Since its launch in 2003, WordPress has maintained a dominant share of the Content Management Systems (CMS) market.
Currently, this popular platform holds a 64.1% market share, according to reputable data from W3Techs.
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 compare, and why this matters for someone working in SEO.
How Large Is The CMS Market?
According to W3Techs, 68.9% of websites have a CMS, and Netcraft reports 1.15 billion live hostname websites.
From this, we can estimate that the current market size for content management systems is approximately 796 million websites.
Top 10 Content Management Systems (CMS) By Market Share (Globally)
| Top 10 CMS, May 2022 | Launched | Type | Market Share | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No CMS | 33.10% | ||||
| 1 | WordPress | 2003 | Opensource | 64.10% | 42.90% |
| 2 | Shopify | 2006 | SaaS | 6.40% | 4.30% |
| 3 | Wix | 2006 | SaaS | 3.40% | 2.30% |
| 4 | Squarespace | 2004 | SaaS | 3.00% | 2.00% |
| 5 | Joomla | 2005 | Opensource | 2.50% | 1.60% |
| 6 | Drupal | 2001 | Opensource | 1.90% | 1.20% |
| 7 | Blogger | 2008 | Opensource | 1.30% | 0.90% |
| 8 | Bitrix | 1999 | Free | 1.20% | 0.80% |
| 9 | Magento | 2012 | Saas | 0.90% | 0.60% |
| 10 | Webflow | 2013 | SaaS | 0.90% | 0.60% |
Data from W3Techs, May 2022
What Is The Most Widely Used CMS?
Graphs are separated due to the dominance of the WordPress market share:
- WordPress market share has increased 16% since 2011 but declined by 2% this year.
- Wix has increased 17% this year.
- Squarespace has increased 11% this year.
WordPress has consistently held the dominant market share almost since its launch in 2003. Since 2011, this position has been relatively steady, increasing only by 16% to its current 64.1%.
Between 2011 – 2022:
- Websites with no CMS system have declined by 57%.
- Websites with WordPress have increased by 227%.
Joomla vs. Drupal vs. WordPress Market Share
- Since 2011, Joomla has decreased its market share by 77%.
- Since 2011, Drupal has decreased its market share by 69%.
Joomla and Drupal collectively once held 17% of the CMS market share, but this has slumped to 4.4%.
Website Builders Market Share, Wix vs. Squarespace
- Wix has increased 17% this year, from January to May.
- Squarespace has increased 11% this year, from January to May.
From 2011 to 2022:
- Wix grew by 3,678%.
- Shopify grew by 2,033%.
- Squarespace grew by 1,400%.
The growth of these website builders suggests a trend where the market might be headed in the future. These solutions often don’t require coding knowledge and offer a hosted environment, making it easier for small businesses to establish an online presence quickly.
Ecommerce CMS Market Share, Shopify vs. WooCommerce
- WooCommerce has a market share of 13%.
- Shopify has a market share of 6.4%.
The ecommerce CMS space shows a pattern similar to website builders. Technically, WooCommerce is a WordPress plug-in, which is why it doesn’t appear in the Top 10 CMS data table. However, it’s crucial in the ecommerce space.
8.7% of all existing websites use WooCommerce, representing a CMS market share of 13.0%. 20.3% of all websites that use WordPress also use WooCommerce.
When compared to other ecommerce CMS platforms, WooCommerce is dominant, holding more market share than competitors combined. High-traffic sites favor Magento, while WooCommerce enjoys extensive market access due to its integration with WordPress.
Why Does CMS Market Share Matter To Someone Working In SEO?
While WordPress remains dominant in CMS market share, the growth of website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify indicates where market growth is heading, particularly for small businesses.
With their rising market share, specializing in SEO for platforms like Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace could offer significant competitive advantages. WordPress may be dominant now, but that also means a larger pool of competitors.
Aligning with niche CMS platforms can be a strategic move to find new client opportunities.
More resources:
- Shopify SEO – How to Optimize Your Shopify Site for Google
- Top 6 CMS For Core Web Vitals
- How to Pick the Most SEO Friendly CMS For Your Website [Podcast]
Data sources: All data collected from W3Techs, May 2022, unless otherwise indicated.
W3Tech samples its data from the Alexa top 10 million and Tranco top 1 million. Websites with no content or duplicate sites are excluded. Limitations of the data source mean that hosted Tumblr and WordPress.com sites are not included as the data collection doesn’t count subdomains as more than one site.
Featured Image: NESPIX/Shutterstock
