First Ever Global Survey of the WordPress Genesis Community

Builds On Mission To Be The Most Open And Transparent Community In WordPress

AUSTIN, Texas — Dec. 20, 2018 –  A new international study conducted by WP Engine into the the Genesis Framework (“Genesis”), the world’s most popular theme framework for the millions of WordPress sites that comprise 32% of the Web, drew responses from 1,687 people around the world, including members from 66 countries ranging from Argentina to Vietnam. This initiative builds on one of the stated goals of the Genesis Community to be the most open community in WordPress.

Genesis, and the themes people build with it, called child themes, helps enterprises, startups, and agencies accelerate the building of amazing digital experiences.

Highlights from the study include the fact that StudioPress, the creator of the Genesis Framework, remains the go-to source for more than half (66%) of Genesis users looking for premium child themes. Not surprisingly, with Genesis’ powerful ability to support the transition to Gutenberg, the new editor in WordPress 5.0, a majority (64%) of respondents said they had already tested their Genesis site using Gutenberg.

Around the World

A nearly equal split of respondents came from the U.S. (54%) versus internationally (46%), reflecting the global nature of the community. Rounding out the top countries were the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, Holland, Italy, India and France. In Asia, the top four countries included India, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.

A majority (88%) of the survey respondents own or co-own their businesses—from small and medium-sized businesses to independent digital agencies. Additionally, 90% of respondents identified themselves as “technology decision makers,” reflecting the fact that the Genesis framework is a favorite among those in the position to decide which technologies they’ll use to build their businesses or build sites for their clients.

Big Business in Small Businesses

While more than half (61%) of the survey respondents said they work at agencies or identified as freelancers, the vast majority of them (85%) said they use the Genesis Framework for the work they do for small or medium-sized business. With approximately $568 billion in IT spending globally from SMBs, according to IDC, and the fact that SMBs are oftentimes more likely to reach for new technologies, many agencies are seeing big business in this opportunity.

Utility Beyond WordPress

While the survey respondents were all Genesis users, WordPress isn’t the only content management system (CMS) they’re using. The top 5 CMSs, outside of WordPress, included Shopify, Squarespace, Laravel, Drupal and Joomla. Of these, the majority (52%) are being used in a multi-CMS capacity, that is, one CMS alongside another (or a few).

A Robust Genesis Premium Child Theme Market

While not particularly surprising, it’s worth noting that StudioPress, the creator of the Genesis Framework, continues to be the go-to source for more than half (66%) of Genesis users who are looking for premium child themes; however 34% of respondents are purchasing from excellent, premium theme providers in the ecosystem like Theme Forest, SEO Themes, 9 Seeds, Zigzagpress, Restored 316 Designs and others.

Genesis Dominates as a Theme Framework

When asked if they use other frameworks besides Genesis, only 30% of respondents said yes — 11% use Beaver Builder, 9% use the Divi page builder and another 10% said they have built their own framework which they use to create themes.

Platform Criteria for Genesis

When it comes to selecting the platform for their Genesis sites, survey respondents said their top three choices were either self-hosted, WP Engine or BlueHost. The top evaluation criteria respondents said they look for when selecting a platform solution (in order of preference) are reliability, performance, experienced support, security, price, scalability and features/products.

Traditional Features Still a Draw

When asked which Genesis features they use most frequently, respondents listed some of the more traditional features found within the theme framework: hooks and filters, layout options, StudioPress-made Genesis plugins in WordPress.org, theme options and custom widgets, respectively.

A Difference Maker

Perhaps the most meaningful take away from this survey of the Genesis community is that 67% of them say the framework has, in one way or another, changed their lives.

“This was one of the more eye opening parts for me from the survey,” said David Vogelpohl, VP of Web Strategy at WP Engine. “Genesis is a great tool for developers and site builders to build faster, more secure, and engaging experiences, and it was really interesting to see how those benefits and the community around Genesis help people become better developers, which ultimately had a significant impact on their life.”

To read more about the Genesis Survey, please visit: https://wpengine.com/blog/first-global-survey-wordpress-genesis-community/.

Survey Methodology

The custom 48-question survey was designed by WP Engine in order to understand the makeup of the Genesis Community. The study was administered to 1,687 respondents internationally, and it was open to anyone in the Genesis community. The survey was conducted online in October 2018.

About WP Engine

WP Engine is the WordPress Digital Experience Platform that gives companies of all sizes the agility, performance, intelligence, and integrations they need to drive their business forward faster. WP Engine’s combination of tech innovation and an award-winning team of WordPress experts are trusted by over 90,000 companies across 135 countries to provide counsel and support, helping brands create world-class digital experiences. Founded in 2010, WP Engine is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has offices in San Francisco, California; San Antonio, Texas; London, England; Limerick, Ireland and Brisbane, Australia.