The Value of WordPress:
The World's First Study of the WordPress Economy
A Rapid Acceleration to Digital
A global pandemic, a surge in online activity, and the resulting changes to customer behavior have all made it more important than ever for businesses to build exceptional experiences across all digital touchpoints. WordPress and its wider ecosystem have played a major role in this shift, and are uniquely positioned to assist in the ongoing transition to a more prominent, digital-first economy.
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The WordPress Economy
LARGER THAN YOU KNOW
SCALABILITY
41% of the Internet is built on WordPress.
MASS ADOPTION
There are more than 82 million WordPress sites online.
ENTERPRISE APPEAL
35% of the top 10K sites by traffic are built on WordPress.
WORDPRESS ECONOMY
If the WordPress Economy were equivalent to the market cap of a company, it would rank 10th among the largest companies worldwide.
GLOBAL ECONOMY
If the WordPress Economy were a country, it would rank 39th in the world according to an IMF list of countries by GDP.
An Economy Built for Growth
PERSONAL, COMMUNITY, AND ORGANIZATIONAL USE OF WORDPRESS EXPECTED TO RISE
PROJECTED GROWTH
The WordPress Economy is projected to increase 6.5% in 2021, bringing its total value to $636 Billion.
PERSONAL USE
68% of WordPress users plan to increase their use of the CMS in 2021.
COMMUNITY USE
89% of users expect the WordPress community to keep growing over the next 5 years.
ORGANIZATIONAL USE
45% of organizations that use WordPress plan to increase that use in 2021.
Personal Financial Growth
CONSISTENT, FREQUENT USE OF WORDPRESS DRIVES PERSONAL FINANCIAL GAINS
25-100%
PERSONAL INCOME GENERATED
Nearly half of user respondents said that 25-100% of their personal income is represented by WordPress.
POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT
Increased use of WordPress is tied to an income increase of 0.1% (avg. across all markets), representing an estimated $610M impact on the overall economy.
MORE USE = HIGHER INCOME
Users who work with WordPress more than 15 hours a week derive 48% of their income from WordPress.
“With open-source software, we can modify it, update it, reuse it; I think there is a lot of power there. That's something that has been very interesting coming from a services company - if you do things well, put a bit of time and contribute to the community, it can become a great source of revenue..“
—Juan Garcia, whiteGREY
The research design used a mixed method approach to create a credible and empirically-driven assessment of the value of WP and resulted in our model and economic value equation. The methods used were: A comprehensive review of academic and industry literature, including adjusting OECD economic indicators for digital economies Complementary primary data and analysis of economic value through industry valuations and projections from survey of 28 WordPress Ecosystem consortium members, 400 businesses + 22 Consortium members and 400 end users Five external SME interviews /contributions in economic impact of WordPress informing our model/equation Four case studies from organizations profiling the role of WordPress on economic outcomes through the pandemic crisis (drawn from USA, UK, Europe and AUS) All research methods were designed in the context of Covid-19 pandemic crisis and rebound economy. Specific efforts were undertaken to assess economic change in relation to the crisis.
Download the Infographic
WordPress powers the web, but just how significant is the WordPress Economy? WordPress has given rise to an expansive ecosystem, and today, it represents a thriving economy that's built for growth. Check out this infographic for a closer look.
Read the eBook
To capture the full breadth, reach, and potential of the extensive WordPress ecosystem, WP Engine, the world’s most trusted WordPress technology company, spearheaded the first comprehensive analysis of the combined global economy for WordPress. Check out the ebook for a full breakdown of the details.
