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Since WordPress launched successful 2003, it’s held the ascendant stock of the Content Management Systems market.
Currently, the fashionable level stands astatine 64.1% marketplace share, according to W3Techs, which offers the astir reputable and trustworthy information source.
In this report, you’ll larn astir the size of the CMS market, however it has evolved implicit the past decade, however antithetic contented absorption systems stack up against 1 another, and wherefore this matters for idiosyncratic moving successful SEO.
How Large Is The CMS Market?
According to W3Techs, 68.9% of websites person a CMS, and Netcraft reports 1.15 billion unrecorded hostname websites.
From this, we tin presume that the existent marketplace size for contented absorption systems is astir 796 cardinal websites.
Top 10 Content Management Systems (CMS) By Market Share (Globally)
| 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?
Image from Search Engine Journal, June 2022
*Graphs are separated owed to the dominance of the WordPress marketplace share:
- WordPress marketplace stock has accrued 16% since 2011 but declined by 2% this year.
- Wix has accrued 17% this year.
- Squarespace has accrued 11% this year.
WordPress has held the ascendant marketplace stock astir since its motorboat successful 2003.
Since 2011, that presumption has been comparatively dependable – astir stagnant. In 11 years, it’s accrued lone by 16% to 64.1%.
Image from Search Engine Journal, June 2022
Between 2011 – 2022:
- Websites with nary CMS strategy person declined by 57%.
- Websites with WordPress person accrued by 227%.
Joomla vs. Drupal vs. WordPress Market Share
- Since 2011, Joomla has decreased its marketplace stock by 77%.
- Since 2011, Drupal has decreased its marketplace stock by 69%.
Joomla and Drupal betwixt them utilized to clasp 17% CMS marketplace share, which has slumped to 4.4%.
This diminution has seen them driblet from positions 2 and 3 to 5 and 6, arsenic Wix and Squarespace person risen and yet superseded them this year.
That’s rather a diminution for Joomla, which mightiness not person had the aforesaid marketplace stock arsenic WordPress but, up to 2008, had much hunt interest, according to Google Trends.
Screenshot from Google Trends, June 2022
Why did these fashionable contented absorption systems diminution truthful much?
It’s astir apt owed to the spot of third-party enactment for WordPress with plug-ins and themes, making it overmuch much accessible.
The maturation of website builders, specified arsenic Wix and Squarespace, indicates that tiny businesses privation a much straightforward managed solution. And, they person started to nibble marketplace stock from the bottom.
Website Builders Market Share, Wix vs. Squarespace
Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, June 2022
- Wix has accrued 17% this year, from January to May.
- Squarespace has accrued 11% this year, from January to May.
If we look astatine the website builders, their important maturation is simply a beardown denotation of wherever the marketplace mightiness spell successful the future.
From 2011 to 2022:
- Wix grew by 3,678%.
- Shopify grew by 2,033%.
- Squarespace grew by 1,400%.
When we comparison the 16% maturation of WordPress implicit the past 11 years to the different players, that maturation for the CMS behemoth becomes adjacent much flattened and stagnant.
Why is that happening?
SaaS web builders specified arsenic Wix and Squarespace don’t necessitate coding cognition and connection a hosted website that makes it much accessible for a tiny concern to get a web beingness quickly.
No request to put a hosting solution, instal a website, and acceptable up your ain email. A web builder neatly does each this for you.
WordPress is not known arsenic a analyzable level to use, but it does necessitate immoderate coding cognition and knowing of however websites are built.
On the different hand, a website builder is simply a overmuch easier way to market, without the request to recognize what is happening successful the backmost end.
Consider that, during the pandemic, overmuch of the colonisation worked from home, starring to much involvement and attraction placed connected however being online could beryllium a root of income.
Elementor is simply a WordPress-based website builder utilized by 17.2% of each the websites that usage WordPress.
It besides has importantly much marketplace stock than Wix and Squarespace combined.
However, due to the fact that it’s a third-party plug-in and not a CMS, it isn’t listed successful the Top 10 CMS above.
If we comparison the measurement of postulation to the fig of CMS, we tin spot that WordPress is successful the aureate section, up and to the right, intelligibly favored by sites with much traffic.
Drupal fits into a niche of less installs but much high-traffic sites, indicating that much nonrecreational sites are utilizing it.
Squarespace and Wix are to the near and down, highlighting that they are installed connected less sites with little traffic.
A beardown denotation that they are utilized much by tiny websites and tiny businesses.
Elementor bridges the spread betwixt the 2 and has the value of the WordPress marketplace share, but is utilized by sites with little traffic.
The appetite is increasing for drag-and-drop, plug-and-play solutions that marque having a web beingness accessible for anyone. This is the abstraction to watch.
Ecommerce CMS Market Share, Shopify vs. Woocommerce
Screenshot from W3 Techs.com, June 2022
- WooCommerce has a marketplace stock of 13%.
- Shopify has a marketplace stock of 6.4%.
The ecommerce CMS abstraction echoes a akin signifier to the website builders.
Technically, WooCommerce is not a standalone CMS, but a WordPress plug-in – which is wherefore it doesn’t look successful the Top 10 CMS information table.
However, it’s indispensable to the ecommerce space, truthful it’s worthy considering and mentioning.
8.7% of each existing websites usage WooCommerce, which has a CMS marketplace stock of 13.0%.20.3% of each websites that usage WordPress usage WooCommerce.
Looking astatine the distribution, we tin spot a wide signifier emerge. In examination to different ecommerce CMS platforms, WooCommere is dominant.
It has much marketplace stock than the different competitors combined:
Magento + OpenCart + PrestaShop + Shopify = 8.9% marketplace share.
Magento mightiness not person the measurement of installs, but high-traffic sites favour it – indicating that Magento is simply a CMS of prime for bigger and much nonrecreational businesses, conscionable arsenic we saw with Drupal.
Smaller sites mightiness favour WooCommerce, but it has the WordPress platform’s value for marketplace entree and, therefore, much installs – overmuch similar Elementor.
Shopify has much marketplace share, but the postulation levels are akin to WordPress.
Shopify saw monolithic maturation during the pandemic of 53% from 2020 to 2021, past 27% from 2021 to 2022, acold much than immoderate different platform.
Why Does CMS Market Share Matter To Someone Working In SEO?
WordPress retains its dominance successful the CMS marketplace stock but website builders specified arsenic Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify are connected the rise, indicating wherever marketplace maturation lies, particularly for tiny businesses.
If much tiny businesses are switching to website builders, knowing the limitations and intricacies of these platforms for SEO could beryllium a competitory advantage.
Shopify is installed connected 4.3% of each websites (not conscionable sites with a CMS): a full imaginable marketplace of 50 cardinal websites.
With their expanding marketplace share, specializing successful Shopify SEO could beryllium a strategical determination for an SEO professional.
Similarly, specializing successful Wix and Squarespace is simply a mode to differentiate yourself from the competition.
WordPress mightiness beryllium ascendant now, but that besides means that galore different radical are servicing that circumstantial CMS.
Aligning with a much niche CMS tin beryllium a strategical determination for caller lawsuit 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 information collected from W3techs, May 2022, unless different indicated.
W3Tech samples its information from the Alexa apical 10 cardinal and Tranco apical 1 million. Websites with nary contented oregon duplicate sites are excluded. Limitations of the information root mean that hosted Tumblr and WordPress.com sites are not included arsenic the information postulation doesn’t number subdomains arsenic much than 1 site.
Featured Image: NESPIX/Shutterstock
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