WordPress has dominated the content material administration system (CMS) area since launching in 2003, and whereas it’s nonetheless the chief, the market is shifting in methods price being attentive to.
As of Might 2025, WordPress powers 43.5% of internet sites surveyed and holds a 61.2% share amongst websites that use a CMS, based on W3Techs. That’s nonetheless a commanding lead, however down practically 4 proportion factors from its 2022 peak.
For the primary time in its 20-year reign, WordPress’s market share has proven a sustained decline, and rivals like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify are quietly chipping away at its dominance.
On the identical time, the share of internet sites not utilizing any CMS has dropped from 32.3% in 2023 to twenty-eight.9% in 2025, exhibiting continued adoption of managed platforms and hosted builders.
On this report, we’ll break down the present CMS panorama, examine main platforms, and discover what these shifts imply for search engine optimisation professionals and digital entrepreneurs.
How Massive Is The CMS Market?
In keeping with W3Techs, 71.1% of internet sites have a CMS, and Netcraft studies just below 200 million dwell web sites.
From this, we will assume that the present market dimension for content material administration methods is roughly 143.5 million web sites.
High 10 CMS By Market Share (Globally), Might 2025
| CMS (as of Might 2025) | Launched | Sort | Market Share | Utilization | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No CMS | 28.9% | ||||
| 1 | WordPress | 2003 | Open supply | 61.2% | 43.5% |
| 2 | Shopify | 2006 | SaaS | 6.7% | 4.7% |
| 3 | Wix | 2006 | SaaS | 5.3% | 3.87% |
| 4 | Squarespace | 2004 | SaaS | 3.3% | 2.3% |
| 5 | Joomla | 2005 | Open supply | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| 6 | Drupal | 2001 | Open supply | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| 7 | Webflow | 2013 | SaaS | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| 8 | Adobe Programs | 2013 | Open supply | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| 9 | Tilda | 2014 | SaaS | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| 10 | Duda | 2008 | SaaS | 0.9% | 0.7% |
Information from W3Techs, Might 2025. (WooCommerce and Elementor aren’t listed within the desk above since they’re WordPress plugins and never standalone CMS platforms.)
*Graphs are separated because of the dominance of the WordPress market share.
WordPress
WordPress has held the dominant market share nearly since its launch in 2003.
Between 2014 and 2022, its utilization throughout all web sites grew by 105.7% – a surge that helped cement its place because the default alternative for a lot of the net.
Nonetheless, we’re seeing a market share decline by practically 5 proportion factors within the final three years.
This marks the primary sustained dip in its development trajectory. It’s a development that would proceed as easier-to-use platforms achieve floor and a few customers report frustrations with plugin compatibility, core updates, and safety administration.
Learn extra: Ought to You Nonetheless Use WordPress?
Shopify
Because the second-most fashionable CMS as we speak, and a great distance behind WordPress, Shopify market share presently stands at 6.7%
It’s utilized by 4.7% of all web sites surveyed.
Wix
Wix continues its sluggish and regular climb, powering 3.8% of all web sites.
Its development could possibly be attributed to the work they do on branding.
Squarespace
Squarespace has proven regular development over the previous decade, with its CMS market share rising from 0.3% in 2014 to three.3% in 2025, and utilization throughout all web sites rising to 2.3%.
Its development could possibly be attributed to the rising demand for low-maintenance, design-forward platforms.
Learn extra: WordPress Vs. Squarespace – Which One Is Higher?
Joomla And Drupal
Joomla and Drupal have seen a gentle decline in market share, dropping from the highest 3 to positions 5 and 6.
This shift possible displays a broader development the place extra user-friendly, SaaS-based platforms are capturing the eye of small companies and non-technical customers.
No CMS
Between 2024 and Might 2025, web sites working with out a CMS dropped by 8%, persevering with a development away from custom-coded options.
Throughout the identical interval, web sites utilizing WordPress grew by simply lower than 1%.
The decline in “no CMS” web sites alerts an ongoing development towards extra structured, manageable platforms for web site creation.
WordPress Vs. Joomla Vs. Drupal Market Share
Screenshot from W3Techs, Might 2025Since 2024, Joomla has decreased its market share by 16%, whereas Drupal has declined by 25%.
Collectively, they as soon as held 14.8% of the CMS market share in 2014 – now that determine sits at simply 3.3%.
They’ve slipped from the No. 2 and No. 3 spots to No. 5 and No. 6, overtaken by faster-growing platforms like Wix and Squarespace in 2022.
Joomla, particularly, had sturdy momentum early on – briefly surpassed WordPress in search curiosity till round 2008, based on Google Tendencies – nevertheless it hasn’t saved tempo with trendy platform calls for.
