How Many Websites Use WordPress?

WordPress remains the most widely used content management system in the world. In 2026, it powers around 42% of all websites, covering everything from personal blogs and small business sites to large e-commerce stores and high-traffic media outlets.

When focusing only on sites that use a recognised CMS, its share rises to close to 60%, which is more than all other platforms combined. This level of dominance has held for more than a decade, even as hosted builders and specialist e-commerce platforms have grown.

Part of the reason for its popularity is flexibility. WordPress works equally well for a simple brochure site, a full corporate presence, or an international online store. With thousands of themes and plugins available, you can customise your site’s design, features and performance without starting from scratch. Whether you’re creating the site yourself or working with a professional in WordPress website design, the platform gives you the freedom to build exactly what you need and adapt it as your business grows.

Quick Answer: How Many Websites Use WordPress?

The most careful answer is that WordPress powers tens of millions of confirmed live websites, and potentially hundreds of millions of websites when broader internet-wide estimates are used.

For percentage-based usage, W3Techs currently reports WordPress at around 42% of all websites and close to 60% of websites with a known CMS. BuiltWith tracks tens of millions of live WordPress websites, while wider estimates use total website counts from sources such as Netcraft and apply WordPress’s market share to that larger number.

That is why you will often see different figures online. Some sources count live detected sites, while others estimate against the total number of websites, domains or hostnames on the internet.

What Percentage of Websites Use WordPress?

The proportion of websites running on WordPress has more than doubled over the past decade. In 2014, it accounted for around 21% of the internet. By 2026, that figure had risen to around 42%.

During the same period, the share of sites without a recognised CMS fell significantly. As more businesses, publishers and independent creators moved to CMS platforms, WordPress claimed the largest share of that migration. Its ease of setup, extensive plugin library and wide range of features have helped it stay ahead of the competition.

Today, there is a strong chance that any website you visit is powered by WordPress, especially if it is a content-led website, company website, blog, publication or WooCommerce store.

Number of Websites Using WordPress

The total number of websites running on WordPress varies depending on the source. Netcraft tracks the total number of sites, domains and hostnames on the web, while BuiltWith focuses on detected technology usage across live websites.

This distinction matters. If you apply WordPress’s market share to the total number of websites online, you can arrive at a figure in the hundreds of millions. If you count only detected live WordPress websites, the figure is much lower, but still far ahead of any other CMS.

Some services track only active sites with current content and visitor activity. Others include inactive, parked or low-value domains. The difference between these figures comes from whether the source is measuring live usage, detected technology, CMS market share or the total size of the web.

Regardless of which measurement you use, no other CMS comes close to matching WordPress in active site numbers. Its scale means there is a large ecosystem of developers, agencies and service providers to support both small sites and enterprise-level projects.

Why Do WordPress Website Totals Vary So Much?

There is no single perfect way to count every WordPress website. Different research tools measure different parts of the web, which is why one source may report tens of millions of live WordPress sites while another estimate suggests several hundred million.

For most business or marketing discussions, the percentage figure is usually more useful than a single headline total. It shows that WordPress still powers a very large share of the visible web and remains the dominant CMS by a wide margin.

What Is the WordPress CMS Market Share?

When focusing only on websites that use a recognised CMS, WordPress accounts for close to 60% of the market. Its nearest competitors are far behind, with Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Joomla, Drupal and Webflow all holding much smaller shares.

This dominance has created a large and mature ecosystem. If you search for themes, plugins, or WordPress hosting, you will find thousands of service providers catering to businesses of every size. The sheer number of sites using the platform means there is extensive choice in hosting packages, design expertise and ongoing support, making it easier for site owners to find exactly what they need.

WordPress Market Share by Country

WordPress is used in more than 200 countries, with large numbers of installations across major markets including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil and France.

The United Kingdom is one of the strongest WordPress markets, which is not surprising when you look at how many UK businesses depend on content-led websites, service pages, blogs, WooCommerce stores and local SEO landing pages. For many UK companies, WordPress offers a practical balance between cost, ownership, design flexibility and search performance.

Some countries have even higher adoption rates by percentage. In Japan, for example, WordPress has historically held a particularly strong share of CMS usage.

The platform’s global reach is strengthened by its multilingual capabilities. WordPress is available in hundreds of locales, and its ecosystem includes translation plugins, multilingual content tools and development approaches for international websites. This makes it easier for businesses to run sites in their own language or manage content across multiple regions.

WordPress Use in E-Commerce

WooCommerce, the most widely used e-commerce plugin for WordPress, is installed on millions of websites. It turns WordPress into a full online store system, with support for products, payments, shipping, tax settings, subscriptions, memberships and custom checkout journeys.

Its main strength is flexibility. You can run a complete online store on the same system you use for your blog, portfolio or company site.

