A remarkable fact emerges from the latest WordPress statistics in 2025: this platform powers over 43.4% of all websites globally. The numbers tell an even more impressive story. WordPress dominates with a 62.5% market share in the CMS world, which makes it the clear leader among content management systems.
The platform's growth story stands out with more than 478 million websites now running on WordPress worldwide. These numbers show a 27% jump in WordPress websites in the last decade. The platform's popularity soars higher in specific sectors, as 97% of bloggers choose
WordPress as their go-to platform. The WordPress ecosystem thrives with over 30,000 themes and more than 70,000 plugins. WooCommerce, WordPress's e-commerce solution, commands a significant 33.85% market share in the online store space.
Let's take a closer look at these surprising WordPress statistics, understand how many websites use WordPress today, track its growth patterns, and explore what these numbers mean for web development's future.
How many websites use WordPress in 2025?
WordPress dominates the website building world with 43.2-43.6% of all websites globally running on this platform. This platform serves as the life-blood of the internet ecosystem, not just as the leading content management system.
Latest count of WordPress-powered websites
The number of WordPress-powered websites varies based on different sources and how they measure. NetCraft's August 2025 report shows 1.3 billion total websites worldwide. This means 564 million websites globally run on WordPress. Other trusted sources put this number at 518 million or 478 million WordPress sites.
These numbers paint an amazing picture. 137 new WordPress websites pop up every hour. That adds up to 1.2 million new WordPress sites each year. Both beginners and pros keep choosing WordPress, which explains this steady growth.
WordPress also shines among popular websites. It powers 23.5% of the top 10,000 most visited websites globally. This proves WordPress can handle big, high-traffic sites with ease.
Comparison with total number of websites
WordPress's lead becomes crystal clear next to its competitors. Shopify comes in second with just 4.8% of the market share. Wix follows at 3.7%, Squarespace at 2.3%, Joomla at 1.5%, and
Drupal at 0.8%.
WordPress's market share beats all other major CMS platforms combined.
Sites without a CMS make up 29.1% of all websites. This number keeps dropping as site owners discover CMS benefits.
WordPress's growth story amazes many. Twenty years ago, it held a tiny 0.8% market share. The platform now adds 13-15 million new sites annually since 2023.
What this means for the web
WordPress's huge market share changes the internet in big ways. PHP and MySQL are the foundations of the web since they power WordPress's core features.
The platform's open-source nature lets millions build websites without coding knowledge. This easy access helps the web grow fast. Countries like India and Brazil saw WordPress use jump 21% year-over-year.
Developers who know WordPress have plenty of job opportunities. Half of all websites use WordPress, which makes these skills valuable in today's market.
WordPress creates a strong ecosystem of themes, plugins, and affordable services. This helps set web development standards and content management practices online.
The United States leads WordPress adoption with 3,325,051 WordPress sites (10.92% of all WordPress websites). Germany follows with 1,463,149 sites, the UK with 1,084,957 sites, Brazil with 858,293 sites, and France with 847,213 sites.
WordPress market share and CMS dominance
WordPress towers as the undisputed giant among content management systems in 2025. Let's tuck into the numbers that show how WordPress has claimed its throne in the website ecosystem.
Percentage of WordPress websites globally
WordPress powers 43.3% to 43.6% of all websites on the internet. Half the websites you visit daily run on WordPress. WordPress's market share has doubled over the past decade.
The numbers look even more impressive in the CMS market. WordPress commands a massive 61.3% to 62.7% market share. More than 6 out of 10 CMS-powered websites choose WordPress as their platform.
The platform powers an estimated 518 million websites. Here's something interesting: 137 new WordPress websites pop up every hour. This adds up to over 1.2 million new WordPress sites each year.
Comparison with Shopify, Wix, and others
WordPress leads the pack by a huge margin. Shopify, its closest competitor, holds just 4.6% to 4.8% of the overall website market. The rest of the pack includes:
- Wix: 3.2% to 3.8% of all websites
- Squarespace: 2.2% to 2.3% of all websites
- Joomla: 1.5% to 1.6% of all websites
- Drupal: 0.8% to 0.9% of all websites
The CMS-specific market shows slightly different numbers:
- Shopify: 6.4% to 6.7% CMS market share
- Wix: 3.9% to 4.8% CMS market share
- Squarespace: 3.0% to 3.3% CMS market share
- Joomla: 2.3% to 2.4% CMS market share
- Drupal: 1.2% to 1.3% CMS market share
These competitors combined can't match WordPress's market share. No one comes close to challenging WordPress's position.
