Did you know that WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system, recently turned 20? For two decades, it has revolutionised the way websites are built and managed, making it easier for all businesses and individuals to build a professional online presence. Beginning as a blogging site, the platform has grown to be a powerful and adaptable content management system, powering over 40% of the internet and attracting millions of users globally for anything from basic blogs to complex, large-scale e-commerce sites.

In this article, we’ll delve into twenty intriguing facts about WordPress at 20. Discover how it has evolved, the incredible milestones it has achieved, and the impact it has had on the digital landscape.

Four Out of Every Ten Websites

Millions of websites globally utilise this platform as their content management system (CMS), making it the most popular CMS in the world. Data estimates that about 43% of all websites on the internet are powered by this system, or approximately four out of every ten websites. This includes, but is not limited to, blogs, business websites, online stores, news websites, and even some of the most well-known brands in the world.

More Than 500 New Sites Every Day

The immense popularity of this platform is continuing to grow, with hundreds of new websites being added to the top 10 million daily. Every day, more than 500 new WordPress sites join the ranks of the top 10 million websites worldwide, demonstrating the platforms’ continuing popularity, user-friendliness and versatility, which enables businesses and individuals to craft distinctive and captivating websites in a short period of time.

An Estimated 409 Million People View More Than 20 Billion Pages Each Month

The platform sees incredible amounts of content production and engagement each month, with its sites being accessed by a global audience. An estimated 409 million people view more than 20 billion pages each month, demonstrating the sheer size of the website creation community and how essential it is to have a strong web presence.

70 Million Posts Monthly

WordPress.com is a hosted version of the platform, which provides people with the ability to create websites without having to bother with hosting and technical setup. Every month, millions of users all over the globe generate a huge amount of content in the form of blog entries, news stories, and user remarks, with roughly 70 million posts and 77 million remarks being generated on a monthly basis.

New Content Every Second

Considering the huge number of users worldwide, it’s not unexpected that something is being posted to the platform every single second, including blog entries, news stories, and user remarks, demonstrating the sheer size of the global website management community.

The Cost of Development

It has taken a substantial amount of investment in terms of time, effort and resources to elevate the platform to its position as one of the most celebrated open-source projects in the world. It is estimated that approximately 240 years of human labour, 886,000 lines of code, and £13 million have been invested into the development of the website management system.

The Platform is Not Owned

The platform, which was created by co-founder Matt Mullenweg, does not belong to any company or any single person. To ensure that the program stayed open source, a nonprofit called the WordPress Foundation was created and this organisation is responsible for maintaining the platform under an open-source licence.

30% of Online Stores

A feature-rich ecommerce plugin, WooCommerce, is utilised by businesses to operate and control their web-based stores. It is believed that WooCommerce is the largest e-commerce platform on the internet, powering an estimated 30% of all online stores.

60,000 Plugins

Plugins are a crucial part of website management, granting extra functions and capabilities to customise and improve websites. The plugin directory offers over 60,000 plugins at no additional cost, so there is almost certainly a plugin to suit any requirement you have for your website.

The Most Sought After Plugin

One of the most commonly used SEO plug-ins for the platform is Yoast SEO. Yoast SEO has really taken over the market, and has become the go-to choice for anyone looking to implement SEO-based plugins, becoming the most popular plugin of all time.

More Than 33 Million Downloads

The platform is constantly in a state of development with new updates and features being added frequently. Given the more than 33 million downloads of WordPress 6.2 since its release, it is clear that this platform is widely popular and users are eager to stay up-to-date with the latest features and security patches.

Only Half of Users Use The Most Recent Version

Only half of users have updated their sites to the most recent version. This is most likely due to the sheer number of people and businesses using the platform, but not having the most recent and updated version leaves users open to security risks.

6% of Users Are on Versions 4.9 or Lower

Concerningly, an estimated 6% of platform users have not upgraded beyond version 4.9, which is no longer supported by the core development team. Consequently, these users are not receiving the necessary security updates and bug fixes, leaving them exposed to potential hacking or other security vulnerabilities.

Half of Compromised Websites Operate an Out-of-Date Version

It has been demonstrated that a considerable number of websites are vulnerable to hacking when running outdated software. According to Sucuri.net’s 2022 Hacked Website Report, nearly half of the websites that have been compromised were operating with an outdated version of the platform, demonstrating the importance of updating your system to protect against security risks.

Kept Out Half a Trillion Spam Posts

Website owners, especially those that use content management systems, are constantly challenged by spam. Akismet is an anti-spam plugin that has had tremendous success, having blocked more than 500 billion spam posts since being integrated into the platform. This is a clear indication of the sheer size of the spam problem that exists on the web, and the significance of having a reliable spam protection solution in place, particularly if you have a business website or rely upon your website to deliver your services.

More Than 1,000 WordCamps Globally

Over 1,100 local WordCamps have been held in various places all over the world, including 385 cities across 65 different countries. These events are organised by members of the platform community and are a great chance for users, developers, and fans to learn, connect, and exchange their experiences with other users, showing the sheer number of committed and engaged WordPress users worldwide.

Most Popular CMS

According to a study by CodeinWP, WordPress is the most popular CMS among the top 100 blogs in the world, with 61% of them using it. This is a testament to the power and flexibility of WordPress, as some of the world’s biggest blogs across a range of industries and subjects rely on it to manage their content.

Original Function

WordPress was not originally intended to be a content management system, as it was actually created as a blogging platform in 2003. However, due to its flexibility and ease of use, it quickly evolved into a powerful CMS that is now used to create all types of websites.

45,000 Searches For WordPress Hosting

Every month, 45,000 searches related to the platform and its hosting capabilities are conducted across the world each month, demonstrating that users are actively seeking solutions that are tailored to this platform.

Two Million Monthly Searches

A well-known figure in the tech field, the platform is the subject of over 2 million global searches every month. Most of these searches involve how to use the platform or resolving common issues, but there are still 9,000 searches for “what is WordPress?” every month, signifying that there are many individuals who are new to the platform, 20 years after it was first launched.

Upgrade Your Website with Our Web Design Services

20 years after it was first released, WordPress continues to be one of the most popular, adaptable and useful content management systems available. That’s why many of the websites that we create, launch and host are built on WordPress and are constantly monitored to ensure the best possible website performance for all our clients.

Our experienced team stays up-to-date with the latest updates and plugins to ensure the constant security of your website and
our fast and reliable website hosting can be combined with our custom-built website services, so that your business can access all the website development services that you need all in one place.

If you want to find out more about our web hosting services, please contact us on 0121 308 0219 to discuss moving, developing, or hosting your website.