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WordPress powers 43.4 percent of all websites on the internet. These statistics highlight why millions of site owners choose it as their content management system.
Our research reveals the most striking usage statistics for 2025 that explain this platform’s continued dominance. WordPress runs between 541 million and 810 million websites globally and holds 61.4 percent of the CMS market, making it nearly nine times larger than Shopify at 6.7 percent. WordPress sites publish 17 new blog posts every second.
This article explores these statistics to show why WordPress remains the foundation for almost half the internet’s websites.
How many websites use WordPress in 2025?
WordPress has kept its dominant position in 2025, with over 500 million websites using the platform. That means nearly half of all websites worldwide run on WordPress.
Latest WordPress usage statistics
As of August 2025, WordPress powers about 541 million websites. NetCraft’s June 2025 report counted 1.24 billion websites globally, with WordPress making up a massive share.
Different tracking methods put the number even higher, up to 810 million. Regardless of the method, all credible reports show WordPress growing in 2025.
Adoption is strong. About 87.8 percent of WordPress sites run the latest version 6.7, which has already been downloaded more than 31 million times.
Percentage of WordPress websites globally
WordPress accounts for 43.4 percent of all websites as of April 2025. This figure has remained stable between 43.4 and 43.6 percent.
In 2014, WordPress powered just 21 percent of websites. Doubling its market share in a decade shows its staying power. Removing websites without a CMS (28.6 percent) increases WordPress’s lead even further.
How WordPress compares to other platforms
Among CMS-powered websites, WordPress commands between 60.8 and 62.8 percent of the market. This means about two-thirds of CMS users choose WordPress.
The competition is far behind:
- Shopify: 6.7 percent
- Wix: 4.6–5.5 percent
- Squarespace: 3.2–3.3 percent
- Joomla: 2.2–2.3 percent
- Drupal: 1.3 percent
Joomla and Drupal together dropped from 14.8 percent in 2014 to only 3.3 percent in 2025. Shopify has grown from 0.3 percent in 2014 to 6.7 percent.
Despite competition, WordPress remains strong thanks to its flexibility, working equally well for personal blogs and enterprise-level websites.
WordPress CMS market share and growth
CMS usage breakdown: WordPress vs others
WordPress powers more CMS websites than all its competitors combined. It holds 60.8 to 63.7 percent of the CMS market.
Other platforms include:
- Shopify: 6.7 percent
- Wix: 5.2–5.3 percent
- Squarespace: 3.3 percent
- Joomla: 2.1–2.3 percent
- Drupal: 1.2–1.3 percent
Together, WordPress, Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace make up 76.5 percent of the CMS market.
Growth from 2014 to 2025
In 2014, WordPress powered 21 percent of all websites. In 2025, that figure is 43.5 percent. Within the CMS market, it grew from 54.8 percent in 2013 to over 60 percent by 2025.
Joomla and Drupal declined sharply, while Shopify rose from 0.3 percent to 6.7 percent during the same period.
Why WordPress continues to lead
WordPress dominates because it is open-source, free to use, and accessible to all. It offers unmatched flexibility, supporting blogs, portfolios, corporate sites, and e-commerce.
The platform has more than 59,000 free plugins and thousands of themes. This vast ecosystem lets users adapt their sites easily without coding.
Its simple interface balances ease of use with advanced features, while its global community ensures constant updates and support. Major brands like TechCrunch, BBC America, Forbes, and Disney trust WordPress for their websites.
The WordPress ecosystem: themes and plugins
Number of available WordPress themes
WordPress.org lists over 13,000 free themes, and ThemeForest adds around 12,000 premium options. Altogether, more than 30,000 themes are available. This is nine times more than in 2010.
Most popular WordPress themes in use
Among the top million websites:
- Hello Elementor: 18,366 sites (1.84 percent)
- Astra: 12,417 sites (1.24 percent)
- Divi: 11,327 sites (1.13 percent)
- GeneratePress: 8,786 sites (0.88 percent)
- Newspaper: 5,164 sites (0.52 percent)
These top five account for about a quarter of the theme market.
How many WordPress plugins exist?
WordPress.org lists 59,000 free plugins. CodeCanyon adds 5,200 premium ones, bringing the total to more than 70,000. Some estimates suggest over 90,000 plugins.
In 2010 there were fewer than 10,000 plugins, showing six-fold growth in 15 years.