WooCommerce websites are popular with both independent sellers and larger brands because it allows full control over hosting, data and design. This makes it a strong option for businesses that want ownership and customisation without being locked into a single hosted platform.

Shopify remains a strong choice for many retail businesses, especially where speed of setup is the priority. WooCommerce is often better suited to businesses that need more control over content, SEO, custom functionality or deeper integration with an existing WordPress website.

Are WordPress Sites Outdated?

It’s a common assumption that WordPress is outdated technology, but the reality is quite the opposite. Since its launch in 2003, it has received regular major releases and hundreds of smaller updates, each adding new features, improving performance and strengthening the editing experience.

One of the biggest changes came with the introduction of the block editor in WordPress 5.0, which transformed the editing experience. Today, you can build complex page layouts visually without touching code, or work directly in HTML and CSS if you prefer. See the block editor guide for details.

Modern WordPress also supports REST API connections, headless builds and integration with JavaScript frameworks like React. This makes it suitable for everything from marketing sites to SaaS platforms.

Major brands and publishers still run on WordPress. These are high-traffic, modern websites maintained with professional WordPress development, strong hosting infrastructure and up-to-date security measures, which shows the platform is still relevant when it is built and maintained properly.

What Is the Next Most Commonly Used CMS After WordPress?

The closest mainstream competitors to WordPress include Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Joomla and Drupal. Each of these platforms serves a different audience.

Shopify focuses entirely on e-commerce and includes hosting in its plans. Wix and Squarespace are all-in-one site builders that prioritise simplicity but offer less scope for customisation compared to WordPress. Webflow appeals to design-led teams and marketing sites. Joomla and Drupal provide greater developer control in some cases, but they have smaller communities and far fewer extensions than WordPress.

WordPress Compared With Other Website Platforms

WordPress is not the only popular website platform, but it serves a broader range of use cases than most of its competitors. This is one reason it continues to dominate CMS market share.

Why WordPress Remains the Most Commonly Used CMS

WordPress holds its dominant position for several clear reasons. It is open source, so there are no licensing fees for the core software. The main costs are your domain, hosting, design, development and ongoing maintenance, making it an affordable option for personal sites, small businesses and large organisations alike.

Its flexibility means it can handle almost any type of website. A freelancer can launch a single-page portfolio, while a retailer can run a full-scale WooCommerce store on the same platform. This versatility is a major reason so many agencies focus on building websites with WordPress.

The theme and plugin ecosystem is unrivalled. With thousands of free themes and plugins available on WordPress.org, plus thousands more from independent developers, site owners can add almost any feature without building it from scratch.

Ownership is another factor. With self-hosted WordPress, you control your data, files and configuration. You can move to a different hosting provider at any time without losing your content.

Support is easy to find, from official documentation and community forums to video tutorials and specialist agencies. The size of the community means there’s usually expertise available when you need it.

The Future of WordPress

WordPress is continuing to evolve to meet modern web requirements. The Core Performance team is working on built-in speed improvements, helping sites load faster without relying entirely on extra optimisation plugins or complex server setups.

The editing experience is also improving. Collaboration, publishing workflows, design control and block-based editing are all areas where WordPress continues to develop.

Headless WordPress is becoming increasingly popular. In this configuration, WordPress manages the content while the front end is built with frameworks such as React or Vue. This setup supports advanced apps and interactive sites while keeping the familiar WordPress admin interface.

Artificial intelligence is also starting to appear throughout the ecosystem. AI-assisted content creation, automated SEO analysis and layout suggestions are already available in some themes and plugins. The quality varies, but it shows how quickly the wider WordPress ecosystem adapts to new technology.

What Do These WordPress Usage Figures Mean for Businesses?

The size of WordPress’s market share does not mean every business should automatically use it. It does mean WordPress is proven, widely supported and unlikely to disappear any time soon.

For businesses, the main advantage is control. You can choose your hosting, own your content, customise the design, extend the functionality and optimise the site around search, speed and conversion goals.

The trade-off is responsibility. A WordPress website needs good hosting, careful plugin selection, regular updates, security checks and proper development standards. A poorly built WordPress site can become slow or difficult to maintain, while a well-built one can remain flexible for years.

That is why WordPress is often strongest when it is treated as a long-term platform rather than a quick template choice.

Conclusion – Will WordPress Keep Its Lead?

WordPress powers around 42% of all websites and close to 60% of those using a recognised CMS. Its closest competitors trail far behind, while its community, plugin library, hosting options and development ecosystem continue to support a huge range of websites.

For new projects, the mix of flexibility, control and affordability is hard to beat. Whether you are running a personal blog, a membership site, a business website or a global e-commerce store, WordPress has the tools to manage it effectively.

If you want to get the best results, working with a skilled WordPress agency will help ensure your site is properly planned, professionally built and optimised for both performance and user experience.

FAQs About WordPress Usage