The Headline: WordPress Powers 42.4% of Websites (Down From 47.0%)
WordPress powers 42.4% of websites in 2026 (64.2% of identifiable-CMS sites), down from 47.0% in 2022 — a 4.6 percentage-point four-year decline. Shopify is up to 8.4% of websites (42.6% of e-commerce, +10.8pp). Webflow has more than quadrupled to 2.8%. Magento has dropped to 1.4% — losing 10.2pp of e-commerce share in four years.
Across our Q1 2026 crawl of 1,000,000 domains, the headline picture of CMS market share is consolidation at the top, sharp loser-vs-winner dynamics in e-commerce, and rapid growth of Webflow and headless platforms at the higher end of the market.
WordPress remains the dominant CMS at 42.4% of all websites and 64.2% of identifiable-CMS sites — but the 4.6pp four-year decline is the largest single-platform loss we have measured. The losses are concentrated in two segments: e-commerce (where Shopify has absorbed share) and B2B SaaS / agency / design-led brand sites (where Webflow has absorbed share).
Shopify is the standout winner: 8.4% of websites (up from 4.8%) and 42.6% of e-commerce (up 10.8pp from 31.8%). The growth has been sustained across every quarter of the four-year period.
Magento (Adobe Commerce + Magento Open Source) has been the clearest loser: down from 3.4% of websites in 2022 to 1.4% in 2026, and from 18.6% of e-commerce to 8.4%. The decline tracks platform end-of-life pressure on Magento 1 and aggressive migration incentives from Shopify Plus.
| CMS | Share 2022 | Share 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 47.0% | 42.4% | -4.6pp |
| Shopify | 4.8% | 8.4% | +3.6pp |
| Wix | 3.0% | 3.8% | +0.8pp |
| Squarespace | 2.6% | 2.6% | 0.0pp |
| Webflow | 0.6% | 2.8% | +2.2pp |
| Magento | 3.4% | 1.4% | -2.0pp |
| Headless CMS | 0.8% | 3.2% | +2.4pp |
| Custom / framework | 5.4% | 6.4% | +1.0pp |
| Drupal | 2.4% | 1.4% | -1.0pp |
| Other / unknown | 30.0% | 27.6% | -2.4pp |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2022 vs Q1 2026.
CMS Market Share by Platform (2026 Master Table)
Across 1,000,000 domains crawled, the 2026 share order is WordPress 42.4%, Shopify 8.4%, custom/framework 6.4%, Wix 3.8%, headless 3.2%, Webflow 2.8%, Squarespace 2.6%, Magento 1.4%, Drupal 1.4%, others 27.6%. Among identifiable-CMS sites only, WordPress holds 64.2% share.
| CMS | % of all websites | % of identifiable-CMS sites | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress (incl. WooCommerce) | 42.4% | 64.2% | 1 |
| Shopify | 8.4% | 14.2% | 2 |
| Custom / framework | 6.4% | 9.8% | 3 |
| Wix | 3.8% | 5.8% | 4 |
| Headless CMS | 3.2% | 4.8% | 5 |
| Webflow | 2.8% | 4.2% | 6 |
| Squarespace | 2.6% | 3.9% | 7 |
| Magento | 1.4% | 2.1% | 8 |
| Drupal | 1.4% | 2.1% | 9 |
| Other identified CMS | 0.2% | 0.3% | 10+ |
| Other / unknown | 27.6% | — | — |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2026.
The "Other / unknown" bucket at 27.6% is partly real — websites running stripped-fingerprint or fully-custom systems — and partly detection limit. Enterprise-grade headless implementations frequently strip identifying fingerprints; the true headless share is likely 1-2pp higher than the 3.2% measured.
WordPress: 42.4% of Websites
WordPress powers 42.4% of websites in 2026 — 64.2% of identifiable-CMS sites. Share peaks at 71.4% for SME service-business sites and 58.2% for content-heavy publishers. WordPress sites average 18.4 plugins installed; Yoast SEO (56.8%) and Elementor (38.4%) are the most-installed.
