Torque
Torque Magazine is a WordPress-focused digital publication owned by WP Engine, delivering news, tutorials, podcasts, and newsletters to WordPress professionals globally since 2013.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersIndianapolis, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Torque does
Torque Magazine is a WordPress-focused digital publication that delivers news, tutorials, development guides, security information, and community event coverage to WordPress professionals. The publication debuted in July 2013 at WordCamp San Francisco and operates from Austin, Texas, with content distributed through its website (torquemag.io), the Press This weekly podcast (hosted on RedCircle and distributed via the WMR podcast network), the Torque Weekly Wire newsletter, and the News Drop video series. Torque also operates the Torque Toons webcomic sub-brand and covers categories including development, tools, community, videos, e-books, plugins, themes, and WordPress hosting.
The publication is wholly owned by WPEngine, Inc., a Delaware-incorporated managed WordPress hosting company, and operates as a WP Engine publication while maintaining stated editorial independence. Revenue is generated through advertising and sponsorship from WP Engine, with content distributed free of charge to readers. The business model is community-led content marketing serving WordPress professionals across skill levels, from beginners to advanced developers and agencies. Torque features two staff members alongside community contributors, with no disclosed independent revenue, no venture funding, and no standalone P&L structure separate from WP Engine's marketing operations.
Torque firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Torque
- Legal name
- WPEngine, Inc.
- Website
- https://torquemag.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Torque Magazine is a WordPress-focused digital publication owned by WP Engine, delivering news, tutorials, podcasts, and newsletters to WordPress professionals globally since 2013.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Torque industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Media / Digital Publishing
- NAICS
- Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro industry
- Business, Finance & Industry Trade MagazinesMedia, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Magazine Publishing (Consumer & B2B/Trade Magazines)
Keywords
Where Torque is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Indianapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Torque business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Publication Sponsorship: Torque Magazine is sponsored and published by WP Engine, operating as a community-facing publication while maintaining editorial independence.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Torque product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Torque Magazine is a free online WordPress community publication that delivers news, tutorials, development guides, plugin and theme coverage, business advice for agencies, security information, and event coverage (including WordCamps) to WordPress professionals of all skill levels. The publication produces articles, a weekly newsletter (Torque Weekly Wire), the Press This community podcast, the News Drop video series, and Torque Toons webcomics.
Product overview
Torque Magazine is a single digital publication focused exclusively on WordPress content. It provides ongoing news coverage, development tutorials, community updates, and business insights for WordPress professionals through articles, video content, and podcasts. The publication is produced by WP Engine and maintains complete editorial independence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- News Drop: An informative video series highlighting the latest WordPress news and developments.
- Torque Toons
- Torque Weekly Wire
Products and services
- Torque Magazine A free online WordPress community publication providing news, development tutorials, plugin and theme coverage, security guidance, business advice for agencies, and event coverage for WordPress professionals.
- Press This Podcast Weekly WordPress community podcast produced by Torque Magazine, featuring guests from across the WordPress ecosystem and discussions of the top issues facing WordPress developers, designers, and agencies. Distributed via RedCircle as part of the WMR podcast network.
- Torque Weekly Wire Newsletter Weekly email newsletter delivering WordPress news, insights, and updates to subscribers every Monday morning.
- News Drop Video Series An informative video series highlighting the latest WordPress news, updates, and developments for the WordPress community.
- Torque Toons Quirky webcomics published by Torque targeting WordPress professionals.
Companies that use Torque
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Torque technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Torque partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WP EnginecoreTorque Magazine is a WP Engine publication though maintains complete editorial independence. WP Engine is the parent company and sponsor of Torque Magazine, which debuted in July 2013 at WordCamp San Francisco.
- ElementorminorElementor, a major WordPress page builder company, appears as a guest on Torque's Press This podcast and participates in community discussions. Elementor contributes to WordPress core performance team and plugin review team.
- WMR (WordPress Community Podcast Network)minorTorque's Press This podcast is part of the WMR (WordPress Marketing and Revenue) podcast network, covering the largest issues facing WordPress developers, designers, and agencies.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Torque competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ManageWP: A WordPress site management tool (now part of GoDaddy) with a popular blog covering WordPress tutorials, news, and agency topics. Comparable as a WordPress-focused publishing operation serving developers and agencies.
- A List Apart: A long-running web design and development publication with strong opinion and standards-focused content. Comparable in serving professional web builders with editorial, tutorial, and thought-leadership content, though with a broader web standards remit.
- Kinsta Blog: The content and resource hub of Kinsta, a managed WordPress hosting competitor to WP Engine. Directly comparable as a hosting-company-sponsored publication producing WordPress tutorials, performance content, and product-adjacent news for the same professional segment.
- CSS-Tricks: A flagship web development tutorial and news site with deep WordPress coverage. Comparable in niche-professional editorial focus, long-form tutorial format, and community-driven authorship, though now under the DigitalOcean umbrella.
- iThemes Blog: The blog of iThemes (now part of Liquid Web), a WordPress security, backup, and theme/plugin vendor. Comparable as a WordPress product company publishing tutorials and news for the same professional and SMB audience.
- Smashing Magazine: A major web design and development publication with substantial WordPress and CMS content. Comparable in its community-led editorial mission, multi-format output (articles, books, conferences, newsletter), and target audience of web professionals.
- WP Tavern: A long-running independent WordPress news and community publication. Directly comparable to Torque as it serves the same WordPress professional audience with news, opinion, and event coverage — and is often cited as Torque's main editorial competitor.
- WPMU DEV Blog: The blog of WPMU DEV, a WordPress plugin and hosting provider. Comparable as a WordPress-product-company publication that produces tutorials, plugin reviews, and WordPress news for the same developer and agency audience.
Emerging players
- Elegant Themes Blog: The blog of Elegant Themes, maker of the Divi WordPress theme and page builder. Comparable in producing WordPress tutorials, theme/design content, and product news for SMBs and freelancers building WordPress sites.
- Yoast SEO Blog: The blog of Yoast, a leading WordPress SEO plugin vendor. Comparable in serving the WordPress professional audience with educational content, though it is more narrowly focused on SEO and is owned by a plugin company rather than a host.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Torque social profiles
Digital presenceTorque financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Torque leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Torque funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Torque M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Torque
What does Torque do?
Torque Magazine is a free online WordPress community publication that delivers news, tutorials, development guides, plugin and theme coverage, business advice for agencies, security information, and event coverage (including WordCamps) to WordPress professionals of all skill levels. The publication produces articles, a weekly newsletter (Torque Weekly Wire), the Press This community podcast, the News Drop video series, and Torque Toons webcomics.
Is Torque a public or private company?
Torque is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Torque founded?
Torque was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Torque based?
Torque is headquartered in Indianapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Torque make money?
One revenue line is on record: publication Sponsorship.
Who are Torque's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ManageWP, A List Apart, Kinsta Blog, CSS-Tricks, iThemes Blog, Smashing Magazine, WP Tavern and WPMU DEV Blog. Emerging players are Elegant Themes Blog and Yoast SEO Blog.
Does Torque have an API?
No public API is recorded for Torque.
What industry is Torque in?
Torque's product category is Online Media / Digital Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAM, Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines. Its NAICS code is 5131 and its SIC code is 2721.