In the early days of the internet, websites were pretty basic. If you wanted to have a website that looked good and was actually fun to use, you had to be really tech-savvy (or you had to have the budget to pay someone tech-savvy). In honor of our favorite CMS, here are 12 surprising WordPress statistics and facts you need to know.
Everything changed when WordPress exploded onto the digital market. Now, thanks to this free, user-friendly Content Management System, anyone can create a gorgeous website, even with no technical knowledge whatsoever. And because WordPress has an endless library of themes and plugins, you can use WordPress to create a website that’s both stunning and unique. (This goes for sole WordPress users and for agencies.) Let’s dive in to these fascinating facts.
12 Fascinating WordPress Statistics and Facts
1. WordPress dominates the CMS market
We all know that WordPress is huge in the CMS market, but most people don’t understand just how big WordPress really is. To put things into perspective, WordPress has more than 60% of the market share. The second most popular Content Management System has less than 8%.
2. Only about 60% of WordPress websites are up to date
This seems like no big deal, since websites usually work just fine even if the plugins aren’t up to date, but here’s why that’s actually terrible: If you have an out-of-date plugin, this can be a doorway for hackers to get into your website.
If you have trouble keeping your WordPress website up to date, you might want to consider converting to static WordPress.
3. WordPress powers over 75 million websites
It’s fun to be on the winning team, but that’s not the onlyreason you should care how many people use WordPress. Here’s why you should really care: the more popular your CMS, the more resources you have to help you figure out how to use it. There are somany WordPress tutorials on the internet that just about every problem you’re likely to encounter has already been explained hundreds of times.
Speaking of all the resources you can find online about WordPress…
4. A Google search of “WordPress” returns more than 1.5 billion results
Told you there are lots of resources for WordPress.
5. The latest version of WordPress has been downloaded more than 8 million times
And that number is climbing fast! By the time you read this article, WordPress will probably be downloaded at least a million more times. And remember: This is just WordPress 5.5, which is currently the latest WordPress version. We’re not even counting all the hundreds of other versions of WordPress.
6. There are 90,000 attacks on WordPress sites every minute
WordPress websites are attacked with alarming frequency. That’s not because there’s anything wrong with WordPress. On the contrary, it’s because WordPress is super popular. This popularity means that for hackers who want to cross “cause mass mayhem” off their to-do list, focusing on WordPress websites is a better use of their time than trying to learn the intricacies of some obscure CMS. Because WordPress attacks are so frequent, it’s really important that you stay on top of your cybersecurity strategies, like installing an SSL certificate.
7. WordPress is older than Facebook and Twitter
Twitter and Facebook feel like they’ve been around for a while, but WordPress has been around for even longer. WordPress was released in 2003. Facebook was only launched in 2004, and Twitter, in 2006.
8. Nobody really owns WordPress
Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, created WordPress Foundation (a non-profit organization) to protect WordPress’s open source license. WordPress also has no CEO. Instead, it’s run by volunteer developers all over the world.
9. Some of your favorite websites run on WordPress
WordPress isn’t just for bloggers. Massive websites like eBay, Cornell University, Harvard Blogs, Sony, Forbes, CNN and The New York Times use WordPress. That’s because in addition to being really easy to use, WordPress is also powerful and versatile enough to support a wide rangeof functions.
10. The average WordPress developer makes more than USD $75k per year
If you’re already a developer or just interested in being a developer, you’re not wasting your time. $75k per year is a pretty decent chunk of change. And remember: That’s just the average base pay. You can earn more money over time, and you can earn an even higher salary right when you get your foot in the door. Not bad at all.
11. There are over 57,000 WordPress plugins
WordPress plugins can do everything from scheduling your posts to backing up your WordPress website. With over 57,000 to choose from, you’ll have no trouble finding the exact plugins you need to perfect your website. And new plugins are added daily.
12. The most popular, free page-building plugin is Elementor
This beloved plugin is downloaded more than 430,000 times per week!
The Takeaway
If there’s anything to take away from these fun WordPress statistics, it’s that the world’s most popular CMS is constantly evolving. This makes it a great base for your website and a thriving sector of the tech industry, for those of us who are interested in a tech-based career. So, get out there and keep learning everything you can about WordPress! (Including the benefits of static WordPress. Your mind will be blown.)