CMS vs non-CMS website distribution
The digital world shows an interesting split between CMS-powered sites and those without. 68.7% to 71.1% of all websites now use some form of content management system. This marks a transformation from a decade ago when 64.8% of sites didn't use a CMS.
Websites without a CMS make up about 29.1% to 31% of all websites. This number shrinks yearly as site owners see the benefits of content management systems.
The period between 2024 and May 2025 saw non-CMS websites drop by 8%. WordPress grew by just under 1% during this time. Its growth might have slowed, but its lead remains overwhelming.
The trend speaks for itself: CMS-based websites have grown from 35.2% to 70.8%. WordPress stands as the main driver of this change. Experts think WordPress could soon power half of all websites on the internet.
Historical growth of WordPress usage
WordPress has grown from a simple blogging tool to become the internet's leading content management system. This remarkable story shows how a platform revolutionized web development.
WordPress usage in 2013 vs 2025
WordPress captured 17.4% of the overall website market in 2013. This number soared to 43.6% by 2025, marking an incredible 150% increase over twelve years. The platform's dominance becomes clearer within the CMS ecosystem. WordPress's market share in the content management system space grew from 59% in 2013 to 62.6% in 2025.
The growth pattern stands out because of its steady nature. WordPress added about 1-2% to its total market share each year. The platform experienced its first and only slight drop of 0.1% in 2023 since tracking began in 2011. The numbers bounced back quickly with a 0.4% increase in 2024.
Key milestones in WordPress adoption
WordPress's journey includes several defining moments. The platform faced a brief challenge in 2016 when Joomla gained ground with a 3.3% market share. This setback proved temporary.
A major breakthrough came in 2021 when WordPress became the most popular way to build websites. No other content management system had ever surpassed traditional hand-coding methods before.
Hand-coded websites ruled the internet before this turning point. The early 2010s saw 64.8% of sites without any CMS. WordPress steadily gained ground against both hand-coding and other CMS platforms throughout the decade.
WordPress's closest rivals took different paths during this expansion. Joomla and Drupal—PHP-based systems like WordPress—saw their market shares drop by about half from 3.3% to 1.5% and 1.9% to 0.8% between 2014 and 2025.
Newer platforms like Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace grew more slowly than WordPress. Starting at roughly 0.1% market share in 2014, they reached 4.8%, 3.7%, and 2.3% respectively by 2025.
Trends in CMS adoption over time
CMS platforms became increasingly popular across the internet. The percentage of websites using a CMS jumped from 35.2% to 70.8% between the early 2010s and 2025. This shift changed how most websites were built.
Business priorities evolved with this trend. Recent industry surveys show 82% of organizations planned to switch their CMS by 2023, while 56% wanted to add more CMS platforms. 85% of businesses used multiple CMS platforms in 2023—up from 60% in 2020.
WordPress's growth relates to its expanding capabilities. The platform started as a blogging tool in 2003 but evolved to support websites of all types. Its flexibility helped adoption across industries, with the tech sector expected to increase WordPress usage by 15% in 2024 compared to previous years.
WordPress now powers nearly half the internet. This growth shows both the platform's success and a fundamental change in website development and management practices.
Themes and plugins: the ecosystem behind the numbers
WordPress's market success comes from its rich ecosystem of themes and plugins. Users can customize their websites without knowing how to code. This flexibility stands as the platform's biggest strength and explains why it remains popular in 2025.
How many WordPress themes exist?
The WordPress theme world has grown at an incredible pace. The WordPress.org theme directory now includes about 13,000 free themes. This shows how active the developer community has become. ThemeForest, which leads the premium WordPress theme market, offers 12,000 paid themes.
These two sources give users access to more than 25,000 themes. But that's just the beginning. Many independent theme shops create their own free and premium options. The total number of WordPress themes now exceeds 30,000. New themes appear so often that getting an exact count is tough.
Theme prices change based on what you need and can spend. Free themes are common, but premium ones cost between $10 to over $200. Most premium themes sit around $100. Many developers sell memberships that cost $48 to $399 per year. Lifetime memberships average $255.
Most popular WordPress themes in 2025
BuiltWith data from the top million websites shows clear theme leaders:
- Hello Elementor leads with 17,600-18,366 websites (about 1.76-1.84% market share)
- Astra comes next with 12,300-12,417 websites (1.23-1.24% share)
- Divi stays strong with 11,000-11,327 websites (1.11-1.13% share)
- GeneratePress runs on 8,786-10,000 websites (0.88-0.9% share)
- Newspaper appears on about 5,100-5,164 websites (0.51-0.52% share)
The top five themes power just one-fourth of WordPress sites. This shows how varied theme choices are in the WordPress community. The WordPress.org directory tells a similar story – Twenty Twenty Four, Hello Elementor, and Astra each have more than one million active installations.
