For many years, we’ve invited folks to tell us how they use WordPress by filling out an annual survey. In the past, interesting results from this survey have been shared in the annual State of the Word address. This year, for the first time, the results of the 2017 survey are being published on WordPress News, along with the results of the 2015 and 2016 survey.
So that information from the survey doesn’t reveal anything that respondents might consider private, we do not publish a full export of the raw data. We’d love to make this information as accessible as possible, though, so if you have a suggestion for an OS project or tool we can put the data into that allows people to play with it that still protects individual response privacy, please leave a comment on this post!
Major Groups
This survey features multiple groups, dividing respondents at the first question:
Which of the following best describes how you use WordPress? (Mandatory)
Those who selected “I’m a designer or developer, or I work for a company that designs/develops websites; I use WordPress to build websites and/or blogs for others. (This might include theme development, writing plugins, or other custom work.)” were served questions from what we’ll call the “WordPress Professionals” group.
This “WordPress Professionals” group is further divided into WordPress Company and WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist groups, based on how the respondent answered the question, “Which of the following best describes your involvement with WordPress? (2015) / Do you work for a company, or on your own? (2016-17).”
Those who selected “I own, run, or contribute to a blog or website that is built with WordPress.” were served questions in what we’re calling the “WordPress Users” group.
The relevant survey group is noted in each table below. In the case of questions that were served to different groups in 2015 but then served to all respondents in 2016 and 2017, the group responses from 2015 have been consolidated into one set of data for easier comparison between years.
Which of the following best describes how you use WordPress? (Mandatory)
2015
2016
2017
Number of responses (since this question was mandatory, the number of responses here is the total number for the survey)
45,995
15,585
16,029
I’m a designer or developer, or I work for a company that designs/develops websites; I use WordPress to build websites and/or blogs for others. (This might include theme development, writing plugins, other custom work.)
26,662
58%
8,838
57%
9,099
57%
I own, run, or contribute to a blog or website that is built with WordPress.
16,130
35%
5,293
34%
5,625
35%
Neither of the above.
3,204
7%
1,460
9%
1,306
8%
WordPress Professionals
Which of the following best describes your involvement with WordPress? (Mandatory, 2015) / Do you work for a company, or on your own? (Mandatory, 2016-17)
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Professional
Number of responses
26,699
8,838
9,101
My primary job is working for a company or organization that uses WordPress.
9,505
36%
3,529
40%
3,660
40%
My primary job is as a self-employed designer or developer that uses WordPress.
9,310
35%
3,188
36%
3,440
38%
I earn money from part-time or occasional freelance work involving WordPress.
5,954
22%
1,633
18%
1,590
17%
Work that I do involving WordPress is just a hobby, I don’t make money from it.
1,930
7%
491
6%
411
5%
How does your company or organization work with WordPress?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
9,342
Build/design and/or maintain websites or blogs for other people, companies, or organizations.
7,772
27%
Develop or customize themes.
5,404
19%
Build/design and/or maintain websites or blogs for my own use.
4,733
16%
Host websites for customers.
4,397
15%
Develop or distribute plugins.
3,181
11%
Provide educational resources to help others to use WordPress.
1,349
5%
Sponsor and/or attend WordCamps.
1,127
4%
Contribute bug reports and/or patches to WordPress core.
914
3%
Other Option
182
1%
Number of responses
3,457
3,598
We make websites for others.
2,695
24%
2,722
23%
We make websites for ourselves.
2,355
21%
2,470
21%
We develop or customize themes.
1,866
16%
1,910
16%
We host websites for others.
1,564
14%
1,595
14%
We develop or distribute plugins.
1,283
11%
1,342
11%
We provide educational resources to help others to use WordPress.
581
5%
631
5%
We sponsor and/or attend WordCamps.
561
5%
579
5%
We contribute bug reports and/or patches to WordPress core.