Top plugins by active installations
- Elementor Website Builder – 10+ million
- Contact Form 7 – 10+ million
- Yoast SEO – 10+ million
- Classic Editor – 9–10 million
- WooCommerce – 7–8 million
- LiteSpeed Cache – 6–7 million
- Akismet – 6 million
- WPForms – 6 million
Plugins like WooCommerce and Elementor are essential, transforming WordPress into an e-commerce and design powerhouse.
WooCommerce and e-commerce dominance
WooCommerce usage statistics
WooCommerce powers about 6.2 million live websites, with 8 million active installations. Since 2011, it has been downloaded more than 211 million times. Today, it runs about 35 percent of all online stores.
WooCommerce vs Shopify and others
- WooCommerce: 38.76 percent
- Shopify: 10.32 percent
- Magento: about 12 percent
WooCommerce appeals to small and medium-sized businesses due to flexibility and lower costs, while Shopify attracts larger enterprises.
Revenue and store count powered by WooCommerce
WooCommerce stores average 381,000 dollars per year in revenue, compared to Shopify’s 67,000 dollars. More than 22,000 WooCommerce stores make over 100,000 dollars annually, and 300 stores generate over 1 million dollars per year.
Security and vulnerabilities in WordPress
How often are WordPress sites attacked?
WordPress’s massive market share makes it a top target. About 90,000 attacks per minute hit WordPress sites, leading to 10,000–12,000 compromised websites daily.
Wordfence blocked 159 billion password attacks in 2022 and 3 million attacks in the first half of 2023.
Top causes of WordPress vulnerabilities
- Outdated components: 61 percent
- Plugin vulnerabilities: 93.25 percent
- Theme vulnerabilities: 5.45 percent
- Weak passwords: 8 percent
Core WordPress software accounts for only 0.58 percent of vulnerabilities.
Most common types of attacks
- Cross-site scripting (52 percent of plugin vulnerabilities)
- SQL injection (13 percent)
- Cross-Site Request Forgery (16 percent)
- Access control issues (12 percent)
- File upload vulnerabilities (7 percent)
- Brute force password attacks (16.1 percent of all attacks)
How plugins and themes affect security
Over 90 percent of malware infections come from vulnerable plugins and themes. Pirated (nulled) versions often include malicious code.
Recent examples include vulnerabilities in Popup Builder (affecting 100,000 sites daily in March 2024) and Icegram Express (threatening 90,000 sites in April 2024).
Regular updates and cautious plugin choices are vital for defense.
What the future holds for WordPress
AI and automation in WordPress
AI is becoming central to WordPress. The AI Engine plugin integrates advanced models for content generation, chatbots, and automation. Tools like Elementor and Divi already include AI features.
Performance and speed improvements
WordPress now supports WebP and AVIF image formats, responsive loading, and lazy loading. Plugins like WP Rocket and Perfmatters improve Core Web Vitals, while Redis caching boosts performance on high-traffic sites.
Multilingual and collaborative features
Phase four of the Gutenberg project will add built-in multilingual support. Tools like Multicollab already allow Google Docs-style commenting in the WordPress editor.
Headless WordPress and modern development
About 57 percent of businesses already use headless WordPress. This approach separates content management from front-end design, enabling use of frameworks like React or Vue.
It supports use cases such as CRM integration, e-commerce, and high-performance applications.
Conclusion
WordPress powers 43.4 percent of all websites worldwide. Its open-source flexibility, huge ecosystem of themes and plugins, and user-friendly design make it the top CMS.
WooCommerce adds to its dominance by running 35 percent of global online stores, generating billions in revenue. Security remains a challenge, but with updates and smart practices, it is manageable.
Future developments include AI, multilingual capabilities, and headless architecture. These innovations ensure WordPress will remain the leading choice for website creation well beyond 2025.
FAQs
Q1. Is WordPress still a relevant platform in 2025?
Yes, WordPress remains highly relevant in 2025. It powers 43.4 percent of all websites and dominates the CMS market with over 60 percent share.
Q2. How many websites use WordPress globally?
As of 2025, about 541 million websites use WordPress, representing nearly half the internet.
Q3. What makes WordPress so popular for e-commerce?
WooCommerce powers about 35 percent of online stores and averages 381,000 dollars in annual revenue per store. Its flexibility and plugin ecosystem make it a top choice.
Q4. How secure is WordPress?
WordPress core is secure, but vulnerabilities often arise from outdated plugins and themes. Sites face 90,000 attacks per minute, so regular updates and strong authentication are crucial.
Q5. What future developments can we expect from WordPress?
Upcoming features include AI integration, better performance tools, multilingual support, and increased use of headless architecture.
