Interesting WordPress Statistics to Know About in 2023

WordPress, now 19 years old, started as a simple blogging tool and has now matured into a robust content management system (CMS) that powers a significant portion of the internet. Its open-source nature and flexibility have made it the go-to platform for a diverse range of websites, from eCommerce stores and blogs to news sites and membership platforms. With thousands of plugins at its disposal, WordPress offers endless possibilities, allowing users to customize their websites to their heart’s content.

As we navigate through WordPress Statistics in 2023, we’ll uncover intriguing facts about its usage, security, and the vibrant community that surrounds it. We’ll delve into how WordPress has become a cornerstone of the internet, powering a significant percentage of all websites. We’ll also explore its dominance in the CMS market.

WordPress Usage Insights

The popularity of WordPress is evident in the fact that the keyword “WordPress” is searched globally 2.3 million times every month. Furthermore, WordPress.com reports that over 409 million people read more than 20 billion pages each month.

Source: WordPress.com

Global Usage WordPress Statistics

WordPress continues to dominate the web in 2023 as the most popular content management system (CMS). WordPress powers 63.1% of all the websites whose content management system is known, which equates to 43.1% of all websites.

Source: W3tech

WordPress Market Share Breakdown

WordPress continues to dominate the CMS market with a staggering share of 65.2%. This is a significant increase from the previous year, demonstrating the platform’s growing popularity and widespread adoption. WordPress’s closest competitor, Shopify, holds a mere 3.2% of the market, highlighting the significant gap between the two platforms. Joomla and Drupal, once popular CMS platforms, have seen a decline in their market shares, standing at 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively.

Source: WPBeginner

Breakdown by Region

North America leads the pack with a whopping 48.3% of websites powered by WordPress. Europe follows closely behind with 42.7%, while Asia accounts for 39.8% of WordPress usage. These statistics highlight the global reach of WordPress and its widespread adoption across different regions.

Source: BuiltWith

Growth Trends Over the Years

The growth of WordPress over the years has been impressive. From powering just 15.8% of websites in 2012, WordPress’s share has grown to 43.1% in 2023. These WordPress statistics reflect the platform’s increasing popularity and the expanding digital landscape.

Source: W3Techs

Breakdown by WordPress Version

As of July 2023, the majority of WordPress users have adopted the latest version:

• Version 6: 71.7%
• Version 5: 22.1%
• Version 4: 5.7%
• Version 3: 0.4%
• Version 2: less than 0.1%

This chart shows the percentage of websites using various versions of WordPress. As you can see, the majority of WordPress users have adopted the latest version, with Version 6 being used by 71.7% of websites.

Source: W3tech

WordPress and High-Traffic Websites

Contrary to what some may believe, WordPress is not just for small sites. Data from BuiltWith shows that WordPress holds a 38.03% market share among sites in the Quantcast Top 10k (a list of the 10,000 most-trafficked websites on the internet). This figure indicates that WordPress is even more popular among highly-trafficked websites.

Source: BuiltWith

Do you want to know which hosting provider is best for High-traffic websites?

Read 10 Best Sites For High-Traffic WordPress Hosting In 2023

Breakdown by WordPress Subcategories

WordPress offers a variety of subcategories, each with its own user base. The most popular subcategories as of July 2023 are:

• WooCommerce: 20.5%
• Elementor: 20.1%
• WPBakery: 12.7%
• Beaver Builder: 1.1%
• 10Web Photo Gallery: 0.8%

This chart shows the percentage of websites using various WordPress subcategories. As you can see, WooCommerce and Elementor are the most popular subcategories, each being used by over 20% of websites.

Source: W3tech

PHP Version Statistics for WordPress

PHP is a server-side scripting language that is widely used in web development. Understanding the PHP version statistics for WordPress can provide insights into the compatibility, performance, and security aspects of WordPress websites.

