The latest State of Enterprise WordPress report confirms what we at Human Made have long known: WordPress is an enterprise-grade CMS that’s scaling, delivering ROI, and powering some of the biggest brands in the world. The SOEW report provides compelling evidence that WordPress isn’t just keeping pace – it’s leading the way. Let’s dive into why enterprise organisations are increasingly naming WordPress as their CMS of choice.
The CMS to rule them all
For a long time WordPress has been regarded as the most common CMS on the internet, and the most popular secondary CMS among enterprise organisations. But there are signs this year that more organisations are embracing the power, flexibility and financial benefits associated with WordPress.
Its role as an enterprise CMS continues to grow, with 55% of enterprises now using WordPress exclusively, marking a 17% increase from last year. This shift signals that organisations see WordPress as a complete solution: no longer just a part of a multi-platform stack, but the foundation of their digital presence.
Scalability is proven
The idea that WordPress struggles with high traffic? That’s long gone. The report shows that 18% of enterprise WordPress sites now handle over 10 million monthly unique visitors—up from 15% last year. Meanwhile, the proportion of smaller sites (under 500K visitors) has dropped from 40% to 29%. In other words, WordPress is thriving in high-demand, high-traffic environments.
Major brands, media publishers, and government organisations rely on WordPress to serve content at scale, ensuring seamless user experiences even during high-traffic events like product launches, news surges, and major sales campaigns. The data proves that with the right hosting and optimisations, WordPress scales efficiently without compromising speed, security, or user engagement.
WordPress delivers on ROI
Enterprise investment in WordPress is paying off. A huge 72% of respondents rate their ROI as excellent or good, underlining the platform’s cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and impact. From driving revenue through advertising and paywalls to supporting ambitious digital transformation projects, WordPress is delivering real business value at scale.
One of the key advantages of WordPress is its lower total cost of ownership compared to proprietary CMS solutions. With no costly licensing fees and a vast ecosystem of plugins and integrations, enterprises can scale their digital platforms without being locked into expensive vendor agreements. This financial flexibility allows organisations to allocate resources to innovation rather than maintenance.
The rise of the block editor (with a caveat)
As advocates of the benefits of FSE, we were happy to see an increase in the percentage of respondents reporting that they are using the block editor (59% this year, up 5% on 2023). However, it’s hard to ignore the 23% of respondents reporting that their modern WordPress editor does not make it any easier to create and publish content.
Maybe they have poorly configured block editor-driven sites, or exceptionally well-crafted versions of the classic editor! Either way, there’s clearly room for improvement in terms of build and set up, and perhaps around documentation and training to ensure enterprise users can get the most from WordPress in the coming years.
A future-proof investment
The confidence in WordPress remains strong, with 75% of enterprises planning to continue using the platform. While the likelihood of recommending WordPress has slightly declined, this doesn’t overshadow the fact that WordPress continues to prove itself as the scalable, secure, and adaptable solution for the enterprise world.
In fact, Mary Hubbard, Executive Director of WordPress, will be at Human Made’s WP:25 virtual event to discuss exactly how WordPress will evolve throughout 2025 and beyond (alongside many other WordPress experts and insiders!). The event, on 6 March 2025, is free to attend – register here to attend WP:25.
The bottom line? WordPress is winning in enterprise
The 2024 report shows that WordPress isn’t just a viable option for enterprise—it’s the best option. From its scalability and return on investment to its flexibility and growing enterprise adoption, WordPress continues to dominate as the CMS of choice for some of the world’s largest organisations. And with ongoing innovations in security, AI, and the block editor, the best is yet to come.