The numbers tell an astonishing story – WordPress powers 43.4% of all websites on the internet. Almost half of the web runs on WordPress in 2025, which is remarkable.

A deeper look at WordPress usage reveals even more impressive statistics. Current estimates show that 541 million websites run on WordPress, and some sources suggest this number could reach 810 million. The platform's dominance in the CMS market stands at 60.8%, showing more than double the growth over the past decade.

This piece will take you through WordPress's usage percentages in different industries and categories. You'll learn how WordPress stacks up against competitors like Shopify and Wix. The platform's growth story and its thriving ecosystem have made WordPress the undisputed leader among content management systems.

What percentage of websites use WordPress in 2025?

WordPress rules the digital world in a remarkable way. The latest W3Techs data from April 2025 shows that 43.4% of all websites worldwide run on WordPress. This means you'll find WordPress behind almost half of everything you see online.

You might be surprised to learn that every second website you visit probably uses WordPress. The numbers look even better for websites that use a content management system (CMS). WordPress claims an impressive 61.2% to 62.8% of all CMS-powered websites.

No other platform comes close to this level of market dominance. The competition lags way behind:

  • Shopify holds just 4.8% of the overall market
  • Wix follows with 3.7%
  • Squarespace manages 2.3%
  • Joomla sits at 1.5%
  • Drupal accounts for only 0.8%

The only segment that comes anywhere near WordPress's share includes websites without any CMS. These make up about 29.1% of the web. Yet this number still falls short of WordPress's reach.

The sort of thing I love about these numbers is the platform's growth story. Twenty years ago, WordPress had a tiny 0.8% market share. By 2014, it jumped to 21%, and then doubled its user base in just ten years.

All the same, this growth seems to be leveling off. WordPress saw its first slight market share drop of 0.1% in 2023 since 2011. Some analysts point to a small but steady decline from its 2022 peak.

These small changes don't diminish the amazing scale of WordPress. The internet hosted about 1.2 billion websites in 2025. WordPress's 43.5% share means more than 518 million websites run on the platform. Some sources suggest this number could reach 529 million.

Different data sources confirm WordPress's leading position. Between August 2024 and April 2025, various surveys show WordPress holding steady at 43.4-43.7% with minimal changes.

Many experts believe WordPress will soon power half of all websites on the internet. Recent plateaus hint at slower growth, but no competitor shows signs of catching up.

This widespread adoption proves WordPress offers something unique. It strikes the perfect balance between flexibility, accessibility, and reliable functionality that appeals to beginners and professional developers alike.

How many websites use WordPress globally?

The numbers tell an amazing story – WordPress powers 541 million websites worldwide. This huge number comes from an internet that keeps growing faster each year.

Total number of websites in 2025

The internet has grown at an incredible pace in the last decade. NetCraft's June 2025 report shows there are about 1.24 billion total websites. Other trusted sources put this number at around 1.2 billion, which shows everyone agrees on how big the internet is.

But not every website is actually used. The total count looks impressive, yet only 201 million sites (about 18%) are active. This difference is important because it shows WordPress's real effect – it rules not just the theoretical web, but the active, working internet people use every day.

The web's growth story has been incredible but uneven. The total number of websites has almost doubled from 630 million to 1.13 billion since 2013. The peak came in 2018 with 1.8 billion websites, followed by a drop of 37.57% to today's numbers.

How WordPress fits into the global web landscape

WordPress stands tall in this big digital world. Its 43.4% market share means more than 518 million sites run on WordPress. Some sources say this number might be even higher at 541 million.

WordPress's journey from a simple blogging platform to the internet's backbone is remarkable. Starting with just 0.8% market share about 20 years ago, it now powers almost half of all websites worldwide.

The platform keeps growing strong. More than 500 new WordPress sites appear daily among the top 10 million high-traffic websites. This is a big deal as it means that competitors like Shopify and Squarespace only add 60-80 sites daily in the same category.

WordPress sites exist everywhere. The United States leads with 3.7 million sites. Germany follows with 1.7 million, and the United Kingdom has 1.3 million. These numbers show how people in all regions love WordPress.

Comparison with other CMS platforms

WordPress's power becomes clearer when we look at websites using content management systems. In the CMS market, WordPress holds between 60.8% and 62.9% market share – that's almost two-thirds of all CMS-powered websites.