444
4%
468
4%
Other Option
98
1%
96
1%
How would you describe the business of your typical client(s)? (2015) / How would you describe the business of your typical client/customer? (2016, 2017)
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
9,154
3,317
3,498
Small business
6,893
32%
2,398
31%
2,510
31%
Large business or Enterprise
3,635
17%
1,361
18%
1,447
18%
Non-profit
2,644
12%
934
12%
992
12%
Individual
2,600
12%
888
12%
1,022
12%
Education
2,344
11%
854
11%
966
12%
Website development (sub-contracting)
2,065
10%
637
8%
677
8%
Government
1,410
6%
524
7%
552
7%
Other Option
127
1%
66
1%
64
1%
How does your company or organization use WordPress when developing websites? (2015) / When making websites, how does your company or organization use WordPress? (2016, 2017)
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
9,078
3,369
3,552
Mostly as a content management system (CMS)
6,361
70%
2,482
74%
2,640
74%
About half the time as a blogging platform and half the time as a CMS
1,222
13%
370
11%
383
11%
Mostly as a blogging platform
721
8%
137
4%
129
4%
Mostly as an application framework
629
7%
303
9%
303
9%
Other Option
145
2%
78
2%
97
3%
How much is your average WordPress site customized from the original WordPress installation?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
9,054
3,302
3,473
A lot of work has been done, the front end is unrecognizable, but the Dashboard still looks like the usual WordPress interface.
5,651
62%
2,025
61%
2,105
61%
There’s a different theme and some plugins have been added.
2,230
25%
799
24%
905
26%
Not at all, it’s still pretty much the same as the original download.
756
8%
302
9%
298
9%
You’d never know this was a WordPress installation, everything (including the admin) has been customized.
417
5%
177
5%
165
5%
Roughly how many currently active WordPress sites has your company or organization built?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
8,801
200 +
1,074
12%
51 – 200
1,721
20%
21 – 50
1,718
20%
11 – 20
1,284
15%
6 – 10
1,109
13%
2 – 5
1,418
16%
1
390
4%
0
87
1%
Number of responses
3,358
3,540
Thousands.
291
9%
331
9%
Hundreds.
770
23%
894
25%
Fewer than a hundred.
1,144
34%
1,177
33%
Just a few, but they are really great.
926
28%
896
25%
Prefer not to answer.
228
7%
242
7%
How many person-hours (of your company’s work) does the typical site take to complete?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
9,091
3,353
3,522
More than 200
939
10%
309
9%
325
9%
100 – 200
1080
12%
329
10%
367
10%
60 – 100
1541
17%
527
16%
513
15%
40 – 60
1854
20%
583
17%
620
18%
20 – 40
2066
23%
691
21%
685
19%
Fewer than 20
1611
18%
479
14%
519
15%
Prefer not to answer (2016, 2017)
436
13%
493
14%
Roughly what percentage of your company or organization’s output is based around WordPress (as opposed to other platforms or software)?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Company
Number of responses
8,950
3,345
3,503
100 %
1,089
12%
438
13%
480
14%
90 %
1,043
12%
417
12%
459
13%
80 %
955
11%
367
11%
424
12%
70 %
831
9%
305
9%
344
10%
60 %
534
6%
246
7%
226
6%
50 %
973
11%
335
10%
338
10%
40 %
613
7%
245
7%
202
6%
30 %
877
10%
335
10%
310
9%
20 %
806
9%
242
7%
280
8%
10 %
1,039
12%
344
10%
348
10%
0 %
190
2%
72
2%
92
3%
In which of the following ways do you work with WordPress?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
17,009
5,221
5,425
Build/design and/or maintain websites or blogs for other people, companies, or organizations
15,342
34%
4,795
34%
5,064
34%
Develop or customize themes
10,549
24%
2,997
21%
3,021
20%
Host websites for customers
8,142
18%
2,466
17%
2,728
18%
Develop or distribute plugins
4,125
9%
1,395
10%
1,416
9%
Provide educational resources to help others to use WordPress
3,276
7%
1,187
8%
1,308
9%
Sponsor and/or attend WordCamps
1,559
4%
648
5%
724
5%
Contribute bug reports and/or patches to WordPress core
1,107
2%
381
3%
393
3%
Other Option
389
1%
243
2%
299
2%
How would you describe the business of your typical client(s)?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
16,863
5,151
5,353
Small business
14,185
35%
4,342
35%
4,622
36%
Individual
8,513
21%
2,581
21%
2,583
20%
Non-profit
6,585
16%
2,004
16%
2,113
16%
Website development (sub-contracting)
4,301
11%
1,258
10%
1,216
9%
Education
3,458
8%
1,049
8%
1,139
9%
Large business or Enterprise
2,391
6%
805
6%
857
7%
Government
1,150
3%
300
2%
329
3%
Other Option
173
0%
101
1%
99
1%
How do you use WordPress in your development?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
16,768
5,145
5,372
Mostly as a content management system (CMS)
11,754
70%
3,641
71%
3,959
74%
About half the time as a blogging platform and half the time as a CMS
2,825
17%
812
16%
721
13%
Mostly as an application framework
1,012
6%
343
7%
344
6%
Mostly as a blogging platform
992
6%
246
5%
226
4%
Other Option
185
1%
105
2%
122
2%
How much is your average WordPress site customized from the original WordPress installation?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
16,699
5,131
5,317
A lot of work has been done, the front end is unrecognizable, but the Dashboard still looks like the usual WordPress interface.
