How many websites still use WordPress?

The Dominance of WordPress: A Statistic That Speaks Volumes

Over 43.4% of all websites on the internet run on WordPress—making it the most widely used content management system in history. This staggering figure, confirmed by multiple authoritative sources including WordPress.com Blog and ThemeHunk, underscores a digital reality: nearly half the web is built on a single platform.

Yet behind this dominance lies a growing tension—the very flexibility that made WordPress popular now fuels its biggest weaknesses. As small businesses rely on it more than ever, they’re increasingly burdened by plugin overload, outdated versions, and security risks.

• 43.4% of all websites use WordPress (WordPress.com Blog, April 2025)
• 61.3% of CMS-powered sites are on WordPress (WordPress.com Blog, April 2025)
• 37.6% of users run outdated versions (Colorlib, January 2026)
• 2% of plugins account for 99% of vulnerabilities (Digital Silk, 2024)
• Over 59,000 free plugins available—many untested or poorly maintained

This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about frustration, risk, and wasted time. A plumber in Halifax may spend hours managing plugins instead of serving clients. A law firm may miss leads because their site’s security patch was never applied.

The data reveals a clear shift: while WordPress remains dominant, its complexity is creating demand for smarter alternatives.

Enter AI-driven platforms like AI Business Sites—a complete, done-for-you system that eliminates the plugin chaos and maintenance burden. Instead of juggling 50+ tools, small businesses get a fully automated AI ecosystem—built in, trained on their own knowledge, and working from day one.

The future isn’t just about building websites. It’s about running intelligent, self-updating business systems—without ever touching code.

And that’s exactly what’s happening.

Next: The Hidden Costs of WordPress Complexity — and Why Simplicity Is the New Competitive Edge

The Hidden Costs of WordPress: Plugin Chaos and Maintenance Burden

Despite its dominance, WordPress is becoming a liability for small businesses. While 43.4% of all websites run on the platform, the very flexibility that made it popular now fuels a growing crisis of complexity, security risk, and operational fatigue—especially for non-technical owners.

The reality? Managing a WordPress site is no longer just about content. It’s a full-time technical operation.

• 59,557 free plugins and 11,720 free themes create endless customization—but also endless maintenance.
• 37.6% of users run outdated versions, exposing sites to known vulnerabilities.
• 2% of plugins account for 99% of security flaws, making plugin selection a high-stakes gamble.
• 1.1 million sites had malicious files in 2023 alone, according to the Wordfence 2024 Security Report.

These aren’t abstract risks. They’re real, costly consequences. A single unpatched plugin can compromise your entire site—your data, your SEO, your reputation.

“Even a brand new fresh out of the box device gets a complete wipe and image where I work. Instead of fucking around with potentially corrupt, or bloatware infested images we just start from a straight fresh Microsoft image.”
— Top comment, Reddit r/sysadmin (2026)

This sentiment echoes across small business owners: the system is so fragile, they’d rather start over than fix it.

The result? Time, money, and frustration—all while the site sits idle or generates zero leads.

Small business owners aren’t web developers. They’re plumbers, lawyers, dentists, and accountants. They don’t want to spend hours updating plugins, chasing security patches, or debugging broken features. Yet that’s exactly what WordPress demands.

Even when a site does launch, it often fails to deliver. A plumbing business in Halifax, for example, spent $6,000 on a WordPress site with 10 pages—only to get zero organic traffic and no leads. The site was a digital brochure, not a business engine.

This is where the hidden cost emerges: not just the time and money spent on maintenance, but the missed revenue from a website that doesn’t work.

While WordPress powers nearly half the web, its complexity is no longer sustainable. For businesses that want results—not technical debt—there’s a smarter path forward.

The next section reveals how AI-powered platforms like AI Business Sites eliminate plugin chaos entirely—delivering a complete, automated business system from day one.

A Smarter Alternative: AI Business Sites as the Next Evolution

43.4% of all websites still run on WordPress—yet many of them are stuck in a cycle of maintenance, plugin chaos, and missed opportunities. While WordPress remains dominant, its complexity is becoming a liability for small businesses that need results, not technical headaches.

The truth? Most WordPress sites are underperforming. With 37.6% of users on outdated versions and 2% of plugins responsible for 99% of vulnerabilities, the platform’s flexibility comes at a steep cost—security risks, performance issues, and time spent managing updates instead of growing the business.

“The real story isn’t just how many websites WordPress powers—it’s who’s using it, what they’re building, and why that number keeps growing after two decades.”
— Nick Schäferhoff, WordPress.com Blog (April 2025)

This is where the next evolution begins.

For small business owners, WordPress has become a double-edged sword: - 85+ pages live at launch—most web agencies deliver only 8–15 - 14 new SEO pages generated monthly—no manual effort required - All AI tools pre-configured and working from day one—no plugin setup, no integration headaches

The pain points are real: - ❌ Manual content creation drains time and budget
- ❌ Plugin overload slows sites and invites security breaches
- ❌ Disconnected tools mean leads get lost in spreadsheets
- ❌ Outdated versions expose businesses to cyber threats

But the solution isn’t more complexity—it’s a smarter, automated alternative.

AI Business Sites isn’t a website builder. It’s a done-for-you AI ecosystem—built by AIQ Labs, with 200+ real-world systems deployed across 10+ industries.

When you sign up, you get: - ✅ A custom-built website (Next.js, React, schema-marked)
- ✅ 85+ pages live on day one—25–30 hand-built, 60 AI-generated
- ✅ Full AI workforce: FAQ Bot, Voice Agent, Team Assistant, Leads Inbox
- ✅ Automated monthly content: 8 blogs, 4 service/location pages, 2 listicles
- ✅ Daily and weekly business reports delivered by email

No code. No configuration. No technical skills needed.

“Small businesses seeking faster deployment, lower maintenance, and higher ROI should evaluate AI-powered website builders that integrate SEO, content generation, and lead capture natively.”
— Digital Silk (2024)

Unlike DIY platforms or agencies that sell you a site and then charge for every add-on, AI Business Sites delivers everything in one package: - One knowledge base powers every AI tool—no data silos
- One admin panel controls everything—no switching between apps
- One monthly fee covers hosting, AI, content, reports, and support

It’s not just a website. It’s your AI-powered business operating system—ready to work the moment it goes live.

And unlike WordPress, where 472 million sites are running outdated software, AI Business Sites ensures your system is always current, secure, and optimized—no manual updates required.

This isn’t a replacement for WordPress. It’s the next step: a smarter, automated, results-driven alternative—built for the real needs of small businesses in 2025 and beyond.

Next: How AI Business Sites turns your website into a lead-generating machine—without a single line of code.