The competition isn't even close. Here's what the CMS market looks like:

CMS Platform

Market Share

WordPress

60.8-62.9%

Shopify

4.8-6.7%

Wix

3.7-5.5%

Squarespace

2.3-3.1%

Joomla

1.5%

Drupal

0.8%

The gap between WordPress and others is huge. Shopify sits in second place with just 6.7% of the CMS market – that's ten times smaller than WordPress's share.

The web splits into two main groups: WordPress sites and everything else. About 28.6-29.1% of websites don't use any recognized CMS, making "no CMS" the only category that comes close to WordPress's market share.

WordPress powers 38.03% of the top 10,000 most visited websites. It runs 30.3% of the top 1,000 sites, proving it works great for both big and small websites.

These numbers show how flexible WordPress really is. Most users (69%) use WordPress as a CMS, while 20% use it as both a blog and CMS platform. Just 6% use it only for blogging, which shows how far it's come from its early days.

WordPress market share and CMS dominance

WordPress rules the CMS market with an impressive 61.2-62.7% market share. Two out of three websites that use a CMS trust WordPress as their platform. Let's explore deeply why WordPress dominates the CMS landscape and remains the top choice for millions of websites worldwide.

CMS market share breakdown

The CMS marketplace has over 800 platforms, but only a few major players control the game. The top three CMS platforms own about 73.2% of the entire market.

Here's how the numbers break down:

CMS Platform

Market Share (CMS-only)

Overall Web Usage

WordPress

61.2-62.7%

43.5%

Shopify

6.4-6.7%

4.7%

Wix

3.9-5.3%

3.8%

Squarespace

3.0-3.3%

2.3%

Joomla

2.1-2.4%

1.5%

Drupal

1.2-1.3%

0.8%

The top five CMS platforms control more than 75% of the market. This shows how concentrated the industry has become. Yes, it is getting even more concentrated – websites without a CMS dropped by 8% between 2024 and May 2025. Site owners now prefer established platforms over custom solutions.

How WordPress compares to Shopify, Wix, and others

WordPress towers over its competition. Shopify holds second place with just 6.7% of the CMS market – that's ten times smaller than WordPress's share. No competitor comes close to challenging WordPress's position.

The market keeps evolving though. Between May 2024 and May 2025:

  • Shopify grew by 6.3%
  • Wix saw a huge jump of 35.9%
  • Squarespace climbed by 10%

While WordPress stays steady, smaller platforms gain ground by attracting new website creators rather than converting existing WordPress users.

Joomla and Drupal tell a different story. These platforms once held 14.8% of the CMS market in 2014—now they're down to just 3.3%. Recent numbers show Joomla dropped by 16% while Drupal fell by 25%.

Why WordPress leads the CMS space

WordPress stays on top for several reasons:

  1. Balance of simplicity and extensibility – Users love how WordPress combines ease of use for beginners with powerful tools for developers.
  2. Unmatched flexibility – WordPress builds any type of website, unlike restricted platforms like Wix or Squarespace.
  3. Cost effectiveness – WordPress comes free and open-source, eliminating expensive licensing fees common with high-end CMS platforms.
  4. Strong plugin ecosystem – Users can add features through 50,000+ plugins without coding.
  5. Strong community support – Millions of users and developers keep improving WordPress and solving problems together.

WordPress hits the sweet spot between power and usability. Marketing teams can use its enterprise-level features without getting lost. This perfect balance attracts everyone from bloggers to Fortune 500 companies.

Marketing leaders and business owners choose WordPress because it grows with their success instead of holding them back.

Growth of WordPress over the years

WordPress stands as one of the most successful software success stories in internet history. The platform started modestly in 2003 and grew from a simple blogging tool to become the foundation of the modern web. Its market share has grown consistently since 2011.

WordPress usage in 2010 vs 2025

WordPress has transformed remarkably in the last 15 years. The platform powered about 13.1% of all websites in 2010, mainly as a blogging platform. That number more than tripled to 43.4% by 2025, making WordPress the dominant force in web publishing.

The growth becomes clearer with these year-by-year statistics:

Year

WordPress Market Share

2011

13.1%

2013

17.4%

2015

23.3%

2017

27.3%

2019

32.7%

2021

39.5%

2023

43.1%

2024

43.6%

WordPress averaged 12% annual growth between 2011 and 2022. The expansion has shown signs of slowing down. The platform experienced a slight market share decrease of 0.1% in 2023, which suggests it might be approaching market saturation.