9,457
57%
2,837
55%
2,998
56%
There’s a different theme and some plugins have been added.
5,526
33%
1,694
33%
1,781
34%
Not at all, it’s still pretty much the same as the original download.
977
6%
341
7%
310
6%
You’d never know this was a WordPress installation, everything (including the admin) has been customized.
739
4%
261
5%
228
4%
How many currently active WordPress sites have you built? (2015) / Roughly how many currently active WordPress sites have you built? (2016, 2017)
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
16,690
200 +
514
3%
51 – 200
1,728
10%
21 – 50
3,000
18%
11 – 20
3,146
19%
6 – 10
3,405
20%
2 – 5
3,838
23%
1
698
4%
0
361
2%
Number of responses
5,165
5367
Thousands.
110
2%
104
2%
Hundreds.
603
12%
713
13%
Fewer than a hundred.
2,264
44%
2,457
46%
Just a few, but they are really great.
1,871
36%
1,813
34%
Prefer not to answer.
319
6%
280
5%
Roughly what percentage of your working time is spent working with WordPress?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
16,658
5,039
5,241
100 %
949
6%
459
9%
461
9%
90 %
1,300
8%
527
10%
540
10%
80 %
1,784
11%
637
13%
711
14%
70 %
1,850
11%
608
12%
627
12%
60 %
1,313
8%
438
9%
465
9%
50 %
2,095
13%
612
12%
639
12%
40 %
1,438
9%
391
8%
384
7%
30 %
2,076
12%
530
11%
511
10%
20 %
1,743
10%
445
9%
429
8%
10 %
1,819
11%
342
7%
419
8%
0 %
291
2%
52
1%
55
1%
How many hours of your work does the typical site take to complete? (2015) / How many hours of work does your typical WordPress project take to launch? (2016, 2017)
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Freelancer/Hobbyist
Number of responses
16,670
5,164
5,378
More than 200
503
3%
222
4%
245
5%
100 – 200
973
6%
386
7%
393
7%
60 – 100
2,277
14%
788
15%
815
15%
40 – 60
3,896
23%
1,153
22%
1,216
23%
20 – 40
6,068
36%
1,487
29%
1,582
29%
Fewer than 20
2,953
18%
712
14%
751
14%
Prefer not to answer
418
8%
376
7%
Which of the following have you done with WordPress?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Professional (Company/Freelancer/Hobbyist)
WordPress is as good as, or better than, its main competitors.
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress Professional
Number of responses (this question was not asked in the 2015 survey)
8,672
9,059
Agree
7551
87%
7836
87%
Prefer not to answer
754
9%
795
9%
Disagree
370
4%
428
5%
WordPress Users
Which of the following describes how you use WordPress?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress User
Number of responses
15,169
5,043
5,521
My personal blog (or blogs) uses WordPress.
9,395
36%
3,117
36%
3,424
36%
My company or organization’s website is built with WordPress software.
7,480
29%
2,519
29%
2,841
30%
I have a hobby or side project that has a website built with WordPress.
6,112
23%
1,973
23%
2,200
23%
I write (or otherwise work) for an online publication that uses WordPress.
2,329
9%
806
9%
821
9%
Other Option
872
3%
234
3%
288
3%
Who installed your WordPress website?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress User
Number of responses
15,055
5,020
5,523
I did.
11,216
66%
3,659
73%
4,129
75%
My hosting provider
2,236
13%
667
13%
767
14%
An external company
909
5%
182
4%
178
3%
An internal web person/team or a colleague
874
5%
178
4%
191
3%
A friend or family member
787
5%
192
4%
172
3%
I don’t know
502
3%
145
3%
87
2%
Other Option
345
2%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
How much has the site been customized from the original WordPress installation?
2015
2016
2017
Group: WordPress User
Number of responses
14,789
4,997
5,494
There’s a different theme and some plugins have been added.