Most Common PHP Versions Used with WordPress

As of July 18, 2023, PHP is used by 77.5% of all the websites whose server-side programming language is known. The most common PHP versions used with WordPress are:

• PHP Version 7: 64.7%
• PHP Version 5: 20.3%
• PHP Version 8: 14.8%
• PHP Version 4: 0.2%

These statistics show that the majority of WordPress websites are using PHP Version 7, followed by Version 5 and 8. Only a negligible percentage of websites are still using PHP Version 4.

Source: W3tech

Compatibility Issues and Solutions

While WordPress is compatible with PHP 5.6.20 and above, it’s recommended to use the most current PHP version for the best performance and security. Using outdated PHP versions can lead to compatibility issues with the latest WordPress updates and plugins.

To avoid these issues, WordPress users should:

• Regularly update their PHP version.
• Ensure their themes and plugins are compatible with the latest PHP version.
• Use a staging environment to test updates before applying them to the live site.

WordPress Theme Statistics

How many WordPress themes are there?

Currently, the WordPress theme directory houses a whopping 11,070 themes. This count only includes the General Public License themes available for installation through the official directory. However, the actual number of WordPress themes is much higher as hundreds of themes are not listed in this directory.

Source: WordPress

The Price Point of Themes

The median cost of a WordPress theme is $59, which is considered the golden price point for WordPress themes. However, for developers or web design companies working on multiple websites each year, theme club subscriptions are a popular choice. These subscriptions charge a set monthly or yearly fee for unlimited access to various themes. The average cost of a WordPress theme club subscription is around $145.

Source: CodeinWP

Popular WordPress Theme Stats

A few themes have managed to stand out among the thousands, garnering over a million active installations each. These include Astra, Twenty Twenty, and Twenty Seventeen. Astra is a lightweight, page-builder-friendly theme that has seen rapid growth. Twenty Twenty and Twenty Seventeen are default WordPress themes, named after their respective release years.

Other themes that have come close to the one-million mark include OceanWP, Neve, and Hello Elementor. These themes share common features: they are lightweight, compatible with page builders, and use responsive designs.

WordPress Plugin Statistics

WordPress plugins are a crucial part of the WordPress ecosystem, providing users with a wide range of functionalities to enhance their websites.

How many WordPress plugins are there?

As of 2023, there are over 60,300 plugins available in the WordPress plugin directory. This number continues to grow as more developers contribute to the platform.

Here are some interesting statistics about WordPress plugins:

• The most popular WordPress plugin are Classic Editor, Elementor Website Builder, and Yoast SEO, with over 5 million active installations.
• The second most popular plugin is Akismet, an anti-spam plugin developed by the team behind WordPress. It has over 5 million active installations.
• The total number of plugin downloads has surpassed 1.5 billion, demonstrating the significant role plugins play in the WordPress ecosystem.

These statistics highlight the importance of plugins in enhancing the functionality of WordPress websites and meeting the diverse needs of users.

Source: Kinsta, WordPress.org

Most Popular E-Commerce Plugins

1. WooCommerce: WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress e-commerce plugin. It powers over 28.19% of all online stores and is active on more than five million websites.
2. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD): EDD is another popular e-commerce solution on WordPress, particularly for selling digital products. It is active on more than 60,000 websites.

Source: Website Hosting Rating

Also read, 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Optimal Performance in 2023

WordPress Mobile Statistics 2023

With the majority of internet users accessing the web through mobile devices, ensuring your WordPress site is mobile-friendly can significantly impact your website traffic and user engagement.

Global Mobile Internet Penetration

As of April 2023, the global average internet penetration rate was roughly 64.6 percent. This ongoing development of telecommunication networks and infrastructure has directly impacted internet penetration on a global scale. Thanks to advancing mobile technology and the continuous modernization of previously less-developed regions, the number of internet users worldwide has been on the rise in recent years, reaching 5.18 billion as of April 2023

Source: Statista

WordPress Security Statistics

WordPress, being the most popular CMS, is also a common target for cyberattacks. Here are some statistics that highlight the security issues associated with WordPress:

Common WordPress Vulnerabilities

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

According to a report by Wordfence, about 47% of all WordPress vulnerabilities are Cross-Site Scripting issues. This type of vulnerability allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users.

