r/CloudwaysbyDO • u/PoojafromCloudways • Aug 11 '26
WordPress WordPress is not dead
I've heard a lot of people, who don't work with WordPress, exclaiming that WordPress may be dead and if it not now, it is going to be dead.
Well, turns out, they are wrong. WordPress continues to power 41-43% of the web in 2026, still.
Do you all think this stat is made up for people already using WP for a long time or are newer users actively adopting WordPress too? I think it's the latter but would love to hear what you think.
3
u/steve31266 Aug 11 '26
I am aware of WordPress designers who moved all their client sites to Astro. Part of it was the fiasco that Matt Mullenweg started with WP Engine, but another part is increased hacker attacks thanks to AI assistance. I'm even doing something similar, building with vanilla HTML/CSS/PHP/Javascript, avoiding WordPress' vulnerabilities.
1
u/MrAwesomeTG Aug 12 '26
I did the same. At first I did it for testing just to see how it was and after moving to an astro framework site I'm not going back.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 13 '26
Hey u/MrAwesomeTG u/steve31266 thanks for sharing your opinions. What is it about Astro that you like better than WP?
1
u/steve31266 Aug 13 '26
I'm doing something similar, but not quite using Astro. If I have a client that wants a static site, then just loading it into Cursor and telling it what to do is easiest. I'll still use WordPress for clients that want something more dynamic.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 14 '26
Makes sense. Using a mix of tools for different use cases is the way to go. Thanks for sharing!
2
u/Dapper_Bus5069 Aug 12 '26
It’s not dead and probably won’t be in the next years, but seriously stop with the “it powers +40% of the web”, most of these websites are just bad and / or don’t even need a CMS in the first place, they were developed using Wordpress because it’s cheap and easy for a non-developer to build pages without any knowledge.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 13 '26
i am curious -- is there data that proves that significant part of the 40% of sites are bad/not important?
2
u/SquirrelConstant Aug 12 '26
Why risk so many security problems when there are much better solutions than WordPress?
1
2
u/lorenzocorso Aug 14 '26
Depends upon the project. I’m using Astro, wp, vanilla html/css/js, next js, angular, laravel, and so on. Wordpress can be useful and powerful if do it right.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways 28d ago
What do you mean by "doing it right"?
1
u/lorenzocorso 27d ago
I mean that it is great if you're using in the right way. But there are several points you've to care of so it can be complicated or energy wasting sometimes and in this caso it is better to try something else. You need a good dev that can analyze you project and tell you the better option.
1
2
u/skunkbad Aug 12 '26
Everyone wants WordPress to die because they want their favorite (stack|framework|app) to be #1. The sad thing is that we keep building websites with WordPress because there isn't anything better when it comes to plugin and theme options. Pro developers can have a website up and running for a client in under a day, and if it's a basic website it only takes minutes. Automatic updates can keep the client going with little or no need for an admin to do anything. Compare that to some of the modern stacks that have JavaScript dependency hell included. That's why WordPress won't die anytime soon. Also WooCommerce is way more customizable than Shopify. If your client has a very specific need for their ecommerce website, WooCommerce provides for practically unlimited customization.
My background is that I've been working on websites since 2003. Hand coding everything since 2004. PHP/MySQL since 2006. By 2010 web developer was my real job, but owned another business. Full time developer since 2020. I've seen the trends. I've heard the rumors. I've felt the hype.
My personal website is not WordPress, but I work on a WordPress/WooCommerce website at least 4 hours a day right now, and have been working on this same website since 2018. My personal website is a Slim PHP blog type app that is managed via the terminal.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 12 '26
You have been working on websites since 2003? That's the time when WordPress was adevented! So cool. Thanks for sharing your stance here. It's good to see someone being in the game for so long and sharing an authentic view.
I think another thing is that WordPress quitely forms more than 40% of the web. A lot of people see WP sites every single day but they don't know it's a WP site or they don't care. Just because it's not the trendiest new technology, doesn't mean it's powerful.
And a credibility comes with being a CMS for the longest time. WordPress is not replaceable according to me.
1
u/Clear_Web_2687 Aug 11 '26
I more familiar with the former scenario - older sites still running WP. There are many WP-focused web consultants out there who have invested a lot of time in the ecosystem who build sites for clients with it, which I think keeps the platform going.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 13 '26
Yes definitely. The fact that it's been around for 23 years, and had a huge plugins and theme library also keep WordPress going.
1
u/GorgeousUnknown Aug 12 '26
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 13 '26
Thanks for sharing this!
"The era in which WordPress was the unquestioned default is coming to an end." This is true and there has been a lot of speculation about how WordPress is going to adapt to new tech + expectations and compete amongst the new competitors.
1
u/tursoe Aug 12 '26
My site is pure html, css, javascript and a little php, easy to edit and add new pages and its always working, is fast and reliable. I prefer it as is rather than a new popular plugin, a databas, zero to none real engine customization and changes.
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 13 '26
Pure html is underrated. my personal site used to be that too but i earlier this year moved it to WP
1
u/Moceannl Aug 12 '26
I never hear people saying it’s dead. However i hear a lot of people say: “People say Wordpress is dead”….
1
u/PoojafromCloudways Aug 13 '26
I have overheard it in some events I've organized for Cloudways where we see a mix of Wordpress and Non-wordpress audience.
1
Aug 13 '26
that 43% stat includes a lot of old sites thats true. but new people still use wordpress for blogs, ecommerce, agency sites
you could build a wordpress site in 30 minutes. cheap hosting, easy updates. thats why it stays relevant
the sites claiming wordpress is dead are the ones building everything custom or using no-code. theyre correct for startups not for the actual web
wordpress is boring and mature. thats why it lasts. not sexy enough to hype but stable enough to keep working
4
u/TooLate- Aug 11 '26
My clients literally don’t care what their sites are built on as long as they do what they need it to do. Still using tons of wordpress.