CMS Knowledge 2026

WordPress - why 43% of all websites rely on it

WordPress powers roughly 590 million websites worldwide. From small blogs to enterprise portals at NASA, CNN or Disney. We have worked with it since 2010 and explain what WordPress can do, where its limits are and why we use GeneratePress instead of page builders.

Updated: February 2026
43.3%
Global market share
590M+
Websites on WordPress
59,000+
Free plugins
Benefits

Why do so many businesses choose WordPress?

WordPress holds over 62% CMS market share. The nearest competitor, Shopify, manages roughly 4.5%. Joomla sits at 1.5%, Drupal below 1%. There are solid reasons for that.

WordPress is open source. No vendor lock-in, no monthly platform fees. Your data belongs to you. Want to switch hosts? No problem - it runs on any standard web hosting.

  • Open source - no license fees, full control over your website
  • 59,000+ plugins for virtually any use case
  • Massive community - quick help when problems arise
  • SEO-friendly - clean URLs, meta tags, Schema.org
  • WooCommerce: 39% of all online shops worldwide
  • Gutenberg editor, Full Site Editing, AI integration from WordPress 7.0
62%
CMS market share
4.65M
WooCommerce shops
15+
Years our experience

Source: W3Techs, February 2026

Security

Is WordPress secure enough for business websites?

Short answer: Yes. WordPress Core is extremely secure. In 2024, Patchstack reported exactly 7 core vulnerabilities - none critical. 96% of all reported security issues came from third-party plugins.

The problem is not WordPress itself. Use only trusted, actively maintained plugins with regular updates and you have a secure system. We have seen this across 15 years of client projects.

  • Only 7 core vulnerabilities in 2024 (none critical)
  • 96% of all issues come from plugins, not WordPress
  • 69.6% of reported vulnerabilities are never exploited
  • Two-factor auth, SSL, regular backups = mandatory
7
Core vulnerabilities 2024
96%
in plugins, not core
69.6%
never exploited

Source: Patchstack State of WordPress Security 2025

CMS Comparison

How does WordPress compare to Wix, Squarespace and others?

Wix and Squarespace are rental models. Nice interface, no question. But you depend on the platform. Export? Limited. SEO control? Restricted. Costs? Ongoing.

WordPress is ownership. Full control. With the right theme and solid plugins you achieve results that website builders cannot deliver. For SEO especially, the difference is night and day.

CMS Market Share Comparison
WordPress43,3%
Shopify4,5%
Wix3,7%
Squarespace2,3%
Joomla1,5%

W3Techs, February 2026

Our Theme

Why do we use GeneratePress instead of Elementor?

GeneratePress weighs under 10 KB. Elementor ships with 200-300 KB. Divi is similar. Sounds like a small difference? It means the gap between 76 and 95+ PageSpeed points at Google.

No jQuery, only 2 HTTP requests, clean WordPress-compliant code. Less code also means fewer attack vectors and fewer plugin conflicts. We have built exclusively with GeneratePress since 2010.

  • Under 10 KB (gzipped) - the lightest WordPress theme available
  • No jQuery - pure vanilla JavaScript
  • Only 2 HTTP requests in base install
  • Modular system: only loads what is actually needed
  • Full Site Editing support for the future
Theme Size Comparison (gzipped)
GeneratePress<10 KB
Astra~40 KB
Elementor~200 KB
Divi~300 KB

WP-Rocket Theme Benchmark, Kinsta 2026

Future

What does WordPress 7.0 bring in April 2026?

WordPress 7.0 ships April 9, 2026. The biggest release in years.

👥

Real-Time Collaboration

Like Google Docs. Multiple authors work simultaneously - no locking or conflicts.

🤖

AI Integration

New Abilities API for AI-assisted content creation directly in the Gutenberg editor. Already today, tools for AI-powered SEO content creation streamline editorial workflows within WordPress.

🎨

Admin Redesign

Finally. The admin area gets a contemporary design. Long overdue.

PHP 7.4 Minimum

Older PHP versions dropped. Performance and security both benefit.

Data Privacy

How does WordPress handle GDPR compliance?

WordPress itself sends no data to third parties. Problems arise from plugins and themes that load external services. Google Fonts for example: Since a German court ruling, dynamic loading can result in fines of 100-250 EUR per violation.

We consistently host all resources locally. No Google Fonts, no external CDNs, no tracking without consent. This makes WordPress fully GDPR compliant.

System fonts instead of Google Fonts (no data transfer to Google)
Cookie consent with real opt-in (no dark patterns)
All resources hosted locally - nothing loaded externally
Data processing agreements with all service providers
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About WordPress

How much does WordPress actually cost?

The software is free. Web hosting starts at 5 EUR/month, a domain at 10-15 EUR/year. Premium themes or plugins are optional. For a professional business website with 5-10 pages, budget from 2,500 EUR with us.

Can I edit my WordPress site myself?

Sure. The Gutenberg editor works like a text editor with blocks. Creating pages, inserting images, changing text - you can learn it in an afternoon. We provide training after project completion.

Is WordPress suitable for large enterprises?

The New York Times, CNN, Disney, NASA, the White House - all use WordPress. With WordPress Multisite, corporations manage hundreds of websites from a single installation. Enterprise hosting starts at about 2,000 USD/month with WordPress VIP.

Why not Wix or Squarespace instead of WordPress?

Wix and Squarespace are rental. No full export, limited SEO control, ongoing costs of 17-50 EUR/month. WordPress is yours. Runs on any server. Full control.

How often does WordPress need to be updated?

Minor updates come automatically. Major updates 2-3 times per year. Check plugins weekly. Sounds like work, takes 10 minutes. Or book a maintenance package with us.

WordPress.com or WordPress.org - which is better?

WordPress.org - the self-hosted version. Full control, all plugins, your own theme. WordPress.com is a hosted service with limitations. For professional websites, always WordPress.org.

Do I need a page builder like Elementor?

No. The Gutenberg block editor handles most requirements. Page builders make websites slow (200-300 KB extra) and create dependencies. We work with GeneratePress and custom code.

How fast can a WordPress website be?

Very fast. Under 1 second load time, PageSpeed 95-100. Key factors: theme choice (GeneratePress: under 10 KB), hosting quality and no plugin bloat. We achieve this consistently across our projects.

Planning a WordPress project?

Free initial consultation. We explain what makes sense for your project - and what does not.

WordPress CMS