How many WordPress plugins are available?
The official WordPress.org Plugin Directory contains 59,000-60,000 free plugins. CodeCanyon adds more than 5,200 premium plugins. These two sources alone offer over 64,600-65,000 plugins.
Independent developers and marketplaces bring even more options. Experts say the total WordPress plugin count tops 70,000. Some estimates go as high as 90,000+.
This huge selection lets users add any feature they want. From simple contact forms to complex e-commerce systems, you don't need technical skills to enhance your website.
Top plugins by active installations
WordPress's most popular plugins in 2025 include:
- Elementor: 10+ million active installations
- Contact Form 7: 10+ million active installations
- Yoast SEO: 10+ million active installations
- Classic Editor: 9-10+ million active installations
- WooCommerce: 7-8+ million active installations
- LiteSpeed Cache: 6-7+ million active installations
- Akismet: 6+ million active installations
- WPForms: 6+ million active installations
- All-in-One WP Migration: 5+ million active installations
- Wordfence Security: 4-5+ million active installations
These plugins cover everything from page building to SEO tools, security features, and e-commerce platforms. Their popularity shows how WordPress has grown beyond simple blogging.
The reliable theme and plugin ecosystem makes WordPress even stronger. Users can customize their sites in countless ways, which helps explain why WordPress keeps growing year after year.
WooCommerce and eCommerce statistics
WordPress's influence reaches way beyond content management into the eCommerce realm. WooCommerce has grown into a powerful player in 2025. This native eCommerce solution serves as the life-blood of online retail worldwide.
WooCommerce's market share in 2025
The eCommerce platform landscape in 2025 shows WooCommerce keeping a strong position. Market share figures vary based on measurement methodologies. WooCommerce claims between 20.1% and 38.76% of all eCommerce websites globally, with an average market share of about 33.4%.
Different tracking approaches create this wide range. BuiltWith focuses on top-tier sites where WooCommerce holds about 18.2% among the top 1 million eCommerce stores. Broader surveys that include smaller merchants show WooCommerce commanding nearly 39% of the global market.
WooCommerce stood as the world's leading eCommerce software platform in 2023, with a market share of 39%. Recent data shows a slight decline. BuiltWith reports that WooCommerce's market share among the top 1 million sites using eCommerce technologies dropped from 16% in 2024 to 13% in 2025.
How many websites use WooCommerce?
WooCommerce powers a substantial number of websites, though tracking services report varying figures. Current estimates show between 4.5 million and 6.5 million websites worldwide use WooCommerce.
Various sources provide specific numbers:
- BuiltWith counts 5,261,111 websites globally using WooCommerce
- Store Leads finds 4,613,637 sites running WooCommerce
- Conservative estimates place the figure at 4,503,868 live stores
WordPress.org's plugin repository confirms WooCommerce's impressive reach with more than 8 million active installs. This makes it WordPress's most popular eCommerce plugin, running on about one-fifth of all WordPress websites.
The United States leads WooCommerce adoption with 8.7% of stores. The United Kingdom (3.4%), India (3.1%), and Germany (2.5%) follow as top markets.
Comparison with Shopify and other platforms
The battle between WooCommerce and Shopify highlights a key contrast in eCommerce platforms: flexibility versus simplicity. WooCommerce leads in total store count, but Shopify dominates specific market segments.
Latest 2025 statistics show Shopify holding the top position among all eCommerce websites with roughly 26.2% market share, ahead of WooCommerce's 20.1%. Store Leads data reveals a different picture with WooCommerce ahead at 4.53 million stores compared to Shopify's 2.66 million stores. Small to medium-sized businesses prefer WooCommerce, while high-traffic sites choose Shopify.
Website traffic tiers show clear differences:
- Entire internet: WooCommerce 17% | Shopify 28%
- Top million sites: WooCommerce 14% | Shopify 24%
- Top 100k sites: WooCommerce 8% | Shopify 20%
- Top 10k sites: WooCommerce 5% | Shopify 19%
Sales figures tell their own story. WooCommerce processes about $20 billion in annual sales (2020 figure). Shopify merchants reached a gross merchandise volume of approximately $175.40 billion in 2021.
Without doubt, WooCommerce's most notable achievement lies in establishing WordPress as a dominant force in eCommerce. One-third of all online shops now run on WooCommerce. This makes WordPress a leader not just in content management but also in online retail.