Plugin Vulnerabilities

Plugins extend the functionality of WordPress sites, but they also introduce potential security risks. Approximately 52% of WordPress vulnerabilities are from plugins, as per the Wordfence report.

Theme Vulnerabilities

Themes are another common source of security issues. Around 11% of all WordPress vulnerabilities are related to themes.

Core Vulnerabilities

WordPress core vulnerabilities account for 37% of all security issues. These vulnerabilities are found in the main software of WordPress.

This chart shows that Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) accounts for 47% of all WordPress vulnerabilities, followed by plugin vulnerabilities at 52%. Theme vulnerabilities make up 11% of the total, while core vulnerabilities account for 37%.

Source: Wordfence

Statistics on WordPress Website Hacks

Hacked WordPress Versions

A study by Sucuri found that the majority of hacked WordPress sites in 2020 were running outdated versions of the software. About 44% of hacked sites were using an outdated version of WordPress at the time of infection.

Backdoor Access

Backdoors, which allow hackers to bypass normal authentication methods, were found in 71% of cleaned WordPress sites, according to Sucuri.

SEO Spam

SEO spam is a common consequence of WordPress hacks. Sucuri reported that 51% of all website hacks resulted in SEO spam.

Source: Sucuri

Weak Passwords

Approximately 8% of WordPress websites fall victim to hacking due to the usage of weak passwords.

Source: WPHacked

Plugins, Core, Themes Vulnerabilities

WordPress plugins, while providing a wealth of functionality and customization options, also represent a significant security concern. According to a WPScan Report, plugins are the primary source of WordPress security vulnerabilities, accounting for 52% of known issues. This is a notable figure when compared to the 37% of vulnerabilities attributed to the WordPress core and the 11% associated with WordPress themes.

One of the main reasons behind this is the prevalence of outdated plugins. These outdated plugins can serve as weak points in a website’s security, making them prime targets for hackers.

Source: Key CDN

WordPress Community Statistics

WordCamps and Meetups

WordCamps are community-organized events that bring together WordPress enthusiasts from around the globe. These events are organized by local communities and are highly informal, community-organized events put together by WordPress users. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other.

In 2023, WordCamps have been held in various locations worldwide, including Bengaluru, India, Kampala, Uganda, and Nairobi, Kenya. These events typically span a couple of days and include sessions, workshops, and contributions to WordPress. You can find the full schedule of WordCamps on the official WordCamp Central Schedule page.

Global WordPress Community

The global WordPress community is a diverse and vibrant group of individuals who contribute to the platform in various ways. This includes core development, design, mobile development, accessibility, translation, support, documentation, themes, plugins, community organization, marketing, and more.

Regular meetings are held for each contributor group, and these meetings are open to anyone who wishes to participate. These meetings are held on Slack and the schedule can be found on the Make WordPress website.

The community also organizes local meetups in various cities around the world. These meetups are a great way for WordPress enthusiasts to connect, share ideas, and collaborate on projects. The community is always welcoming new members, and there are numerous ways to get involved, regardless of your level of experience with WordPress.

Average Daily Posts and Comments

Every day, millions of WordPress users around the world contribute to the platform’s vibrant community by publishing new posts and engaging in discussions through comments. In fact, an impressive 70 million new posts are published on WordPress websites each month, showcasing the incredible amount of valuable content being created. Moreover, an average of 77 million live comments is generated every month, highlighting the active conversations happening within the WordPress ecosystem. This constant flow of fresh content and lively interactions makes WordPress a dynamic and engaging platform for both website owners and visitors alike.

Source: Truelist

Wrapping Up

After exploring these WordPress statistics, it’s clear why this content management system holds the top spot in the market. The ever-increasing percentage of websites adopting WordPress and its growing global popularity is a testament to its robust capabilities. One thing is certain – WordPress’s journey of innovation and expansion is far from over. We can expect to see even more from this powerful platform in the future.

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