WordPress Statistics: Market Share and What It Means
See dated WordPress market-share figures with their source and denominator. Learn what usage statistics can—and cannot—tell you about a website.
Reviewed 27 September 2026.
WordPress market share: dated snapshot
In the W3Techs snapshot checked on 26 September 2026, WordPress accounted for 40.2% of all websites in its survey and 58.7% of websites whose CMS it identified. Those are different denominators. They should not be presented as interchangeable percentages.
Source: W3Techs WordPress usage report. The report changes over time; use the linked live page when you need a newer figure.
WordPress version adoption
| Major version | Share of WordPress sites in that snapshot |
|---|---|
| 7 | 63.0% |
| 6 | 29.9% |
| 5 | 4.8% |
| 4 | 2.0% |
| 3 | 0.2% |
Rounded figures may not total exactly 100%. This is an adoption snapshot, not an assessment of an individual installation’s security.
How to cite a WordPress statistic correctly
- Name the source and date checked.
- State whether the denominator is all websites, known-CMS websites or WordPress websites.
- Distinguish websites from visitors, businesses and market revenue.
- Keep historical observations dated rather than silently presenting them as current.
- Check the source methodology before comparing different surveys.
What popularity does not prove
A large market share does not guarantee that a theme is maintained, a plugin is secure or a particular host fits your workload. Installed software, configuration, support and recovery practices matter more for an individual site.
Directory installation counts and product-review counts also describe different populations. Do not turn a plugin’s install count into a claim about all WordPress websites.
Use statistics to support a practical decision
If you are choosing a platform, compare editing, maintenance, integrations and total cost. If you manage an existing site, inventory its actual versions and test updates on staging. Neither task is solved by market share alone.
Start with our WordPress website-builder comparison or first-site guide.
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