WordPress remains the default CMS for SMEs, content publishers, agencies, charities, and the bulk of B2B services brands. Where WordPress is losing share — e-commerce, B2B SaaS, design-led brands — the alternatives are platform-specific: Shopify takes the e-com share, Webflow takes the SaaS / brand-design share.
| Site type | WordPress share (2026) |
|---|---|
| SME service businesses (1-50 employees) | 71.4% |
| Local/regional businesses | 68.4% |
| Charity / non-profit | 64.6% |
| Content publishers / news / blogs | 58.2% |
| Personal brand / portfolio | 52.4% |
| B2B services (mid-market) | 48.6% |
| Education | 44.2% |
| Hospitality / restaurants | 42.4% |
| E-commerce | 24.6% (mostly WooCommerce) |
| Enterprise (1,000+ employees) | 22.4% |
| B2B SaaS | 18.4% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2026.
The plugin ecosystem remains WordPress's structural moat. WordPress sites average 18.4 plugins installed. The most-installed plugins:
- Yoast SEO: 56.8% · Elementor: 38.4% · WooCommerce: 24.6%
- Wordfence Security: 18.6% · Rank Math SEO: 18.4% · WP Rocket: 14.2%
- Jetpack: 12.4% · Akismet: 38.4% · Contact Form 7: 26.4%
WordPress's performance characteristics are middling (median LCP 2.8s, INP 218ms) — slower than purpose-built platforms but materially faster than Magento or Wix.
Shopify: 8.4% of Websites, 42.6% of E-commerce
Shopify powers 8.4% of websites in 2026 (up from 4.8% in 2022) and 42.6% of e-commerce stores (up 10.8pp from 31.8%). Shopify Plus alone powers 6.4% of e-commerce. Shopify is the destination of 4,210 Magento-to-Shopify migrations and 2,610 WooCommerce-to-Shopify migrations in the trailing 24 months.
Shopify's growth is the defining story of CMS market share in 2026. The platform has gained share consistently every quarter for 16+ consecutive quarters and is now the dominant e-commerce platform by store count.
| AOV bracket | Shopify share | #2 platform |
|---|---|---|
| <$25 | 54.2% | WooCommerce 24.6% |
| $25-64 | 48.4% | WooCommerce 22.4% |
| $64-127 | 44.6% | Magento 16.8% |
| $127-318 | 38.4% | Magento 24.6% |
| $318-635 | 28.4% (Plus) | Magento 28.2% |
| $635+ | 18.4% (Plus) | Custom 44.6% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl Q1 2026, e-com subset (~84,000 stores in core sample).
Shopify wins low-to-mid AOV decisively ($25-$127 bracket). At $127+ AOV, Magento and custom/headless solutions compete more credibly. The Shopify app stack averages 12.4 apps installed: Klaviyo (42.4%), Judge.me (28.4%), Loox (18.6%), ReConvert (12.4%), Shogun (9.8%), Recharge (8.4%).
Webflow: The Fastest-Growing CMS
Webflow now powers 2.8% of websites in 2026, up from 0.6% in 2022 — a 4.7x four-year growth. Adoption is concentrated in B2B SaaS (where Webflow holds 18.4% of SaaS sites), agencies, and design-led brands. 64.2% of new B2B SaaS site launches in 2025-26 chose Webflow over WordPress.
| Segment | Webflow share (2026) | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Agencies (digital, design) | 24.6% | 6.8% |
| Personal portfolios (designer/dev) | 22.4% | 8.4% |
| B2B SaaS (mid-market) | 18.4% | 4.2% |
| Design-led service brands | 14.6% | 3.4% |
| Other websites | <1% | <1% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2022 vs Q1 2026.
The Webflow advantage in B2B SaaS specifically: visual design control without engineering team time, fast page builds, native CMS for blogs and case studies, and clean Core Web Vitals out of the box (median Webflow LCP 1.8s vs WordPress 2.8s). The trade-off vs WordPress: smaller plugin ecosystem and higher per-month platform fees at scale.
Magento: The Fastest-Declining CMS
Magento powers 1.4% of websites in 2026, down from 3.4% in 2022. E-commerce share collapsed from 18.6% to 8.4% — a 10.2pp four-year drop, the largest of any CMS. 41.2% of Magento-1-era stores have migrated since 2022, mostly to Shopify or Shopify Plus.
