WordPress Statistics 2026: Usage, Plugins, Security & More

When Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg forked the b2/cafelog software in 2003, they didn’t just launch a blogging platform; they unknowingly set the foundation for a web revolution. Fast forward to 2025, and WordPress powers a staggering portion of the internet, helping bloggers, businesses, and entire marketplaces build their digital homes. Whether you’re managing a portfolio, an e-commerce shop, or a major media outlet, chances are you’re leveraging the vast ecosystem WordPress provides.

Understanding WordPress through data isn’t just insightful, it’s essential for developers, marketers, and site owners making decisions in an ever-expanding digital world. Let’s dive into the latest 2025 WordPress statistics to see just how deeply it’s woven into the fabric of the web.

Total Number of Websites Using WordPress

• As of Q2 2025, WordPress powers 43.1% of all websites, representing continued steady growth.
• This equates to approximately 810 million websites globally.
• In the US, 36.2% of all websites are built on WordPress.
• Over 1.2 million WordPress sites are added globally each year, or roughly 137 websites per hour.
• Among the top 10,000 most visited websites, 23.5% run on WordPress as of 2025.
• WordPress.com, the hosted version, supports over 35 million sites, while WordPress.org powers the majority of self-hosted sites.
• Government and educational sites make up 4.6% of total WordPress usage.
• In emerging markets like India and Brazil, WordPress adoption grew by over 21% year-over-year.
• Mobile-first WordPress sites rose 18% in 2025, reflecting modern browsing habits.

CMS Market Share Breakdown

• WordPress dominates the CMS landscape with a 61.0% market share, reinforcing its position as the leading content management system.
• Shopify holds a strong second place with 6.7%, popular among e-commerce websites.
• Wix comes in third with 5.4%, favored for its ease of use and drag-and-drop features.
• Squarespace accounts for 3.3%, often chosen by creatives and small businesses.
• Joomla has a 2.0% share, though its popularity has declined in recent years.
• Drupal and Webflow each maintain a 1.2% share, appealing to developers and designers, respectively.
• Adobe Systems powers 1.1% of CMS-driven sites, likely through solutions like Adobe Experience Manager.
• Other platforms make up 18.1%, showing a fragmented landscape beyond the top contenders.

Growth Trends Over Time

• WordPress’ global website share grew from 35.2% in 2020 to 43.1% in 2025.
• Since 2023, WordPress has added an average of 13–15 million new sites annually.
• Plugin downloads have crossed 2.4 billion total installs.
• The average site lifespan on WordPress has increased to 4.5 years.
• The WordPress mobile app saw over 3.1 million downloads in the first half of 2025.
• The Gutenberg block editor is now used by 87% of all active installs.
• Contributions to the open-source core have grown by 13% year-over-year, with over 2,800 contributors active in the last 12 months.
• Themes in the official repository have surpassed 11,000, with 1,200+ new themes added in 2025 alone.
• WordPress Meetup groups now span 109 countries, a 6% increase from last year.
• Local language versions of WordPress are available in 81 locales, enhancing global accessibility.

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Top Websites Using WordPress

• TechCrunch, The New Yorker, and BBC America continue to run on WordPress in 2025, showcasing its enterprise credibility.
• Microsoft News Blog and Facebook Newsroom are notable examples using WordPress for content publication.
• Vogue and Rolling Stone use WordPress VIP to handle their high-traffic editorial content.
• The Walt Disney Company’s investor relations and press portals use WordPress.
• Sony Music, with dozens of artist pages, is powered by WordPress Multisite.
• The White House archives (for former administrations) still rely on WordPress for ease of public access.
• Angry Birds’ official blog and community site continue to operate on WordPress.
• TED Blog uses WordPress to publish global insights and speaker features.
• Variety transitioned to WordPress VIP in early 2025 for speed and scalability.
• Over 56% of the top 1,000 blogs worldwide are now using WordPress.

Top Countries Hosting WordPress Sites

• The United States leads with 11.26% of all WordPress sites, making it the largest base globally.
• Germany follows with 5.23%, indicating strong European adoption.
• The United Kingdom hosts 4.05% of WordPress websites.
• France contributes 2.87%, while Brazil is close behind with 2.80%.
• These top five countries reflect the global popularity and diverse geographic spread of WordPress usage.

Plugins Usage and Statistics

• As of 2025, there are over 60,300 plugins listed in the official WordPress Plugin Directory.
• The most downloaded plugin remains Yoast SEO, with over 550 million total downloads.
• The top 10 plugins account for 27.6% of all plugin installs.
• WooCommerce, the leading eCommerce plugin, has over 6.3 million active installs globally.
• Plugin install growth is fastest in developing countries, with Indonesia seeing a 19.4% YoY increase.
• On average, WordPress websites in the US use 21 plugins each.
• Elementor, a popular page builder, is active on 15.1 million websites.
• The security-focused plugin Wordfence has been installed on over 4.2 million websites.
• In 2025, 82.4% of WordPress sites use at least one caching plugin for performance optimization.
• Automatic updates for plugins are enabled by default on 71% of sites, increasing resilience against vulnerabilities.
• The top three categories of plugins downloaded in 2025 are SEO, eCommerce, and page builders.

