The latest statistic from W3Techs make it clear that WordPress is losing marketplace stock while different platforms are unchangeable aliases experiencing beardown interest. Yet, location is logic to judge that WordPress whitethorn move around.
Quarterly Declines Since January 2025
WP Declines For 5 Consecutive Quarters
- 2025 Jan 43.6%
- 2025 Apr 43.5%
- 2025 Jul 43.4%
- 2025 Oct 43.3%
- 2026 Jan 43.0%
The supra quarterly declines, erstwhile looked astatine twelvemonth complete twelvemonth from January 2025 to January 2026 show a humble diminution of .60 percent points:
- January 2025: 43.60%
- January 2026: 43.00%
However, erstwhile you look astatine the monthly statistic starting pinch December 2025 (market stock of 43.20%) and proceed to May 2026 (market stock 41.90% ), the W3Techs information shows a diminution of 1.1 percent points. That’s almost 4 times the January 2025-26 twelvemonth complete twelvemonth diminution of 0.60 percent points.
Six Month Decline In WordPress Market Share
WordPress was already losing marketplace stock astatine a humble gait successful 2025. But the gait of diminution took a steeper driblet opening connected December 2025.
Here is the six period dependable diminution successful marketplace stock opening successful December 2025
- Dec 2025: 43.20%
- Jan 2026: 43.00%
- Feb 2026: 42.80%
- Mar 2026: 42.70%
- Apr 2026: 42.50%
- May 27, 2026: 41.90%
That’s six consecutive months of decline. The calamity of this antagonistic move successful WordPress’s marketplace stock is that WordPress conscionable released a awesome type of its package that sets successful spot each the pieces basal for plugin and taxable developers to merge AI features into WordPress, placing it connected the verge of awesome innovations that could outpace the remainder of the CMS manufacture because of the comparative size of the WordPress community.
Why Is WordPress Losing Market Share?
W3Techs statistic show that WordPress’s marketplace stock diminution began successful the 4th aft Mullenweg initiated his nationalist attacks against WP Engine.
Mullenweg’s actions included:
- Creating an anti-WP Engine website encouraging their users to wantonness WPE and motion up pinch different web hosts
- Temporarily preventing tens of thousands of WPE hosted WordPress users from updating their websites
- Requiring each contributors signing successful to their WordPress.org accounts to tick a container confirming that they were “not affiliated pinch WP Engine successful immoderate way, financially aliases otherwise.”
- Cloning premium plugins owned by WP Engine and releasing them for free.
- Preventing WP Engine labor from accessing their WordPress.org accounts.
Sentiment was not successful Mullenweg’s favor, 8% of labor of Mullenweg’s for-profit Automattic resigned. Among those who resigned were Josepha Haden Chomphosy, the executive head of the WordPress task itself.
WP Engine responded to Mullenweg’s attacks pinch a Federal suit successful October 2024, starring to a preliminary injunction against some Mullenweg and Automattic successful December 2024.
Matt Mullenweg has plentifulness of fans connected his broadside but location is intelligibly a antagonistic sentiment that persists to to this day. A caller tweet connected X brought retired galore supporters but an adjacent magnitude of detractors.
Mullenweg wrote:
“I person held my lingua for 15 months, but I can’t abide aliases normalize the ineligible unit that @wpengine is inflicting anymore.”
@danielhayesmith quoted the “held my tongue” part, reminding Mullenweg that he’s been rather vocal:
“‘held my tongue’
Brother one dream you don’t genuinely judge that because location are virtually aggregate interviews, blog posts, and tweets of you very overmuch not doing that.”
To which Matt responded that location was overmuch much that he hadn’t said:
“Oh, the things I could person said! I was trying to enactment arsenic actual and conciliatory arsenic possible. I still am.
I want what’s champion for @WordPress, and that’s not having 2 of the apical companies discarded truthful galore resources successful this.”
Among the supporters, @MattMickiewicz offered:
“…sorry you’re having to spell done this ineligible warfare. Devastating.”
Yet @davidtsolheim explained really the antagonistic sentiment generated by Mullenweg’s attacks connected WP Engine caused him to extremity recommending WordPress.
He wrote:
“Honestly your position connected the WP rumor pushed maine distant from WordPress and I haven’t recommended it successful astir 2 years because I arsenic a vendor request to spot the group starring the package I recommend.”
Only WordPress Is Losing Market Share
This arena of marketplace stock driblet is mostly a WordPress problem, it’s not an industry-wide issue. For 2026 arsenic of today, virtually each the different apical contented guidance platforms are holding dependable and growing. Only Joomla is showing a humble diminution and that’s only of 0.1 percent point.
This diminution successful WordPress marketplace stock isn’t an anomaly astatine W3Techs. Real-world information from the HTTPArchive confirms that WordPress is losing users.
The HTTPArchive Adoption metric tracks really galore unsocial websites are utilizing a circumstantial website model aliases CMS complete a fixed a clip period.
Screenshot Of HttpArchive Adoption Rate
Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace are each showing humble increases successful marketplace share.
Shopify: 0.20 Point Increase
- Jan 2026: 5.00%
- Feb 2026: 5.10%
- Mar 2026: 5.10%
- Apr 2026: 5.10%
- May 2026: 5.20%
Wix: 0.10 Point Increase
- Jan 2026: 4.20%
- Feb 2026: 4.20%
- Mar 2026: 4.20%
- Apr 2026: 4.30%
- May 2026: 4.30%
Squarespace: 0.10 Increase
- Jan 2026: 2.40%
- Feb 2026: 2.50%
- Mar 2026: 2.50%
- Apr 2026: 2.50%
- May 2026: 2.50%
Webflow: Holding Steady
- Jan 2026: 0.90%
- Feb 2026: 0.90%
- Mar 2026: 0.90%
- Apr 2026: 0.90%
- May 2026: 0.90%
Duda: Holding Steady
- Jan 2026: 0.70%
- Feb 2026: 0.70%
- Mar 2026: 0.70%
- Apr 2026: 0.70%
- May 2026: 0.70%
Astro Is Growing Exponentially
Meanwhile, the Astro website model is increasing exponentially period complete period according to stats connected BestOfJS. Astro began the twelvemonth pinch 4.59 cardinal downloads successful January and ended the period of April pinch 9.24 cardinal downloads. At this complaint of maturation it is adjacent to explanation the Astro model arsenic quickly growing.
Astro’s Rate Of Downloads
- January 4.59M
- February 5.36M
- March 7.72M
- April 9.24M
WordPress May Yet Bounce Back
The statistics published by W3Techs are difficult to ignore. It’s rather clear that WordPress’ marketplace stock is eroding. Nevertheless, WordPress precocious published a awesome update that whitethorn renew liking from users, particularly erstwhile plugin, theme, and page builder developers statesman releasing much AI-based solutions. The organization astir WordPress is strong, and galore group trust connected it for their businesses. It’s difficult to ideate a world without WordPress.
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