Geographic and language distribution of WordPress
WordPress has created a truly international ecosystem that spans continents and languages. Let's get into how this dominant CMS makes its mark around the world.
Top countries using WordPress
The United States stands at the forefront of WordPress adoption with 3,042,493 sites. This number represents about 10.92% of all known WordPress installations. German users follow with 1,333,622 sites. The United Kingdom holds third place with 959,933 WordPress websites.
France maintains 782,789 sites while Brazil runs 754,602 sites. The Netherlands, Italy, India, Spain, and Japan round out the other prominent WordPress markets.
Market share varies remarkably between countries. Japanese websites paint an impressive picture – WordPress powers 58.5% of all websites there and commands 83% CMS market share. This is a big deal as it means that Japanese adoption rates far surpass global averages.
WordPress usage by language
English remains prominent but no longer dominates the WordPress ecosystem. 71% of all WordPress blogs use English. WordPress.com sites show similar patterns – English leads at 71%, followed by Spanish at 4.7% and Indonesian at 2.4%.
The year 2014 marked a turning point when non-English WordPress downloads overtook English ones. Today, non-English WordPress installations outnumber English ones, showcasing the platform's worldwide reach.
Localization and translation stats
WordPress supports over 208 locales. Users worldwide can access the platform in their native languages. The system offers complete translations in 56 languages with partial translations available in many more.
These extensive localization capabilities serve as the foundations of WordPress's international growth, particularly in emerging markets. New language additions happen regularly through the active translation community. Recent requests have come from Cameroon Pidgin and Lango speakers from Northern Uganda.
Multilingual support plays a vital role for content creators. Research shows 60% of shoppers rarely or never buy from English-only websites. This statistic demonstrates how WordPress's language flexibility drives its commercial success worldwide.
Conclusion
WordPress powers over 43% of all websites worldwide in 2025, making it the backbone of the modern web. The platform's versatility, availability, and resilient ecosystem speak for themselves. WordPress has evolved from a simple blogging platform into the leading content management system. Its market share among CMS platforms stands at an impressive 62.5%.
WordPress's growth story ranks among the most remarkable in web development history. The platform powered just 17.4% of websites in 2013. Today, it runs nearly half the internet and adds millions of new sites each year. This growth shows no signs of slowing down.
The platform's ecosystem features more than 30,000 themes and 70,000 plugins, giving users of all skill levels unique customization options. WordPress solutions adapt to specific needs without requiring advanced coding knowledge. Bloggers, small business owners, and enterprise-level corporations can all find what they need.
Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace have their own niches, but none match WordPress's reach. WooCommerce, WordPress's e-commerce solution, has become a powerhouse that runs about one-third of all online stores globally.
Non-English installations now exceed English ones, showing WordPress's expanding international influence. The platform's adoption across 208 locales has made web publishing possible across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
The numbers paint a clear picture – WordPress has changed how people build and manage websites. The platform looks set to power half of all websites on the internet soon. This cements its legacy as the tool that made website creation available to everyone.
Developers, business owners, and content creators benefit from WordPress's market leadership when making decisions about their digital presence. The platform's popularity guarantees continued development, security updates, and a thriving expert community for years ahead.
FAQs
Q1. Is WordPress still relevant in 2025?
Yes, WordPress remains highly relevant in 2025. It powers 43.4% of all websites globally, with over 564 million sites built on the platform. WordPress continues to dominate the CMS market with a 60.8% share, offering a vast ecosystem of over 30,000 themes and 70,000 plugins.
Q2. What percentage of websites use WordPress in 2025?
As of 2025, approximately 43.5% of all websites on the internet use WordPress. This includes websites running on various content management systems, those without a CMS, and custom-coded solutions. Essentially, more than one-third of the entire internet is powered by WordPress.
Q3. Is WordPress a viable career option in 2025?
Absolutely. With WordPress powering 43% of all websites and showing continued growth, it remains a strong career choice. The platform's dominant market position and widespread use across industries make WordPress skills highly valuable for developers, designers, and content creators.
Q4. How does WordPress compare to other e-commerce platforms in 2025?
WooCommerce, WordPress's e-commerce solution, holds a significant market share of 33.4% among all e-commerce websites globally. It powers between 4.5 to 6.5 million online stores, making it a major player in the e-commerce space alongside competitors like Shopify.
Q5. How has WordPress's global reach expanded by 2025?
WordPress has become truly international, with non-English installations now outnumbering English ones. The platform supports over 208 locales and has been fully translated into 56 languages. This global adoption has helped WordPress penetrate emerging markets and cater to diverse linguistic needs worldwide.