Key milestones in WordPress history

WordPress achieved many exceptional milestones during its development:

The platform started in 2003 as a fork of b2/cafelog blogging software and powered just 2,000 blogs in its first month. This number exploded to over 50 million blogs by July 2011.

WordPress captured 59% of the CMS market share in 2013, becoming the most popular content management system worldwide. The platform's usage dipped briefly in 2016 as competitors like Joomla gained 3.3% market share.

The release of WordPress 5.0 "Bebo" in 2018 marked a significant moment. It introduced the revolutionary Gutenberg block editor that changed how users create and manage content.

WordPress became the most common way to build a website in 2021, surpassing even non-CMS methods. CMS-based websites grew from 35.2% to 70.8% of all sites at this point.

Automattic transferred WordPress's trademark and logo to the WordPress Foundation in June 2010. This vital move ensured the platform would remain independent and open-source, free from corporate control.

Trends in CMS adoption

The CMS landscape has changed dramatically with WordPress's rise. Traditional competitors like Joomla and Drupal have declined steadily, approximately halving their market share from 2014 to 2025.

New competitors emerged during this time. Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace grew from 0.1% market share to 4.8%, 3.7%, and 2.3% respectively between 2014 and 2025.

The CMS market seems to be consolidating around fewer platforms. 900 companies contributed to WordPress core in 2023, showing its resilient community support.

WordPress maintains its dominant position despite challenges. 49% of users take over an hour to publish content and 14% experience delays of a full day or more. Projections suggest

WordPress could power 50% of all websites globally by 2030.

The digital world shows a clear trend toward headless CMS platforms that offer better speed and performance. AI-ready features have become vital rather than optional to maintain search visibility and content marketing.

Themes, plugins, and ecosystem statistics

WordPress's success comes from its rich ecosystem of themes and plugins. The platform now has more than 60,000 free plugins and 13,000 free themes. These numbers are the foundations of almost any website requirement.

Number of available themes and plugins

The WordPress theme world is so big and varied. You'll find about 13,000 free themes in the official WordPress.org directory. ThemeForest marketplace adds another 12,000 paid options.

These two sources give access to 25,000 themes, but that's just the beginning. The total number reaches beyond 30,000 WordPress themes worldwide when you include independent theme shops and other marketplaces.

The plugin numbers are equally impressive. WordPress.org directory hosts between 59,000-60,000 free plugins, while CodeCanyon offers 5,200 paid plugins. WooCommerce adds 1,028 official plugin extensions. The total WordPress plugins likely exceed 70,000 with third-party marketplaces and independent developers.

Most popular WordPress themes

Hello Elementor leads the WordPress theme market with 18,366 websites among the top million sites.

This represents a 1.84% market share. Other popular themes include:

  • Astra: Powers 12,417 websites (1.24% share)
  • Divi: Runs on 11,327 sites (1.13% market share)
  • GeneratePress: Used on 8,786 sites (0.88% of top sites)
  • Newspaper: Present on 5,164 websites (0.52% share)

Themes like Astra have reached 16.5 million total downloads. GeneratePress has crossed 6.6 million downloads. These numbers show WordPress themes' massive adoption.

Top plugins by active installations

WordPress plugins have reached remarkable adoption rates. The most popular plugins are:

  • Elementor: 10+ million active installations
  • Contact Form 7: 10+ million active installations
  • Yoast SEO: 10+ million active installations
  • Classic Editor: 9+ million active installations
  • WooCommerce: 7-8+ million active installations

These numbers show plugins' vital role in WordPress. Among 59,000 plugins, only 62 have reached 1 million active installations. This shows how competitive the plugin marketplace is.

WooCommerce usage statistics

WooCommerce leads all e-commerce platforms with a 34.69% market share. It's ahead of Shopify (19.87%), Custom Cart (13.6%), and Wix (7.54%). 20.2% of all live WordPress sites use it, and it runs 8.8-9.1% of all websites on the internet.

WooCommerce sees 2,083,489 downloads weekly as of March 2025. This means 297,641 daily downloads or 206 installations every minute. It powers about 4.65 million live online stores, making it essential for businesses worldwide.

WooCommerce's ecosystem is reliable with 1,500 themes on ThemeForest and 2,202 themes in the WordPress.org directory. This adds up to 3,700 WooCommerce-specific themes from these two sources alone.

