30 Amazing WordPress Stats for 2021

If you’re still not convinced that WordPress is the best website content management system (CMS) for your site design and management, these WordPress stats are going to tell you a very interesting story.

A CMS is a software program that allows users to create and change their own digital content. The most popular website CMS in the world is WordPress, and nearly everyone has at least heard about it.

But does that mean it’s the best option for your website project?

After reading these amazing WordPress stats for 2021, you’ll likely find the answer to your question.

Let’s take a look.

The Top 10 WordPress Stats for 2021

These numbers help reveal the scope and scale of WordPress in today’s online market.

• There are now more than 455 million websites that use WordPress as a CMS
• Nearly 25 million WordPress sites are live right now
• Almost 410 million users view over 15 billion WordPress pages each month
• Every month, more than 41 million posts are published on WordPress
• 71% of WordPress posts are in the English language
• The most widely-used theme for WordPress has earned in excess of $36 million
• There have been 1,074 “WordCamps” help to date
• WordPress developers earn, on average, $53,000 per year
• WordPress has over 58,000 different plugins to use
• Of hacked WordPress sites, 39% were running outdated versions of the core software

And that’s just the beginning. Clearly, WordPress isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, it continues to grow by the day, with no end in sight.

30 Eye-Opening WordPress Stats That Can’t Be Ignored

A CMS is only as good as its users say it is. And statistics like these tell quite a story about what users think of the WordPress platform.

1. WordPress Currently Powers More Than 33% Of the Internet

Did you know that WordPress sites now comprise more than a third of all websites? According to recent statistics for blogging, WordPress currently hosts more than 455 websites throughout the world.

The versatility of the platform allows for anyone to use it, from small personal blogs to corporate giants like The New Yorker and Forbes.

2. WordPress Owns Over 64% of the Entire Content Management System Market

WordPress is so popular among website owners because it’s user-friendly. In fact, even someone who’s never built a website before can easily create a professional blog, e-commerce store, or any other kind of website.

And a market share of over 64% of the CMS market translates to nearly 40% of all worldwide websites using WordPress. The top countries where it’s used are the US, UK, and Russia, respectively.

To help put this statistic into perspective, the WordPress share of the CMS market is ten times larger than its closest competitor.

3. Internet Users Search the Word “WordPress” Almost 3 Million Times Every Month

Popular SEO tools reveal that every single month over 2.9 million Google searches contain “WordPress” as a keyword.

If you search only the word “WordPress,” you’ll see over 1.7 billion results on Google.

4. Combined, WordPress Sites Are the Fourth Most Visited In the United States

With over 155 million unique monthly visitors, combined WordPress sites rank in the fourth spot for the sites most visited by US Internet users.

Only Google, Facebook, and Amazon rank ahead of WordPress sites in unique monthly visitors.

5. Over 24.8 Million Live Websites Are Being Powered By WordPress

As the most popular content management system in the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia, the number of live WordPress sites has now reached nearly 25 million.

And of those 25 million WordPress sites, 318,828 of them rank within the top one million most-visited websites in the world.

The most popular sites being powered by WordPress are:

• TechCrunch
• Beyonce
• Microsoft News Center
• Forbes
• The New Yorker

6. Nearly 410 Million People View Over 15 Billion Pages On WordPress Each Month

The stats that WordPress puts out reveal numbers that most social media giants would only dream of.

The total number of WordPress pages estimated to be viewed every month is over 15.5 billion. 

In 2007, the average number of people visiting a WordPress page every month was around 130 million. In 2021, over 409 million people land on WordPress pages each month.

That statistic alone shows how popular WordPress has become in the last decade-plus.

7. WordPress Users Publish Over 41 Million Posts and 60 Million Comments Each Month

According to recent usage statistics for WordPress, their users are publishing nearly 42 million posts every month. And commenters are commenting about 60.5 million times on those posts.

Keep in mind that this number doesn’t include the dreaded spam comments. These add up to nearly 133 million every month and happen on sites that aren’t using a WordPress security plugin like iThemes Security Pro to protect them. 

8. Over 1.1 Million WordPress Domains Are Born Every Six Months

While the WordPress CMS has been in existence since 2003, in 2021 its popularity and usage continue to be on a steady incline. And with an excess of one million brand new domains registered to WordPress every six months, it continues to gain steam.

