WordPress is used by 43% of all websites globally. What an incredible statistic. That is almost half of all websites in existence. How did WordPress get to this point? Why is it so popular?
It is worth noting that the next most popular platforms are: Shopify, Joomla, Squarespace, Wix and Drupal. Shopify is dedicated to ecommerce. Joomla is probably the most similar to WordPress in that list. Squarespace and Wix are Saas hosted platforms. Drupal is mainly used by enterprise level projects.
Here are the reasons why WordPress is so popular:
- Quality
WordPress is extremely high quality software. It is extremely stable. It get updated with new features constantly and with security patches to ensure it is as secure as possible. - Open Source
This means that the software is free (it still needs to be hosted so there is a still a cost) and open source. This means that there is strong community behind the project and community support. - Power
They say there is a plugin for everything. In other words if there is a functionality you want to implement, you can add it with a few clicks. - Themes
There are 1000’s of premade templates you can install with a few clicks. - Powerful
There is almost nothing you can’t do with WordPress. From ecommerce all the way through to custom applications, it can be done with WordPress. - Easy to use
Powerful software, usually is hard to learn and use. However wordpress is surprisingly simple. It is still a learning curve for new users, it is generally quite accessible. - Builders
For the last few years, new website builders have come onto the market which have provided 100% flexibility in web design, with less requirement to code. - Gutenberg
There has been a new trend in content creation and that is block editors. WordPress has now upgraded its old classic editor to Gutenberg, which provides more features and flexibility. In fact it is slowly becoming a tool for completing a complete website. - Marketing
WordPress has done a great job of marketing, branding and promoting itself as an all round plaform for all types of websites.
Other platforms simply don’t have the community, easy of use, featureset and open nature of its platform. Shopify, Wix, Squarespace are close proprietary software. Joomla and harder to learn compared to WordPress and Drupal has a particularly steep learning curve.
Is WordPress for everyone? Not necessarily. Some people find that the other platforms like Squarespace and Wix easier to use and are willing to sacrifice the other significant downsides for that important advantage.