Where WordPress is used the most

WordPress has spread its influence across the globe with distinct regional leaders emerging. The United States leads WordPress adoption with 3,736,774 websites. This number makes up about 11.26% of all WordPress sites worldwide. These numbers paint a clear picture of WordPress's global reach and how it clusters in certain regions.

Top countries using WordPress

European countries have embraced WordPress enthusiastically. Germany comes in second place with 1,742,568 WordPress websites, making up 5.23% of global WordPress usage. The United Kingdom follows with 1,316,510 WordPress sites, which represents 4.05% of the global WordPress community.

France makes up 2.87% of global WordPress sites, and Brazil contributes 2.80%. These numbers show WordPress's strong foothold in North America and Western Europe. The reason? These regions have strong digital infrastructure and business-friendly environments.

Japan stands out as a unique success story. WordPress powers 58.5% of all Japanese websites with an impressive 83% CMS market share. This is a big deal as it means that Japanese adoption rates are much higher than global averages.

Language and localization support

WordPress started as an English platform but has grown tremendously. Users can now access WordPress in 208 locales. The platform works for users worldwide whatever their native language might be.

A turning point came when non-English WordPress installations became more numerous than English ones. Today, 71% of WordPress.com sites use English. Spanish and Indonesian follow at 4.7% and 2.4% respectively.

WordPress makes language management simple. Version 4.0 lets users pick their preferred language during setup. Version 4.1 added a feature to download language packs right from the admin panel.

WordPress usage in top 1 million websites

High-traffic websites often choose WordPress as their platform. 29.13% of the top million most-visited sites globally run on WordPress. The platform works well for both major websites and smaller ones.

The numbers are even more striking for blogs. WordPress powers 56% of the top 1,000 blogs worldwide. This shows that WordPress still dominates its original blogging space, even as it has grown into a detailed content management system.

WordPress's success in different regions and languages shows how well it adapts to various markets and use cases. This adaptability remains a key reason for its continued global success.

Conclusion

WordPress powers 43.4% of all websites by striking the perfect balance between accessibility, flexibility, and reliable functionality. This remarkable dominance comes from WordPress's success in serving everyone – from individual bloggers to Fortune 500 companies.

WordPress's experience from a simple blogging tool to controlling nearly two-thirds of the CMS market is one of the internet's biggest success stories. Competitors like Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace have grown, but still lag by a lot. Shopify, the closest rival, claims just 6.7% of the CMS market – almost ten times less than WordPress's share.

WordPress runs on its big ecosystem. Users can transform a simple WordPress installation into any type of website with over 60,000 plugins and 13,000 free themes. This extensive customization and open-source nature helps WordPress stay ahead of proprietary platforms.

WordPress shines especially when you have developed digital infrastructure. The United States leads with nearly 3.7 million WordPress websites, with Germany and the United Kingdom following behind. On top of that, WordPress shows remarkable strength in markets like Japan, where it powers 58.5% of all websites – way above the global average.

Recent growth has slowed, but experts believe WordPress could reach 50% of all websites by 2030. The platform keeps evolving while staying accessible to users, which explains its continued success. WordPress has made website creation available to everyone, helping millions build their online presence without technical hurdles.

These statistics prove what many business owners and marketers already know – WordPress remains the most flexible, affordable, and future-proof platform to build an online presence. While specialized platforms might excel in specific areas, WordPress offers the most balanced solution for most web projects, making it the foundation of nearly half the internet.

FAQs

Q1. What percentage of websites use WordPress in 2025?

As of 2025, WordPress powers approximately 43.4% of all websites on the internet, which is nearly half of the entire web.

Q2. How many WordPress websites exist globally?

There are an estimated 541 million websites worldwide that use WordPress, with some sources suggesting the number could be as high as 810 million.

Q3. How does WordPress compare to other content management systems?

WordPress dominates the CMS market with a 60.8% to 62.8% share, far outpacing competitors like Shopify (4.8%), Wix (3.7%), and Squarespace (2.3%).

Q4. Which countries use WordPress the most?

The United States leads in WordPress adoption with over 3.7 million websites, followed by Germany with 1.7 million and the United Kingdom with 1.3 million sites.

Q5. How extensive is the WordPress plugin and theme ecosystem?

WordPress boasts a vast ecosystem with over 60,000 free plugins and more than 13,000 free themes available, allowing users to customize their websites extensively.