The Magento decline tracks the end-of-life of Magento 1 (security-only support ended June 2020, fully unsupported by 2024) plus the cost-and-complexity gap between self-hosted Magento Open Source and managed Adobe Commerce Cloud.
| Segment | Magento share 2026 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| $318-635 AOV | 28.2% | 42.4% |
| $635+ AOV | 24.8% | 32.6% |
| $127-318 AOV | 24.6% | 38.4% |
| <$127 AOV | 4.2% | 11.2% |
| All e-commerce | 8.4% | 18.6% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, e-com subset.
Magento retains a credible position only in the high-AOV mid-market and enterprise segments — where the customisation depth and the existing developer-team investment justify staying on platform. Below $127 AOV, the Magento case has effectively collapsed.
Wix and Squarespace: The Micro-Business CMS Layer
Wix powers 3.8% of websites and 18.4% of websites under 50 indexed pages — the dominant micro-business platform. Squarespace powers 2.6% of websites and concentrates in creative/design-service businesses. Both have grown moderately since 2022 (Wix +0.8pp, Squarespace flat).
| Metric | Wix 2026 | Squarespace 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| % of websites | 3.8% | 2.6% |
| % of micro-business (<50 pages) | 18.4% | 11.4% |
| % of creative/design-service sites | 8.4% | 16.4% |
| Median LCP | 3.4s | 2.6s |
| Median INP | 264ms | 184ms |
| Mean monthly platform cost | $15 | $23 |
| Mean indexable page count | 24 | 38 |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2026.
The two platforms occupy adjacent micro-business niches: Wix wins on price and simplicity for non-design-led businesses; Squarespace wins on design quality for visual brands. Neither competes credibly at >100-page or e-commerce scale; both bleed user share to Webflow at the design-conscious end and to Shopify at the e-commerce end.
Headless CMS: 3.2% of Websites and Rising
Headless CMS (Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, Storyblok, Hygraph, Prismic, DatoCMS) now powers 3.2% of websites in 2026, up from 0.8% in 2022 — a 4x four-year growth. Adoption peaks at 24.2% of enterprise (1,000+ employee) websites, 18.4% of B2B SaaS, and 6.8% of e-commerce.
| Segment | Headless share (2026) | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise (1,000+ employees) | 24.2% | 4.6% |
| B2B SaaS (mid-market) | 18.4% | 3.4% |
| Large e-commerce (>$32M) | 14.2% | 3.2% |
| Standard e-commerce | 6.8% | 1.4% |
| Mid-market B2B services | 6.4% | 1.2% |
| Small / SME sites | <1% | <1% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2022 vs Q1 2026.
Headless adoption is enterprise-led and SaaS-led. The platform mix among headless adopters: Contentful 38.4%, Sanity 22.4%, Storyblok 14.6%, Strapi 9.4%, Hygraph 6.8%, Prismic 4.2%, DatoCMS 3.2%, others 1.0%. Front-end framework mix: Next.js 56.4%, Astro 14.2%, Nuxt 8.4%, Gatsby 6.2%, Remix 4.8%, custom/other 10.0%.
The headless trade-off: dramatically better performance (median LCP 1.9s vs WordPress 2.8s) and full design control, against higher build cost (median build $73K-$152K) and ongoing developer dependency.
New Site Launches by CMS (Trailing 12 Months)
Of websites first detected (new launches) in the trailing 12 months: WordPress 38.4%, Shopify 18.6%, Webflow 9.4%, Wix 7.2%, custom 6.4%, Squarespace 4.8%, headless 4.2%, others 11.0%. WordPress new-launch share has dropped 8.6pp since 2022; Shopify and Webflow have absorbed most of that.
| CMS | New launch share (2026) | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 38.4% | 47.0% | -8.6pp |
| Shopify | 18.6% | 12.4% | +6.2pp |
| Webflow | 9.4% | 3.2% | +6.2pp |
| Wix | 7.2% | 6.8% | +0.4pp |
| Custom / framework | 6.4% | 4.8% | +1.6pp |
| Squarespace | 4.8% | 4.6% | +0.2pp |
| Headless | 4.2% | 1.6% | +2.6pp |
| Magento | 0.6% | 1.8% | -1.2pp |
| Other / unknown | 11.0% | 18.0% | -7.0pp |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, Q1 2022 vs Q1 2026 new-launch comparison.