Screenshot from Google Tendencies, Might 2025Why did these fashionable content material administration methods decline a lot?
It’s almost definitely because of the power of third-party assist for WordPress with plugins and themes, making it way more accessible.
The expansion of web site builders, akin to Wix and Squarespace, signifies that small companies need a extra simple 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 W3Techs, Might 2025From January to Might this yr, Wix’s market share grew by 13%, whereas Squarespace rose by 3.1%.
If we take a look at the web site builders, their development is a robust indication of the place the market would possibly go sooner or later.
Zooming out, between Might 2024 and Might 2025, the market share of:
- Shopify grew by 6.3%.
- Wix grew by 35.9%.
- Squarespace grew by 10%.
Once we examine the two.7% market share contraction of WordPress during the last yr to the opposite gamers, now we have to ask, “What’s driving the shift?”
SaaS internet builders akin to Wix and Squarespace don’t require coding information and supply a hosted web site that makes it extra accessible for a small enterprise to get an online 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 is just not generally known as an advanced platform to make use of, nevertheless it does require some coding information and an understanding of how web sites are constructed.
Alternatively, 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.
Learn extra: Wix Modified How Web sites Are Constructed And Why You Ought to Pay Consideration
Elementor
Elementor is probably the most broadly used WordPress web page builder, put in on 17.3% of all web sites with a recognized CMS and 12.3% of alls websites surveyed (not proven under) – greater than Wix and Squarespace mixed – although it capabilities as a plugin inside WordPress, not a standalone CMS.
Screenshot from W3Techs, Might 2025Whereas not a CMS by itself, it’s a serious participant in shaping how WordPress is used.
Nonetheless, as a result of it’s a third-party plugin and never a CMS, it isn’t listed within the high 10 CMS above.
If we examine the amount of site 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 site visitors.
Primarily based on utilization amongst higher-ranked domains, Joomla matches 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 site visitors. It strongly signifies 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 site visitors.
The urge for food is rising for drag-and-drop, plug-and-play options that make having an online presence accessible for anybody. That is the area to look at.
Ecommerce CMS Market Share: WooCommerce Vs. Shopify
Screenshot from W3Techs, Might 2025WooCommerce has a market share of 12.7%, whereas Shopify has 6.7%.
The ecommerce CMS area echoes a sample much like that of web site builders.
WooCommerce powers 9% of all present web sites, making it probably the most broadly adopted ecommerce plugin by far.
It doesn’t seem in W3Techs’ high CMS checklist as a result of it’s a WordPress plugin, nevertheless it’s a key consider WordPress’s enduring reputation.
Wanting on the distribution, we will see a transparent sample emerge. Compared to different ecommerce CMS platforms, WooCommerce is dominant.
It has extra market share than its rivals mixed: Shopify (6.7%) + PrestaShop (0.9%) + OpenCart (0.6%) + Magento (0.5%) = 8.7% market share.
Screenshot from W3Techs, Might 2025Smaller websites would possibly favor WooCommerce, nevertheless it has the WordPress platform’s weight for market entry and, due to this fact, extra installs, very like Elementor.
Shopify surged throughout the pandemic, with market share rising by 52.9% from 2020 to 2021 after which 26.9% from 2021 to 2022 – way over some other platform.
It dipped in 2023 and recovered in 2024. By 2025, it held regular at 6.7%.
Why Does CMS Market Share Matter To Somebody Working In search engine optimisation?
For search engine optimisation professionals, maintaining an in depth eye on CMS market share developments is important as a result of they affect web site structure, plugin availability, and technical search engine optimisation flexibility.
Because the market fragments, one-size-fits-all optimization methods not minimize it.
WordPress continues to steer, however web site builders akin to Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify achieve traction, indicating the place market development lies, particularly for small companies.
If extra SMBs are switching to web site builders, understanding the constraints and intricacies of those platforms for search engine optimisation could possibly be a aggressive benefit.
Shopify now runs on 4.7% of all web sites surveyed (not simply websites with a CMS) – that’s a possible market of 61 million websites.
With their rising market share, specializing in Shopify search engine optimisation could possibly be a strategic transfer for an search engine optimisation skilled.
Wix and Squarespace are rising, too. As extra small companies undertake these platforms, getting fluent of their ecosystems may set you aside in a crowded market.
WordPress is likely to be dominant now, nevertheless it’s additionally the place probably the most competitors is. Generally, aligning with a extra area of interest CMS is usually a strategic transfer for brand spanking new consumer alternatives.
Extra assets:
All information collected from W3Techs, Might 2025, until in any other case indicated.
See the W3techs methodology web page for the place the information is gathered from.
Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal