Wiredelta

10 Most Popular WordPress Websites of 2021

In last year’s 10 Most Popular WordPress Websites of 2020 article, there was a question embedded in our head that we aimed at answering – what are the most popular websites using WordPress as a CMS? So, this year we are going a bit deeper and trying to see what – if any – updates are there and what other cool and popular websites are also powered by WordPress?

 

To brush up your memory, WordPress is the best known and most widely used content management system (CMS) for creating websites. It was founded in 2003 and has since found millions of users and fans along the way.

 

Its great advantage is the availability, comprehensibility, and the ability to install many plugins and widgets, thanks to which, for example, you can measure traffic, improve website performance with various applications or connect it to social networks.

 

Fun Fact, WordPress is now used by more than 39.5% of all websites on the internet (more than 30% in 2018) and shows no signs of slowing down. Chances are there will be a day when you pass that 50% mark.

 

With the help of Alexa ranking, Whatcms, BuiltWith, and Similarweb detect what CMS, themes, and languages the websites are using. Wiredeltas team conducted an updated list of the most popular websites using WordPress in 2021.  

 

1. Zillow 

Since its launch in 2006, Zillow has become a source for all aspects of real estate. Users can search more than 110 million households in the Zillow database (including properties on and off the market), find an agent, calculate mortgages, browse design galleries and get a “Zestimate” of any home. 

 

The Zillow search function is particularly detailed, making it easier for homeowners to click with their mouse on their dream home. In addition, the Seattle-based website has two dozen applications that allow users to access multiple platforms.

 

Zillow landing page
Source: zillow.com

 

Zillow has better its popularity on Alexa ranking on the #119 place in 2021 compared to 2020 ranking the #165 position. The website is using Next.Js CMS besides WordPress, which allows the website to accomplish a wide variety of things. Because WordPress is agile and customizable, more and more organizations will choose it for CMS. 

 

Zillow still uses the Yoast plugin for its SEO, which was on the top of the 2020 most popular plugins in WordPress.

 

2. Realtor 

Speaking of popular real-estate websites, Realtor is worth the mention due to keeping its popularity since the 90s. Sponsored by the National Association of REALTORS®, Realtor.com has provided homeowners, buyers, and sellers with professional expertise since 1994. 

 

In fact, it was one of the first real estate tools online.  In addition to providing a database of listings and home information, Realtor.com encourages users to connect with over 1 million local real estate agents, all of whom are members of the National Association of REALTORS®. Users can also track their home’s valuation, equity, and mortgage.

 

Realtor landing page
realtor.com

 

Realtor hit is popular even on Alexa, striking the #300 rank. Realtor has a similar situation with Zillow, using a combination of WordPress CMS with Next.Js. Peaking into the tech behind Realtor, the website uses Yoast for SEO as well, and researching through the Tech blog, Realtor uses Akismet plugin for the comment section, which was also listed in the most popular plugins WP in 2020.

3. TED Blog

TED is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting “ideas worth spreading”. The first four-day conference was held in California in 1984, and since then, TED has grown steadily and supports ideas that are changing the world with a number of initiatives.

 

The world’s leading TED conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and people to deliver their 18-minute speeches. Subsequently, their performances are available free of charge on TED.com.

 

Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweal, Isabel Allende, and Gordon Brown, among others, have spoken at TED conferences.

 

TedBlog landing page
Source: blog.ted.com

 

The TED blog, which is a subdomain of the main site, is powered by WordPress. Mentioning WordPress plugins, the TEDblog has used the Jetpack plugin since 2014, providing the website with design, security, and growth in one bundle. However, in June 2020, the blog stopped using Jetpack. Since it is a subdomain, we were not able to reach full stats behind the blog. 

 

Moreover, TED talks are effective due to their diversity within topics, performers who are leading the audience for personal development. Alexa ranks TEDtalk on #1.271 ranks in global internet engagement. 

 

4. jQuery

 jQuery is a javascript library that emphasizes the combination of JavaScript and HTML. It makes it easier for a programmer to write in javascript, especially for frequently repeated commands. 

 

The library is free and open-source software, first introduced by John Resig in January 2006. The principle is based, like cascading styles, on the separation of HTML structure and appearance.  

 

The basic functions of jQuery include changing and browsing DOM elements. These are object-modeled representations of documents. The library also provides the creation of effects or animations, manipulation, and modification of cascading styles.

 

In practice, the functionality is that a single javascript file is created, containing all the necessary functions, and inserted into the source code of the respective web page.

 

jQuery landing page
Source: jquery.com

 

Surprisingly, jQuery uses WordPress 4.5.2 as its CMS. This information would not be anything breathtaking, however, we need to bear in mind the website has been built by a software engineer, who could have chosen any type of CMS platform. 

 

Funnily enough, the jQuery official website ranked #7.867 on Alexa, and yet looking at the BuiltWith trends, jQuery as a technology is used on a staggering 74% of the top 1 million sites (746 102 sites to be exact). In the terms of plugins, jQuery uses plugins created by their own team. 

 

5. Microsoft news

Microsoft is one of the leading companies worldwide, established in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company dominates more than 76% market share of desktop operating systems. Despite being in the top companies in the technological industry, Microsoft uses WordPress for their news domain. Microsoft news brings stories including new features, and community blogs and events.

 

Microsoft news landing page
Source: news.microsoft.com

 

However, since the news falls into the subdomain, we are not certain about the stats behind it. We are certain, however, that the CMS is WordPress, as we researched with WhatCMS. Microsoft news is surely popular as users are devoted to technology news and updates, and all it takes is a few clicks from the main page, which is, by the way, ranked in #21 place.

 

6. The Sun 

The Sun is one of the most popular newspapers worldwide. According to The Sun, the tabloid became the most read newspaper in 2018, reaching 9.89 million broadsheet readers and 33 million readers online. 

 

The Sun landing page
Source: thesun.co.uk

 

The Sun has 100% organic traffic, with 62.33 % from search intent. According to Similarweb, The Sun ranks 6th in the news and media category. The online version of the newspapers is using WordPress 5.4.4 version, since 2014, using Google Analytics for audience measurement, application performance, and visitor count tracking.

 

With the help of Alexa, we found out The Sun ranks #1.568. 

 

7. BBC America

BBC America made it to the list in 2021 again, however, its ranking has worsened on Alexa to #28.435 place. Despite that, BBC America still airs superb shows like Doctor Who, X-files, Killing Eve which keeps the website’s traffic fully organic with a search intent of 78%.

 

Moreover, more than 960.000 do visit the website in a month, which is a bit less than in the previous year, but still a solid number.  

 

BBC America landing page
Source: bbcamerica.com

 

BBC America uses WordPress for its CMS, which is also listed on the WordPress official showcase. Speaking of hosting, BBC America still uses Dyn Hosting and Akamai hosting. For audio/video files, the platform is used for online video streaming. BBC continuously uses W3 total cache for the site’s performance optimization. 

 

8. Blender

Blender is a high-quality and powerful 3D software designed for modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation released in 1998. 

 

In 2002, it also became open-source distributed under the GNU GPL license, so with a few restrictions, it is possible to edit its source code. For this reason, there is a large number of relatively high-quality accessories for Blender, such as Makehuman or a fiber generator. 

 

Blender landing page
Source: blender.org

 

Another uniqueness is that it has a completely different interface and control, so it can not be considered just an unpaid copy of competing programs. 

 

Blender also includes a game engine, which together with Python makes it a very mighty and especially effective tool for creating games and other scripted applications.

 

The website is being visited by more than 5 million visitors per month which is striking. According to BuiltWith, Blender uses W3 total cache plugin for performance optimization as well as BBC America. For the framework, the website was written in Python and it’s using the language, with WordPress 5.5 CMS version along with TYPO3

 

9. TripAdvisor blog

We do not have to make an introduction to this site, however, if you are a newbie on the web, we will do so. In short, TripAdvisor is a popular travel site known for comparing prices and hotels. In their blog, they share travel guides, inspirations about visits and destinations, tips, and more. 

 

TripAdvisor blog landing page
Source: tripadvisor.com/blog/

 

Let’s be more specific, TripAdvisor has a subdomain in the form of a blog which is our focus here. The Tripadvisor blog uses WordPress as its CMS, and the stellar Elementor as its landing page builder and its additional CMS. The blog is written in PHP and is using the MySQL database.

 

The home website has more than 90 million visitors per month which has decreased since August/September 2020 due to travel restrictions, but still impressive and occupying 1st place in the travel and tourism category on Similarweb.

 

10. White House dot gov

Yes, the White House is a part of the 10 most popular WordPress websites of 2021. Whitehouse.gov is an official website of the United States government. In other words, the site is owned by the government, where the .gov domain shows that the site is officially maintained by the authorities. 

 

The content of the website is constructed in a way of a portfolio, which brings the official and the latest news and operations during one’s presidency. The website is built to bring news about the president, vice president, family members, speeches, statements, press releases, and all information in connection to the White House. 

 

White house landing page

According to BuiltWith, the White House uses WordPress and Drupal as CMSs. Whitehouse.gov uses a combination of Akamai mPulse, New Relic, and Google analytics for the hosting, analytics, and other relevant operations, but also has its certified US Gov Digital Analytics Program

 

Conclusion 

It does not matter whether you are an author of a small blog, a company’s website, or a website owned by the government, there is no right or wrong CMS. By making this article, we hope we have proved this statement – WordPress is growing its popularity year by year and as of 2021, the CMS is powering around 39% of all existing websites. 

 

WordPress is no longer just a blogging tool. It powers the websites of world leaders in technology, entertainment, sports, and every other industry you can think of. The core of the software is built and maintained by hundreds of developers around the world, which provides a number of available solutions and the ability to create quality websites with enhanced features.

 

The king of CMS systems makes it available on the same platform for millions of people. In addition, its basic version is available for commercial and non-commercial use completely free of charge. It can be downloaded from the official wordpress.com website.

 

For more demanding users, WordPress offers thousands of plugins and themes for a fee, suitable for anything you can imagine on the Internet.

 

See more

10 Most Popular WordPress Websites in 2020

10 Most Popular Headless CMS of 2021

Top 10 Most Popular Hybrid CMS’s of 2020

 

Success stories

In the past decade we have launched over 100 websites and more than 20 mobile apps, helping each of our client get closer to their digital goals.

Executive Global
Network

Connecting executives around the world in one of the largest professional networks

Philip Morris
International

Working together towards a smoke-free future for the Nordics.

Ønskeskyen
(GoWish)

Denmark’s largest wish cloud is going global with a brand new look and a lot of new features

How can we bring you value?