WordPress has held the dominant share of the content material administration techniques (CMS) market because it was launched in 2003.

At present, the favored platform stands at 62.2% market share, in keeping with W3Techs, which gives probably the most respected and reliable knowledge supply. However within the final two years, WordPress has seen it’s market share begin to cut back for the primary time.

On this report, you’ll study concerning the measurement of the CMS market, the way it has developed over the previous decade, how completely different content material administration techniques stack up in opposition to each other, and why this issues for somebody working in search engine marketing.

How Massive Is The CMS Market?

In accordance with W3Techs, 70.2% of internet sites have a CMS, and Netcraft stories 1.13 billion stay web sites.

From this, we will assume that the present market measurement for content material administration techniques is roughly 793 million web sites.

High 10 CMS By Market Share (Globally)

Information from W3Techs, November 2024

What Is The Most Extensively Used CMS?

*Graphs are separated as a result of dominance of the WordPress market share.

• WordPress’s market share has decreased by almost 5% within the final two years. This might presumably proceed with the problems it has skilled this 12 months.
• Shopify’s market share took a dip of virtually 14% in 2023, nevertheless it bounced again and gained some floor this 12 months.
• Wix’s market share is on the upswing, with simply over 3% of all web sites utilizing its platform. This might be attributed to the work they do on branding.
• Joomla and Drupal are seeing a downward pattern these days, whereas Duda is gaining some momentum, which might be attributed to the efforts of leveraging influencers for his or her webinars.

WordPress has held the dominant market share virtually since its launch in 2003.

From 2013 to 2022, it skilled robust progress of 148%. WordPress then peaked at 65.2% market share again in January 2022, however, within the final two years has began to contract by almost 5%.

Between 2023 and 2024:

• Web sites with no CMS system have declined by almost 8%.
• Web sites with WordPress have elevated by simply over 1%.

WordPress Vs. Joomla Vs. Drupal Market Share

Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, November 2024

• Since 2023, Joomla has decreased its market share by almost 15%.
• Since 2023, Drupal has decreased its market share by almost 28%.

In 2013, Joomla and Drupal used to carry 15.9% of the CMS market share, however they’ve slumped to three.6%.

This decline has seen them drop from positions 2 and three to five and 6, as Wix and Squarespace have risen and at last outdated them in 2022.

That’s fairly a decline for Joomla, which could not have had the identical market share as WordPress, however as much as 2008, it had extra search curiosity, in keeping with Google Tendencies.

Screenshot from Google Tendencies, November 2024

Why did these well-liked content material administration techniques decline a lot?

It’s almost certainly as a result of power of third-party help for WordPress with plug-ins and themes, making it rather more accessible.

The expansion of web site builders, resembling Wix and Squarespace, signifies that small companies desire a extra easy managed answer. And so they have began to nibble on market share from the underside.

Web site Builders Market Share: Wix Vs. Squarespace

Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, November 2024

• Wix has elevated by 18.4% this 12 months, from January to November.
• Squarespace has elevated by 3.3% this 12 months from January to November.

If we have a look at the web site builders, their progress is a powerful indication of the place the market may go sooner or later.

From 2023 to 2024:

• Shopify grew by 15.8%.
• Wix grew by 25%.
• Squarespace grew by 3.3%.

After we examine the 5% contraction of WordPress during the last 12 months to the opposite gamers, we have now to ask, why is that taking place?

SaaS internet builders resembling Wix and Squarespace don’t require coding information and provide a hosted web site that makes it extra accessible for a small enterprise to get an internet presence rapidly.

No want to rearrange a internet hosting answer, set up a web site, and arrange your individual e-mail. An internet builder neatly does all this for you.

WordPress will not be referred to as an advanced platform to make use of, nevertheless it does require some coding information and an understanding of how web sites are constructed.

Then again, a web site builder is a a lot simpler path to market, with out the necessity to perceive what is going on within the again finish.

Take into account that, through the pandemic, a lot of the inhabitants labored from dwelling, resulting in extra curiosity and a spotlight positioned on how being on-line might be a supply of earnings.

Elementor

Elementor is a WordPress-based web site builder that has a market share of 16.5% and is utilized by 11.6% of all web sites.

Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, November 2024

It additionally has considerably extra market share than Wix and Squarespace mixed.

Nonetheless, as a result of it’s a third-party plug-in and never a CMS, it isn’t listed within the High 10 CMS above.

If we examine the quantity of visitors to the variety of CMS, we will see that WordPress is within the golden part, up and to the best, clearly favored by websites with extra visitors.

Joomla suits into a distinct segment of fewer installs however extra high-traffic websites, indicating that extra skilled websites are utilizing it.

Squarespace and Wix are to the left and down, highlighting that they’re put in on fewer websites with much less visitors.

This can be a robust indication that they’re used extra by small web sites and small companies.

Elementor bridges the hole between the 2 and has the burden of the WordPress market share, however is utilized by websites with much less visitors.

The urge for food is rising for drag-and-drop, plug-and-play options that make having an internet presence accessible for anybody. That is the area to observe.

Ecommerce CMS Market Share: WooCommerce Vs. Shopify

Screenshot from W3Techs, November 2024

• WooCommerce has a market share of 13.1%.
• Shopify has a market share of 6.6%.

The ecommerce CMS area echoes a sample just like that of web site builders.

Technically, WooCommerce will not be a standalone CMS, however a WordPress plug-in – which is why it doesn’t seem within the High 10 CMS knowledge desk.

Nonetheless, it’s important to the ecommerce area, so it’s price contemplating and mentioning.

9.2% of all current web sites use WooCommerce.

Wanting on the distribution, we will see a transparent sample emerge. Compared to different ecommerce CMS platforms, WooCommere is dominant.

It has extra market share than its rivals mixed: Magento + OpenCart + PrestaShop + Shopify = 8.8% market share.

Screenshot from W3Techs, November 2024

Smaller websites may favor WooCommerce, nevertheless it has the WordPress platform’s weight for market entry and, due to this fact, extra installs – very similar to Elementor.

Shopify has extra market share, however the visitors ranges are just like WordPress.

Shopify noticed progress through the pandemic, by 52.9% from 2020 to 2021 after which 26.9% from 2021 to 2022 – way over some other platform. After that, it retracted in 2023, however in 2024 has come again to the identical market share as 2022.

Why Does CMS Market Share Matter To Somebody Working In search engine marketing?

WordPress retains its dominance within the CMS market share, however web site builders resembling Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify are on the rise, indicating the place market progress lies, particularly for small companies.

If extra small companies are switching to web site builders, understanding the restrictions and intricacies of those platforms for search engine marketing might be a aggressive benefit.

Shopify is put in on 4.6% of all web sites (not simply websites with a CMS) – a complete potential market of 51.98 million web sites.

With their growing market share, specializing in Shopify search engine marketing might be a strategic transfer for an search engine marketing skilled.

Equally, specializing in Wix and Squarespace is a solution to differentiate your self from the competitors.

WordPress is perhaps dominant now, however that additionally signifies that many different individuals are servicing that particular CMS.

Aligning with a extra area of interest CMS could be a strategic transfer for brand spanking new consumer alternatives.

Extra assets:

All knowledge collected from W3Techs, November 2024, except in any other case indicated.

W3Tech samples its knowledge from the Alexa high 10 million and Tranco high 1 million. Web sites with no content material or duplicate websites are excluded. Limitations of the info supply imply that hosted Tumblr and WordPress.com websites are usually not included, as the info assortment doesn’t rely subdomains as multiple website.

Featured Picture: Genko Mono/Shutterstock