Interesting and Fun WordPress Facts

• The name “WordPress” was suggested by Christine Selleck Tremoulet, a friend of co-founder Matt Mullenweg.
• WordPress has been translated into 81 languages, with more than half of all WordPress content written in non-English languages.
• 5,000+ contributors helped build WordPress 6.5, making it one of the most collaboratively developed open-source platforms.
• The WordPress.org repository now contains nearly 11,000 free themes.
• The Hello Dolly plugin, bundled since the first release, still ships with every new WordPress install.
• The first-ever WordCamp was held in San Francisco in 2006; now, there are WordCamps in over 65 countries annually.
• WordPress VIP, the enterprise-grade platform, hosts major media outlets, including Time, Facebook, and Spotify’s newsroom.
• Each second, 28 posts are published on WordPress across the globe.
• WordPress is maintained by the WordPress Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to open-source advocacy and development.
• Despite competitors, WordPress still commands more traffic than Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, and Joomla combined in 2025.

Average WordPress Theme Pricing Breakdown

• The most common price point for WordPress themes is $59, making up 23.2% of the market.
• Themes priced between $41 to $55 account for 18.9%, offering mid-range options for users.
• $31 to $40 themes make up 17.1%, appealing to budget-conscious buyers.
• 15.2% of themes are priced between $60 to $70, often reflecting premium designs or features.
• 7.9% fall in the $71 to $80 range, slightly higher-end.
• Lower-cost themes between $21 to $30 hold a 4.0% share.
• $10 to $20 themes represent 3.0%, targeting entry-level users.
• Price brackets of $81 to $90 and $91 to $100 hold 3.0% and 2.5% respectively.
• High-end themes over $100 make up just 2.0% of the market.
• The sub $10 segment still captures 3.2%, showing availability of ultra-budget options.

WooCommerce and E-Commerce

• WooCommerce powers 24.9% of the top 1 million e-commerce sites as of 2025.
• Globally, WooCommerce supports 5.6 million live stores, making it the most used e-commerce platform.
• WooCommerce Payments, its integrated solution, has grown by 21% YoY and now serves 1.3 million merchants.
• The average WooCommerce store uses 17 plugins, most of which are payment, shipping, or conversion-related.
• US-based WooCommerce stores represent 41% of global WooCommerce traffic.
• The average revenue per WooCommerce store owner grew by 6.3% in the first half of 2025.
• The WooCommerce app crossed 2.1 million active users as mobile management becomes more popular.
• Stripe remains the top payment gateway integration, used by 68.4% of WooCommerce stores.
• Average cart abandonment rates for WooCommerce sites dropped to 64.7%.
• Sites using WooCommerce Subscriptions rose by 13.8%, driven by the creator economy and digital services.
• Over 37% of WooCommerce stores use AI-based product recommendation plugins in 2025.

WordPress Security

• In 2025, 1,250 vulnerabilities were recorded in WordPress plugins and themes.
• Wordfence, a leading security plugin, blocked more than 18 billion attacks in the first half of the year alone.
• Core WordPress software accounted for only 1.1% of total vulnerabilities, demonstrating its secure development practices.
• Brute-force login attempts remain the most common threat, with 65 million per day recorded on average.
• Two-factor authentication is now enabled on 34% of WordPress admin accounts globally.
• HTTPS adoption among WordPress sites has reached 92.6%.
• 31% of hacked WordPress sites in 2025 were due to outdated plugins.
• The number of sites using security headers like Content Security Policy (CSP) rose by 22.5%.
• Over 5 million sites use malware scanning services via plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri.
• ReCAPTCHA integration is found on 41% of WordPress login and contact forms.

Most Common WordPress Hacking Methods

• Malware is the top threat, affecting 72.72% of infected WordPress sites.
• Backdoors are found in 69.63% of compromised websites, allowing hackers continued access.
• SEO Spam impacts 46.76%, often used to manipulate search engine rankings.
• Hacktools appear in 23.63% of attacks, helping hackers exploit vulnerabilities.
• Phishing schemes affect 8.12%, aiming to steal user credentials or data.
• Mailers, used to send spam, are present in 5.95% of infections.
• Defacements, which alter website content, occur in 6.71% of cases.

Performance and Speed

• The average Time to First Byte (TTFB) for WordPress sites improved to 167ms.
• Core Web Vitals compliance among WordPress sites stands at 71.2%, a modest improvement from 65.4% last year.
• LiteSpeed Cache is now the most widely adopted performance plugin, used on 2.6 million sites.
• Sites using full-site caching tools recorded an average 32% reduction in load time.
• Image optimization plugins like Smush and ShortPixel are active on 15+ million websites.
• WordPress themes using minimal frameworks (like Astra or GeneratePress) outperform others by 0.7s on average.
• Mobile-first performance tuning is applied on 68% of new WordPress sites built in 2025.
• Cloudflare is now integrated into 22.4% of all WordPress domains, improving global delivery speeds.
• Server-side optimizations (PHP 8.2+, OPcache, object cache) increased average speed by 37% over non-optimized setups.
• Hosting-specific WordPress enhancements (e.g., Kinsta, WP Engine) helped reduce load times by 1.4 seconds on average.