9. WordPress Websites Comprise 42% of the Web

If you’re looking to know what percentage of websites are run by WordPress, you now have your answer: 42% of them.

And with over 58,000 different plugins to choose from that can help customize a website in almost any way imaginable, it’s easy to understand why it’s the top CMS in the world.

10. There Have Been 14 Million Downloads of the Latest WordPress Version

According to the live counter on WordPress.org, the latest version of WordPress, Version 5.8, has been downloaded over 14 million times.

Additionally, the stats WordPress displays show that the total downloads are over 45 million.

11. 58,678 Plugins Are Available For Download In the WordPress Repository

Developers who operate in the WordPress platform work very hard to make sure that any potential issues users may run into are easily addressed with plugins.

And with over 58,000 plugins available for download in the WordPress database, there are more than enough available to solve almost any issue.

Keep in mind that there are a number of obsolete plugins that remain in the WordPress repository. Be mindful when you download a plugin that it will work with the current version of WordPress, and that it’s been recently updated.

12. The WordPress All in One SEO Plugin Has Over 74 Million Downloads

Since being released in 2007, the ever-popular All in One SEO plugin has now been downloaded in excess of 74 million times. And it’s one of the most popular WordPress plugins out there.

For e-commerce plugins, WooCommerce leads the pack with nearly 87 million downloads to date.

Usage statistics for WordPress show that the other most popular plugins are:

• Contact Form 7
• Akismet
• Google Analytics
• NextGEN Gallery

13. The Most Popular Theme on WordPress Has Earned in Excess of $36 Million

The ThemeForest theme, called Avada, is the most popular premium theme on WordPress. It’s been sold to more than 600,000 WordPress site owners, at $60 per license.

Some quick math shows that this theme has brought in more than $36 million in sales since it was released.

And if $60 is more than you’re willing to spend on a WordPress theme, there are 8,626 free themes available to download in the WordPress repository.

14. WordPress Doesn’t Have a CEO

You might assume that the founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, is the CEO of the organization. After all, Mr. Mullenweg even created the WordPress Foundation, a non-profit that works to protect the freedom of the WordPress open-source license.

But ever since the initial release of WordPress in May of 2003, the organization has never had a CEO. Rather, thousands of volunteer developers from all over the world create and maintain the software that runs the WordPress platform.

15. To Date, 1,074 WordCamps Have Been Held Around the World

WordCamps are casual conferences that bring WordPress users from around the world together into a learning environment.

There have been 1,074 of these events in 368 cites and 65 countries across six different continents. As you can clearly see, the WordPress community knows how to work well together for the benefit of all.

16. The Inaugural WordCamp Happened In 2006

WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg was the first one to organize a WordCamp nearly 15 years ago. And much like recent WordCamps, every speaker at the event was a volunteer.

Just a little more than a decade later in 2018, a WordCamp was held in Europe that hosted nearly 2,000 people from 79 different nations. 

17. All WordPress Core Releases Are Named After Jazz Musicians

Ever since 2003 when WordPress version 1.0 was released, the developers of WordPress have shown their love for jazz. They do this by naming every critical WordPress release after a well-known jazz musician.

Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, and Miles Davis are a few of the jazz heroes honored by the WordPress developers. Art Tatum is who inspired the name of the latest WordPress version release, 5.8 Tatum.

18. You Can Use WordPress In 205 Different Languages

According to recent statistics put out by WordPress, a site owner is now able to build their site in any of 205 different languages. And even if your language isn’t on the list, you can use a WordPress plugin such as Weglot to expand the list of languages to 100 more.

19. 71% Of All Pages On WordPress Are In English

Even within excess of 200 different languages to choose from, the vast majority of WordPress users prefer to publish content in English, as this statistic confirms.

Behind English, the most commonly used languages are:

• Spanish at 4.7%
• Indonesian at 2.4%
• Portuguese at 2.3%
• Russian, French and German at between 1 – 1.5%

20. WordPress Developers Make $53,000 Per Year, On Average

A statistic on Payscale.com shows that WordPress developers earn about $9,000 per year more than other types of website designers.

WordPress developers even earn a bit more than the average web developer.