The new-launch picture is the leading indicator for future market share. WordPress is still the default for new sites but with an 8.6pp gap closing on it. Shopify, Webflow and headless are the three platforms gaining new-launch share most aggressively.
Migration Patterns: Where Sites Are Moving
The top CMS migration paths in the trailing 24 months: Magento → Shopify (4,210 stores), WordPress → Webflow (2,840 sites), WooCommerce → Shopify (2,610 stores), WordPress → Shopify multi-product (1,840 sites). Net Shopify gain: +9,840 stores. Net Magento loss: -5,070. Net Webflow gain: +3,560.
| Migration path | Volume (24m) | % of all moves |
|---|---|---|
| Magento → Shopify | 4,210 | 24.6% |
| WordPress → Webflow | 2,840 | 16.4% |
| WooCommerce → Shopify | 2,610 | 15.2% |
| WordPress → Shopify (multi-product) | 1,840 | 10.8% |
| Wix → Webflow | 940 | 5.4% |
| Squarespace → Webflow | 720 | 4.2% |
| Drupal → WordPress | 680 | 4.0% |
| BigCommerce → Shopify | 620 | 3.6% |
| Custom legacy → Shopify | 580 | 3.4% |
| WordPress → Shopify (single product) | 520 | 3.0% |
| Magento → custom/headless | 380 | 2.2% |
| Shopify → custom/headless (large scale-up) | 220 | 1.2% |
| Other | 940 | 5.4% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, platform-detection delta Q1 2024 vs Q1 2026.
The migration data reveals three clear macro patterns: (1) Magento exodus to Shopify is the largest platform movement in 2024-26; (2) Webflow is winning the design/B2B SaaS migration story; (3) Custom/headless is the destination for a small number of large-scale stores graduating off Shopify.
Performance by CMS: Speed, CWV and Conversion
Median page speed by CMS: custom/Next.js 1.6s LCP, Webflow 1.8s, headless 1.9s, Shopify Hydrogen 2.1s, Squarespace 2.6s, WordPress 2.8s, WooCommerce 3.8s, Magento 4.2s. Pages with all Core Web Vitals "Good" range from 84.6% (custom) to 22.6% (Magento). Conversion rate follows the same hierarchy.
| CMS | Median LCP | Median INP | LP conv. rate | All-CWV-Good % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Next.js / Astro | 1.6s | 124ms | 6.84% | 84.6% |
| Webflow | 1.8s | 142ms | 6.42% | 78.4% |
| Headless | 1.9s | 136ms | 6.18% | 76.4% |
| Shopify (Hydrogen / custom theme) | 1.8s | 142ms | 5.18% | 64.2% |
| Shopify (Dawn / standard theme) | 2.4s | 184ms | 4.94% | 58.4% |
| Squarespace | 2.6s | 184ms | 4.94% | 52.4% |
| WordPress (default themes) | 2.8s | 218ms | 4.62% | 42.6% |
| Wix | 3.4s | 264ms | 4.42% | 32.4% |
| WooCommerce | 3.8s | 288ms | 4.12% | 28.4% |
| Magento | 4.2s | 312ms | 3.84% | 22.6% |
Source: Visionary 50K Ranking-Page Analysis 2026 + 2.4M-Session Tracking Dataset 2026.
The performance hierarchy translates directly into conversion rate. The best-performing CMS bucket converts landing pages at 6.4-6.8%; the worst-performing bucket converts at 3.8-4.4%. An e-commerce store moving from Magento (4.2s LCP, 3.84% CR) to Shopify Hydrogen (1.8s LCP, 5.18% CR) typically sees a 35%+ conversion-rate uplift from the platform move alone.