WordPress User Demographics

• As of 2025, 49.6% of WordPress users identify as developers or technical professionals.
• 32% of WordPress users are small business owners or entrepreneurs operating their own websites.
• The average age of WordPress users is 34.2 years, with the fastest-growing segment being users aged 18–24.
• The United States, India, Germany, the UK, and Brazil are the top five countries by WordPress usage.
• 61.4% of WordPress users identify as male, while 36.9% identify as female, with non-binary and undisclosed making up the rest.
• In 2025, more than 42% of new WordPress users accessed the platform through mobile-first platforms or apps.
• WordPress has a strong following in non-English markets, and Spanish, German, and French are the most translated and locally adapted versions.
• Over 70% of WordPress developers work remotely or freelance full-time.
• College and university students represent 8.3% of the WordPress learner demographic globally.
• The WordPress community on Reddit grew to 243,000 members, showing increasing interest among self-learners.

WordPress Version Usage

• Version 6 is the most widely used, powering 79.9% of all WordPress sites today.
• Version 5 still holds a presence with 15.1% of installations.
• Older Version 4 is used by 4.6%, showing a gradual phase-out.
• Just 0.3% of sites remain on Version 3, indicating near-total migration to newer versions.

WordPress Content and Engagement

• Over 70 million posts are published monthly on WordPress sites in 2025.
• WordPress blogs collectively generate over 2.6 billion views per month.
• The average blog post length on WordPress is now 1,447 words, showing a preference for long-form content.
• 31% of WordPress sites publish new content at least once per week.
• Video embeds, especially from YouTube and Vimeo, have increased by 17% YoY, as multimedia content rises in demand.
• The average WordPress post receives 5.6 comments, and blog interaction rates are highest in education and lifestyle niches.
• Jetpack analytics report that mobile devices account for 61% of all WordPress content consumption.
• The use of AI-generated content on WordPress has surged, with 19.7% of sites using AI tools for content drafting.
• Content personalization plugins are used by 12.3% of WordPress blogs, enhancing user engagement based on behavior.
• WordPress users publishing multilingual content increased by 22%, led by plugins like WPML and TranslatePress.

Economic Impact of WordPress

• The global WordPress ecosystem is estimated to contribute $43.7 billion to the economy in 2025.
• WordPress-related services, development, design, and maintenance generate over $19 billion annually.
• There are now over 1.5 million freelancers and agencies offering WordPress services worldwide.
• The average hourly rate for a WordPress developer in the US is $63.20, up 5.4% from last year.
• WordPress-related job listings on sites like Upwork and Freelancer grew by 18% in the past year.
• WordPress plugin and theme marketplaces, led by Envato and TemplateMonster, are expected to generate $2.9 billion in revenue in 2025.
• The WordPress theme market alone is valued at $790 million, driven by subscriptions and premium licenses.
• WordPress hosting services, including providers like Bluehost, SiteGround, and WP Engine, now represent 38% of managed hosting revenues globally.
• WordCamps and WordPress events contribute over $6 million annually in direct and indirect economic activity.
• Educational platforms like Udemy and Coursera had over 1.2 million learners enrolled in WordPress courses in 2025.

WordPress Domain Usage by Top-Level Domain (TLD)

• The .blog TLD is the most used among WordPress domains, with a dominant 84% share.
• .nl (Netherlands) follows with 43%, showing strong regional usage.
• .br (Brazil) accounts for 38% of WordPress domains in its market.
• .org is also prominent, representing 36% of WordPress websites.
• .uk domains are used by 33% of WordPress sites in the UK.
• The global .com domain holds a 31% share among WordPress users.
• .net and .de trail with 27% and 25%, respectively, reflecting moderate adoption.

Recent Developments

• WordPress 6.5, launched in March 2025, introduced enhanced accessibility, site editing refinements, and global style variations.
• The Font Library feature now allows full typography control across blocks and themes.
• A native revision system for template parts and reusable blocks was introduced, improving collaborative workflows.
• WordPress began rolling out block-based widgets as the default experience across all themes.
• Performance improvements in 6.5 included core web vitals optimization and lazy-loading enhancements for embedded media.
• PHP 8.2 is now recommended and supported across the majority of WordPress hosts.
• The Patterns Directory, an official source of reusable layout blocks, now has 1,900+ patterns as of July 2025.
• WordPress governance discussions around plugin monetization and review processes have increased community participation by 15%.
• The contributor mentorship program onboarded over 650 new contributors globally in the first half of the year.
• Official support for OpenAI and other AI integrations was proposed and is currently in experimental plugin review stages.

Conclusion

WordPress has not only retained its relevance in 2025, but it has also continued to lead the digital web ecosystem through innovation, scalability, and an unrivaled community. From powering hobby blogs to enabling billion-dollar enterprises, WordPress proves that an open-source vision, backed by global contributors, can shape how the internet grows. As we move forward into an increasingly dynamic web, WordPress remains the platform that blends accessibility, power, and endless possibilities.