A typical WordPress site will cost anywhere between $2,000 to about $15,000, depending on the specific needs of the client. Site stats on WordPress list website examples that cost up to $100,000 to build.

21. 25% Of WordPress Site Owners Earn a Full-Time Living With Their Websites

People who choose the right products and services, and know-how to market them, make good money using WordPress.

Recent WordPress statistics reveal that, for one out of four WordPress users, their primary income is earned from their WordPress site.

22. Almost 250,000 WordPress-Related Freelance Projects Were Done on Freelancer.com In 2015

According to WordPress data, 2014 was when the platform really took its hold on the market.

By 2015, over $60 million worth of freelance projects related to WordPress were done on the site Freelancer.com. Back then, WordPress design and development was already the most-requested skill on the platform. 

In August of 2021, you can routinely find around 1,200 current WordPress-related freelance gigs on the site.

23. WordPress Was (Sort Of) Used to Guide a Missile

The TV series called Strike Back used code from the post.js file in WordPress for guiding a missile. After WordPress coders noticed this peculiar reference, they implemented a line of code that says “weapon locked” into the file.

24. Celebrities, Governments, and Institutions of Higher Learning Use WordPress

Stats on WordPress.com proudly show a list of platform users that are familiar to most. These include:

• Harvard Blogs
• Cornell University
• Sweden’s official website
• Jay-Z
• Rolling Stones
• Russell Brand
• Woody Allen
• Serena Williams
• A lot more

Every single one of these personalities and entities made the choice for WordPress as their CMS.

25. The WordPress Support Forum Contains In Excess Of 2 Million Topics

According to WordPress stats, their official support forum covers over 2 million different topics.

Regardless of if you’re completely new to WordPress web design and development, chances are that you’ll find solutions to any issues you confront.

26. There are Over 70,000 Websites Blacklisted By Google Every Week

The WordPress platform puts security as a top priority. WordPress developers have created powerful security tools like iThemes Security Pro that help keep your site safe from hacks and malicious attacks that could land your site on the Google blacklist.

Of the 70,000 websites blacklisted by Google on a weekly basis, almost 50,000 of them were put on the list due to phishing attempts. The remaining 20,000 are blacklisted due to malware issues that arise when a WordPress site is successfully hacked.

To keep your site safe, make sure you’re running a WordPress security plugin.

27. 23% Of Users Haven’t Installed the Latest WordPress Version

This is a scary statistic for security.

WordPress does a good job at encouraging its users to keep their core software updated to the latest version at all times. Yet not even one in four users are using the current WordPress version.

Not only does this put a site at a competitive disadvantage, but it’s a major security risk that can lead to backdoor hacks and data breaches.

Make sure to keep your WordPress version updated at all times.

28. Of Hacked WordPress Sites, 39% Were Running Outdated Versions

This statistic demonstrates how dangerous it is to run your site on an outdated software version.

The new updates to WordPress always include fixes to bugs and vulnerabilities discovered in prior versions. This greatly increases overall security when the new version is installed on your site.

29. Plugins and Themes Cause 98% of Vulnerabilities In WordPress

A recent study shows plugins are the biggest security threats for the WordPress platform. A different study uncovered that about 98% of known WordPress vulnerabilities were caused by themes and plugins.

But even more shocking is that the top ten plugins with the most reported vulnerabilities include two popular e-commerce plugins and two different plugins that are intended for security.

Make sure to do your research before you install a theme or plugin. And after you do, make sure to always keep them updated when new releases are available.

30. The Panama Papers Leaks Were Caused By a Plugin Vulnerability

The controversial Panama papers leak was one of the most critical data breaches in our history. And it can be directly attributed to a poor choice in plugins.

The breach was discovered in the WP SMTP plugin that stored users’ email addresses and login information in plain text with the site’s database. Over 4.8 million people had their critical data stolen due to this plugin vulnerability.

The Stats Tell the Story

If WordPress never came into existence, other website builders like Squarespace and Wix would have probably never been born. But there are many rock-solid reasons why WordPress remains the king of content management systems.

The WordPress stats we’ve uncovered today show just how widely used the platform is, even 18 years after it was first released. And beyond that, they show that WordPress is here to stay for the long haul.

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