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As of 29 September 2026, W3Techs reports that WordPress is used by 40.2% of all websites it measures. Among websites for which W3Techs identifies a content management system (CMS), WordPress’s share is 58.7%. These percentages answer different questions: the first uses all websites as its denominator; the second counts only sites with a known CMS.
How many websites use WordPress in 2026?
W3Techs’ report dated 29 September 2026 puts WordPress’s usage at 40.2% of all websites in its survey. The same report gives WordPress a 58.7% share of websites with an identified CMS. The figures are not interchangeable: CMS market share excludes sites for which no CMS is identified, while all-site usage does not.
W3Techs says its reports are updated daily, so these are a dated snapshot rather than a permanent measure. Check the current WordPress usage statistics when citing or relying on the figures.
What is WordPress’s share among the most highly ranked sites?
W3Techs also reports WordPress’s share within ranking bands. Each percentage below applies only to websites in that band for which a CMS is known; it is not the percentage of every website in the band.
#1 Best Overall
| W3Techs ranking band | WordPress share of sites with a known CMS |
|---|---|
| Top 1,000,000 | 48.6% |
| Top 100,000 | 50.9% |
| Top 10,000 | 51.4% |
| Top 1,000 | 50.4% |
All four values are from W3Techs’ report dated 29 September 2026. Because their denominator is known-CMS sites within each ranking band, they should not be read as WordPress’s share of all sites in those rankings.
How to interpret the WordPress statistics
Usage percentage counts all websites
The 40.2% figure is WordPress’s reported usage among all websites in the W3Techs survey. It is the clearest of these figures for answering, “What percentage of websites use WordPress?”
CMS market share counts sites with an identified CMS
The 58.7% figure uses a narrower population: websites where a CMS has been identified. It answers, “Among sites known to use a CMS, what share use WordPress?” Its higher value does not conflict with 40.2%; the denominator is smaller and different.
Ranking figures are conditional, not a separate overall estimate
The ranking breakdowns apply the known-CMS denominator separately to sites in each rank band. They describe WordPress’s position within those subsets, not adoption across the entire web.
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W3Techs identifies its reporting as daily updated and links to methodology and historical trends, but the cited comparison page does not establish enough detail to characterize its full measurement method here. These figures should therefore be attributed to W3Techs and dated, rather than described as a census or assumed to represent every website in an independently verified way.
What WordPress.org says about its reach and configuration data
WordPress.org’s About page describes WordPress as used by “over 43% of all sites across the web.” That is an undated project-site statement, not a dated September 2026 estimate. It should not be directly compared with W3Techs’ dated 40.2% figure as if the two shared a measurement date and method.
The official WordPress statistics page presents configuration snapshots covering WordPress versions, PHP versions, database versions, and languages. It describes the charts as “a snapshot of the systems and configurations the WordPress community is running.” Because the figures can change and are not established here as readable current percentages, consult the live page and note the date when using a particular distribution.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.WordPress background and security context
Origins, technology, and license
WordPress.org says WordPress began in 2003, when Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg created a fork of b2/cafelog. The project describes WordPress as built on PHP and MariaDB and licensed under GPLv2 or later. These are project background facts, distinct from adoption estimates.
Support policy favors the latest version
WordPress.org’s security guidance says only the latest WordPress version is officially supported. Fixes may be backported to older versions as a courtesy; that should not be taken to mean every older installation receives equivalent ongoing support. The page also directs vulnerability reports through separate confidential channels for core, plugins, and themes.
Quick Recap
Sources and dates
- W3Techs WordPress usage statistics — report dated 29 September 2026; the reporting page says it updates daily.
- WordPress.org About — project description, history, technology, and license; its “over 43%” statement is undated.
- WordPress.org Statistics — live configuration chart categories and snapshot description.
- WordPress.org Security — official support and vulnerability-reporting guidance.
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