Surprising Tech Trends in WordPress and Beyond – WP Tavern

Toby Cryns
As you likely know, WordPress software powers 46% of all websites on the Internet.  I thought it would be fun to dive a bit deeper and note some trends that affect the WP community.
Since its founding in 2003, WordPress usage has risen steadily and consistently: 
WP consultants who are old enough will recall that Drupal and Joomla commanded a large share of the market early on – not anymore.
Both are down considerably since their peaks around 2015:
Getting people to update software and run security patches is difficult on any platform. WP and related tech seems to be no exception to that rule.
Almost 20% of all WP sites are running a very old version of WP, the good news is that old versions of WP are still patched for security vulnerabilities.
As we’ll see below, 3-out-of-every-4 WP installs are potentially insecure due to antiquated versions of PHP running on the server.
What’s not to love about jQuery?!  You can quickly write code that does all sorts of fancy animations and other things without knowing a whole lot about javascript.  
It’s not clear how much of this high jQuery usage is due to tech debt vs new code, but what is clear is that jQuery is one of the most-used languages in WordPress:
As you likely know, React is used to build most Gutenberg blocks, so it is now widely-used in the WP community. The story is more nuanced when looking at sites worldwide.
React seems to be gaining popularity in the top 1 million websites:
However, React usage is way down Internet-wide:
Perhaps you’ve heard of two of WP’s main competitors: Squarespace and Wix.  Well, they are both doing quite well:
Squarespace is up (mostly):
I’ve noticed in my WP consulting practice that a lot of my clients are using Hubspot Landing Page Builder in addition to WordPress – usually to host and track downloads of 1-off lead generation pdfs and related form leads. So I was curious how Hubspot’s competing product is doing.
Hubspot Landing Page Builder usage has gone down a bit recently but still maintains a notable market share:
WooCommerce and Shopify are in a head-to-head battle for the #1 e-commerce platform.  
According to BuiltWith.com, there are around 2.75 million websites using a WooCommerce checkout page (there are, apparently, also many Woo sites not using the standard checkout and/or any checkout at all).
Similarly, there are around 2.75 million Shopify sites.
Shopify usage remains high but has been decreasing since 2022:
WooCommerce e-commerce is trending similar to Shopify:
This section includes some stats I found notable due to the fact that these are products many of the small business owners and WP consultants I converse with use and recommend regularly.
Mailchimp’s usage downfall seems to coincide with its acquisition by Intuit in 2021:
Zoho Mail, meanwhile, seems to be mostly successful with its low-cost/high-feature business model.
For example, Zoho Mail usage is up quite a bit since 2020, though usage dipped a little in 2022:
Meanwhile, the old guard isn’t sleeping.  Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps for Business) is up up up:
PHP usage has been down considerably for 6 years but still powers around 35 million websites, most of which are, presumably, WP sites:
I pulled this data from reliable Internet sources and linked those sources above.  However, as with all data sets, it’s possible these sources are either incorrect or that the data doesn’t tell the whole story. 
If you notice anything in my data sets above that needs to be corrected, let me know in the comments. 
Similarly, if you find alternate data sources that tell additional stories, please let us know in the comments.
Similar to last week’s Tavern post about WP.org theme usage, data found on this page is likely best used as a fun conversation starter rather than a place to draw firm conclusions about anything. What is your reaction to this data? Did anything surprise you? Let me know in the comments below.
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Since React only runs on the editor and not the frontend of the site, does the correlation you made about the spike being from Gutenberg actually check out? I believe BuiltWith only uses data it sees and doesn’t make assumptions about what exists behind a login. I could be wrong though…
I imagine the number of WordPress sites running React on the frontend to be extremely low.
The spike in React usage is more likely from the popularity of Next.js and similar frameworks.
Kevin, That’s a great point, and you might be correct. I’m a bit out of my element here with React, specifically, so please help me to understand a bit better.
It does look like there are cases where a React Gutenberg block interacts with data on the front end in real time: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/76353771/using-react-in-gutenberg-frontend
Might that scenario be counted as React in BuiltWith stats?
In any case, I’m going to remove the bit implying that Gutenberg had anything to do with the React stats until we sort this out.
Thanks so much!
This is such a concise report and statistics. I love that Google always moves with the flow and provides solutions for current problems. WordPress is doing really well.
This report and its statistics are incredibly succinct and insightful. It’s impressive to see how Google consistently adapts to the ever-changing landscape, offering solutions to address contemporary challenges. Additionally, it’s encouraging to hear that WordPress is thriving. Their continued success is a testament to their innovation and commitment to meeting the needs of users. Overall, this news highlights the dynamism and resilience of both Google and WordPress in the digital sphere.
It’s interesting to see those trends. I’m surprised about the React usage over the Internet, maybe because of other JS framework like Vue, Quik, Svelte, Remix, etc. But more surprised about the usage of the WordPress old versions 4.x and 5.x. I think WordPress community has a lot of work to push everything to the modern tech stack (WordPress, PHP, JS, etc.).
It’s intriguing to observe these trends. I find it unexpected that React is so widely used on the Internet, especially given the presence of other JavaScript frameworks. Furthermore, it’s uplifting to see WordPress flourishing. Their ongoing achievements are a clear reflection of their innovation and dedication to fulfilling user needs. This news underscores the dynamic and resilient nature of both Google and WordPress in the digital realm.
I think the comparison between Mailchimp, Zoho mail and Google Workspace is a bit of a “apples to oranges’ comparison, as Mailchimp is an email marketing platform, while the other two are business email solutions. However, I do agree that Mailchimp’s acquisition by Intuit has turned the platform into a catch-all, bloated application, where performance has gone by the wayside.
Since React only runs on the editor and not the frontend of the site, does the correlation you made about the spike being from Gutenberg actually check out? I believe BuiltWith only uses data it sees and doesn’t make assumptions about what exists behind a login. I could be wrong though…
It’s interesting to see those trends. I’m surprised about the React usage over the Internet, maybe because of other JS framework like Vue, Quik, Svelte, Remix, etc
I was quite surprised by so wide React usage. This probably means customization is very common across WordPress users..
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