7,465
50%
2,337
47%
2,660
48%
A lot of work has been done, the site itself is unrecognizable from the original theme, but the Dashboard still looks like the usual WordPress interface.
4,715
32%
1,707
34%
1,872
34%
Not at all, it’s still pretty much the same as it was when I started out.
1,841
12%
635
13%
673
12%
You’d never know this was a WordPress installation, everything has been customized.
Group: All respondents (This question was not asked in the 2015 survey.)
Number of responses
13,953
14,680
Male
10,978
78.68%
11,570
78.81%
Female
2,340
16.77%
2,511
21.70%
Prefer not to answer
601
4.31%
562
3.83%
Transgender
11
0.08%
8
0.05%
Nonbinary
8
0.06%
17
0.12%
Genderqueer
4
0.03%
3
0.02%
Androgynous
6
0.04%
5
0.03%
Fluid
3
0.02%
4
0.03%
Demimale
2
0.01%
0
0
Where are you located?
2015
2016
2017
Group: All respondents (This question was not asked in the 2015 survey.)
Number of responses
14,562
15,343
United States
3,770
25.89%
4,067
26.51%
India
1,456
10.00%
1,424
9.28%
United Kingdom
810
5.56%
900
5.87%
Germany
555
3.81%
729
4.75%
Canada
511
3.51%
599
3.90%
Australia
389
2.67%
460
3.00%
Italy
298
2.05%
356
2.32%
Netherlands
343
2.36%
350
2.28%
France
232
1.59%
283
1.84%
Bangladesh
257
1.76%
263
1.71%
Spain
271
1.86%
252
1.64%
Brazil
239
1.64%
251
1.64%
Pakistan
254
1.74%
240
1.56%
Indonesia
230
1.58%
226
1.47%
Iran, Islamic Republic of
190
1.30%
173
1.13%
Sweden
144
0.99%
173
1.13%
Nigeria
196
1.35%
172
1.12%
South Africa
193
1.33%
172
1.12%
Russian Federation
181
1.24%
151
0.98%
Poland
129
0.89%
137
0.89%
Romania
144
0.99%
132
0.86%
Switzerland
122
0.84%
130
0.85%
Philippines
92
0.63%
125
0.81%
China
136
0.93%
123
0.80%
Austria
89
0.61%
122
0.80%
Ukraine
105
0.72%
118
0.77%
Denmark
107
0.73%
114
0.74%
Greece
120
0.82%
114
0.74%
Portugal
94
0.65%
109
0.71%
Vietnam
101
0.69%
108
0.70%
Mexico
94
0.65%
105
0.68%
Nepal
76
0.52%
97
0.63%
Ireland
72
0.49%
94
0.61%
Israel
78
0.54%
94
0.61%
New Zealand
77
0.53%
91
0.59%
Finland
63
0.43%
90
0.59%
Turkey
91
0.62%
86
0.56%
Malaysia
91
0.62%
81
0.53%
Belgium
84
0.58%
79
0.51%
Norway
66
0.45%
79
0.51%
Argentina
65
0.45%
76
0.50%
Bulgaria
74
0.51%
72
0.47%
Japan
61
0.42%
68
0.44%
Thailand
69
0.47%
67
0.44%
Czech Republic
76
0.52%
66
0.43%
Serbia
89
0.61%
63
0.41%
Kenya
58
0.40%
62
0.40%
Colombia
39
0.27%
59
0.38%
Egypt
40
0.27%
52
0.34%
What is your age?
2015
2016
2017
Group: All Respondents
Number of responses (This question was not asked in 2015.)
14,944
15,636
60 and over
1,139
8%
1,641
11%
50-59
1,537
10%
1,996
13%
40-49
2,205
15%
2,643
17%
30-39
3,914
26%
3,972
25%
20-29
5,013
34%
4,444
28%
Under 20
1142
8%
941
6%
Thank you to everyone who made time to fill out the survey — we’re so happy you use WordPress, and we’re very grateful that you’re willing to share your experiences with us! Thanks also to everyone who spread the word about this survey, and to those of you who read all the way to the bottom of this post.
*Text Field Questions: Each survey included some questions that could be answered only by filling out a text field. In the case of the questions “What is the best thing about WordPress?” and “What is the most frustrating thing about WordPress?” we listed the five most common responses, aggregated when applicable. In the case of the question “What is your gender?” in the 2016 and 2017 surveys, we aggregated responses as best we could. Responses meant to obscure respondents’ gender entirely are aggregated in “prefer not to answer.”
