WordPress has held the dominant share of the content management systems (CMS) market since it was launched in 2003.
Currently, the popular platform stands at 62.2% market share, according to W3Techs, which offers the most reputable and trustworthy data source. But in the last two years, WordPress has seen it’s market share start to reduce for the first time.
In this report, you’ll learn about the size of the CMS market, how it has evolved over the past decade, how different content management systems stack up against one another, and why this matters for someone working in SEO.
How Large Is The CMS Market?
According to W3Techs, 70.2% of websites have a CMS, and Netcraft reports 1.13 billion live websites.
From this, we can assume that the current market size for content management systems is approximately 793 million websites.
Top 10 CMS By Market Share (Globally)
CMS (as of November 2024)
Launched
Type
Market Share
Usage
No CMS
29.8%
1
WordPress
2003
Open source
62.2%
43.7%
2
Shopify
2006
SaaS
6.6%
4.6%
3
Wix
2006
SaaS
4.5%
3.2%
4
Squarespace
2004
SaaS
3.1%
2.2%
5
Joomla
2005
Open source
2.3%
1.6%
6
Drupal
2001
Open source
1.3%
0.9%
7
Adobe Systems (Adobe Experience Manager)
2013
Open source
1.2%
0.9%
8
Webflow
2013
SaaS
1.1%
0.8%
9
PrestaShop
2008
Open source
1.0%
0.7%
10
Google Systems (Google Sites)
2008
Online application
0.9%
0.6%
Data from W3Techs, November 2024
What Is The Most Widely Used CMS?
*Graphs are separated due to the dominance of the WordPress market share.
WordPress’s market share has reduced by nearly 5% in the last two years. This could possibly continue with the issues it has experienced this year.
Shopify’s market share took a dip of almost 14% in 2023, but it bounced back and gained some ground this year.
Wix’s market share is on the upswing, with just over 3% of all websites using its platform. This could be attributed to the work they do on branding.
Joomla and Drupal are seeing a downward trend lately, while Duda is gaining some momentum, which could be attributed to the efforts of leveraging influencers for their webinars.
WordPress has held the dominant market share almost since its launch in 2003.
From 2013 to 2022, it experienced strong growth of 148%. WordPress then peaked at 65.2% market share back in January 2022, but, in the last two years has started to contract by nearly 5%.
Between 2023 and 2024:
Websites with no CMS system have declined by nearly 8%.
Websites with WordPress have increased by just 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 nearly 15%.
Since 2023, Drupal has decreased its market share by nearly 28%.
In 2013, Joomla and Drupal used to hold 15.9% of the CMS market share, but they have slumped to 3.6%.
This decline has seen them drop from positions 2 and 3 to 5 and 6, as Wix and Squarespace have risen and finally superseded them in 2022.
That’s quite a decline for Joomla, which might not have had the same market share as WordPress, but up to 2008, it had more search interest, according to Google Trends.
Screenshot from Google Trends, November 2024
Why did these popular content management systems decline so much?
It’s most likely due to the strength of third-party support for WordPress with plug-ins and themes, making it much more accessible.
The growth of website builders, such as Wix and Squarespace, indicates that small businesses want a more straightforward managed solution. And they have started to nibble on market share from the bottom.
Website Builders Market Share: Wix Vs. Squarespace
Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, November 2024
Wix has increased by 18.4% this year, from January to November.
Squarespace has increased by 3.3% this year from January to November.
If we look at the website builders, their growth is a strong indication of where the market might go in the future.
From 2023 to 2024:
Shopify grew by 15.8%.
Wix grew by 25%.
Squarespace grew by 3.3%.
When we compare the 5% contraction of WordPress over the last year to the other players, we have to ask, why is that happening?
SaaS web builders such as Wix and Squarespace don’t require coding knowledge and offer a hosted website that makes it more accessible for a small business to get a web presence quickly.
No need to arrange a hosting solution, install a website, and set up your own email. A web builder neatly does all this for you.
WordPress is not known as a complicated platform to use, but it does require some coding knowledge and an understanding of how websites are built.
On the other hand, a website builder is a much easier route to market, without the need to understand what is happening in the back end.
Consider that, during the pandemic, much of the population worked from home, leading to more interest and attention placed on how being online could be a source of income.
Elementor
Elementor is a WordPress-based website builder that has a market share of 16.5% and is used by 11.6% of all websites.
Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, November 2024
It also has significantly more market share than Wix and Squarespace combined.
However, because it’s a third-party plug-in and not a CMS, it isn’t listed in the Top 10 CMS above.