WordPress just had its first real decline in a decade.
41.9% of the web, down from 43.2% six months ago. Among developers, it's worse — 74% of people who build on WordPress say they'd rather not. Up from 53% three years ago.
Every "WordPress is dying" take is about to write itself.
Here's the part they'll miss.
The same developers fleeing new builds are quietly doing something else: maintaining their existing WordPress sites. Because that's where the money is.
That's not a contradiction. It's the whole map.
WordPress is splitting in two:
→ The "easy" layer — blogs, brochure sites, simple stores — is leaving for Wix, Shopify, AI builders. Let it go. AI builds that in 90 seconds now.
→ The "hard" layer — checkout logic, booking systems, revenue attribution, the stuff that breaks when money moves through it — is getting more valuable, not less.
I don't build websites. I build the second layer.
A dog-walking client didn't need a prettier homepage. They needed a booking system that takes a deposit, handles cancellations, and doesn't lose the customer at checkout. No AI builder ships that. No template has it.
So when the headlines say WordPress is shrinking, read it carefully.
The part that's shrinking is the part I don't compete in. The part that's growing is the part I do.
Pick the right half and the decline is your moat.