April 2006 says a new website was launched with a template gallery and a site gallery; the forum thread is dated 5 April. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 8 May 2006 a PRWeb release datelined Ann Arbor, MI said Spoonlabs had released phpWordPress version 3.2, with fully automated search engine optimisation. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 7 June 2006 an upgrade patch with several updates and fixes was released, downloadable from the administration control panel. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- On 12 July 2006 the news page announced that phpWordPress would live under the name Vivvo, which would inherit the v3.25 release, with the website moving to vivvo.net and existing licences and support unchanged. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- The pricing page listed three packages: Standard at $159, Enterprise at $239 reduced to $195, and Developer at $1399 reduced to $999. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- The pricing page listed support and free updates for 6 months on Standard and Enterprise and lifetime on Developer, with a single domain on the first two and unlimited domains on Developer. — source, checked 10 October 2026.
- Every archived page carried the line that the site was not affiliated with the open-source program WordPress in any way. — source, checked 10 October 2026.