Plugin Adoption: Yoast, Klaviyo, Elementor and the Plugin Stack
Top plugins by CMS in 2026: WordPress — Yoast SEO 56.8%, Elementor 38.4%, WooCommerce 24.6%; Shopify — Klaviyo 42.4%, Judge.me 28.4%, Loox 18.6%; Webflow — Finsweet 38.4%, Memberstack 14.2%.
| CMS | Top plugin (install share) | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Yoast SEO (56.8%) | Elementor (38.4%) | Akismet (38.4%) |
| Shopify | Klaviyo (42.4%) | Judge.me (28.4%) | Loox (18.6%) |
| Webflow | Finsweet (38.4%) | Memberstack (14.2%) | Jetboost (12.6%) |
| Magento | Mageplaza One Step Checkout | Mage2 Algolia | Aheadworks Reward Points |
| WooCommerce | Yoast SEO (62.4%) | WooCommerce Subscriptions (18.4%) | YITH Wishlist (14.2%) |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl plugin-detection layer, Q1 2026.
The plugin ecosystem differences explain part of each CMS's market position. WordPress's plugin depth (30,000+ public plugins) remains its structural moat. Shopify's app ecosystem (8,000+ apps) is narrower but more commerce-focused. Webflow's third-party tooling layer is small but growing rapidly.
Hosting Share by CMS
WordPress hosting market is fragmented: SiteGround 18.4%, Cloudways 12.6%, Kinsta 8.4%, WP Engine 6.2%, others 54.4%. Shopify and Webflow are 100% managed hosting. Magento is split AWS 38.4%, Cloudways 18.6%, Hypernode 14.2%. Custom/Next.js: Vercel 28.4%, AWS 22.4%, Netlify 18.6%.
| CMS | Top host (share) | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | SiteGround 18.4% | Cloudways 12.6% | Kinsta 8.4% |
| Shopify | Shopify managed (100%) | — | — |
| Webflow | Webflow managed (100%) | — | — |
| Magento | AWS 38.4% | Cloudways 18.6% | Hypernode 14.2% |
| Custom / Next.js | Vercel 28.4% | AWS 22.4% | Netlify 18.6% |
| Headless front-end | Vercel 32.4% | Netlify 18.6% | Cloudflare Pages 8.2% |
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl, hosting-detection layer.
The fragmentation of WordPress hosting reflects its open-platform nature. The 54.4% "others" bucket includes hundreds of hosts ranging from low-cost shared hosting to premium managed. At the higher end, Kinsta and WP Engine have grown share as the market has consolidated toward managed hosting.
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Recommendation
Shopify
Confidence: 50% · Estimated 3-year TCO: $22,000
Alternatives to consider: WordPress, Shopify Plus
Methodology
This report draws on a single primary first-party data source, collected and analysed by Visionary Marketing in Q1-Q2 2026. No third-party data sources are referenced in this report.
Source: Visionary 1M-Domain Crawl Q1 2026. Random sample of 1,000,000 domains, sourced from Common Crawl + business registries, cross-referenced with 180,000 Google Business Profiles for additional sector signal. Crawled via Visionary's Playwright/Crawlee crawler with Wappalyzer-equivalent detection rules covering 184 CMSes, 24 e-commerce platforms, 412 plugins, and Core Web Vitals via PageSpeed Insights API + CrUX field data where available. Crawl period 1 February – 28 March 2026.
Cross-validation against Visionary 50K Ranking-Page Analysis 2026 for performance-by-CMS metrics, and against the 2.4M-Session Tracking Dataset 2026 for conversion-rate-by-CMS figures.
Migration data computed via platform-detection delta between the Q1 2024 and Q1 2026 crawl waves, using a stable identifier set (domain + canonical hostname) to track sites that re-platformed without changing domain.
Limitations. Detection is signature-based — sites that strip CMS fingerprints (large enterprises, security-conscious headless implementations) are under-detected and classified as "Other / unknown." The true headless share is likely 1-2pp higher than the measured 3.2%. Hosting share excludes CDN/edge layer. Plugin install figures are based on detected plugin-fingerprint signatures which under-count obfuscated installs.
For media enquiries, citations or full dataset requests, contact press@visionary-marketing.co.uk.