Choosing a Web Platform in the Philippines as WordPress's Market Share Declines

What WordPress's Six Straight Months of Falling Market Share Tells Us: A Guide to Choosing a Web Platform in the Philippines

This article lays out the background to WordPress's declining market share and explains, from a practical standpoint, how Japanese companies doing business in the Philippines should rethink their website's display speed, security, and operating setup.

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Part 1: Why This Matters

Step 1: The Philippine Business Context (3 min)

Most of the world's websites are built on a mechanism called a CMS (content management system). The leading example is WordPress. It has held an overwhelming share for many years, but now that number has begun to fall. This shift is not someone else's problem for Japanese companies doing business in the Philippines.

The Philippines is a country with very high mobile-phone and social-media usage relative to its population. In some situations the role a website plays — as a marker of corporate credibility and as a point of entry for inquiries — is even greater than in Japan. Because many companies run their corporate sites, recruiting pages, and product pages on WordPress, the prospect that this foundation might be shaking ties directly to long-term operating costs, display speed, and security.

Filipino users in particular access sites mainly from smartphones. If a page is slow to display, that alone loses prospective customers. This article is a good occasion to rethink "which platform to choose."

Imagine broaching the subject with a colleague in charge of the web at a Manila office: "Our corporate site runs on WordPress, right? An article actually came out saying WordPress's share has fallen for six straight months worldwide. We don't need to switch right now, but why don't we take this chance to do a one-time check of our display speed and security?" A remark like this is the first step toward heading off future trouble.

Step 2: Key Points from the Source Article (5 min)

Based on the facts in the source article, we have summarized the main points in a table.

Source: Search Engine Journal — "WordPress Market Share Declines For Six Months In A Row" (May 28, 2026)

This table was created for educational purposes from facts in publicly available information. Please consult the original article linked above for details.

Related: see How AI-Driven Web Design Helps Philippine Businesses Build Smarter Digital Experiences for a detailed discussion.

Step 3: Comprehension Check (5 min)

Answer the following five questions to check how well you understood the article.

Q1. By how many points did WordPress's market share fall over the six months from December 2025 to May 27, 2026? Hint: Calculate the difference from 43.20% to 41.90%.

Q2. Name two platforms the source article said "grew in market share." Hint: Both Wix and Shopify showed positive figures.

Q3. What is the name of the technology whose downloads are surging? Hint: It's a kind of web framework that more than doubled in four months.

Q4. What is the name of the metric for measuring display quality on which Wix is said to have outperformed WordPress? Hint: It's a Google metric for things like perceived page speed.

Q5. With what event does the source article link the start of WordPress's share decline? Hint: It's said to have been triggered by a clash between WordPress's lead figure and a certain hosting company.

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Related: see How AI-Driven SEO Helps Philippine Businesses Rank Higher in Search for a detailed discussion.

Part 2: Putting It Into Practice

Step 4: Implementation Steps in the Philippines (10 min)

We have organized the flow of "checking your web platform and, if needed, rethinking it" into five steps tailored to Philippine circumstances.

In Step 1, the key is to know your current state accurately. Even if the Japan head office has decided "WordPress is fine," Filipino users may be feeling the slowness on their smartphones. Actually open it locally and check how it feels.

When comparing costs in Step 3, it's clearer to think in monthly peso terms. Hosting costs range from a few hundred to a few thousand pesos a month. Because overseas monthly services are often dollar-denominated, check the real burden in pesos.

In Step 5, avoid rushing to move everything at once. Try a few pages first, confirm there are no problems, and then expand — that's the safe way. If you build a form that collects names and contact details, prepare a way of obtaining consent in line with the Philippine Data Privacy Act.

Step 5: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (5 min)

Here are three failures that tend to occur when rethinking a web platform in the Philippines.

Pitfall 1: "Relying solely on the Japan head office's judgment and ignoring local realities"

What not to do: Because head office decided "WordPress as is, is enough," you check nothing locally. As a result, you fail to notice that when Manila customers open the site on smartphones the display is slow and inquiries have fallen.

What to do instead: While respecting head office's policy, actually check display speed locally from a smartphone. Convey the facts, along with the numbers, to head office and decide together whether improvement is needed.

Pitfall 2: "Rushing to switch everything over because of a trend"

What not to do: Unsettled by the article, you move your entire corporate site over at once to a new technology that's gaining popularity. But your local web agency can't handle that technology, and now every update incurs high outsourcing costs.

What to do instead: Try a small page first and confirm whether local staff can handle it. If there are no problems, gradually expand the scope and build an operable setup before proceeding in earnest.

Pitfall 3: "Putting off security checks and legal compliance"

What not to do: Caught up entirely in improving display speed, you leave extensions that haven't been updated as they are. Worse, you run the site without deciding how to handle the personal information collected through inquiry forms, taking on the risk of incidents such as a data breach.

What to do instead: Update extensions regularly and delete the ones you don't use. Before handling customer data, decide on a way of obtaining consent and a storage method in line with NPC rules.

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Part 3: Going Deeper

Step 6: Related Technical Terms (5 min)

A CMS (Content Management System) is a mechanism that lets you update a website's text and images without specialist knowledge. WordPress is the leading example of a CMS. At small and midsize businesses in the Philippines, a CMS is used daily when local staff update the company's latest information and notices from within the office.

Core Web Vitals (a metric for measuring a page's perceived quality) is a set of yardsticks defined by Google that express, as numbers, a page's display speed and stability. The better these scores, the more comfortably users are thought to be able to browse. In the Philippines, where smartphone use is central, measuring and improving these scores ties directly to more inquiries and higher sales.

A plugin (an extension) is a small component that lets you add functionality to a site after the fact. You can add things like inquiry forms and booking features just by attaching a component. At storefront businesses in the Philippines, the practice of adding online booking and payment features via extensions — simplifying the steps customers take before visiting — is spreading.

A web framework (the underlying foundation for building the web) is the skeleton for building websites efficiently. Astro, which is growing fast in the article, is one such framework, and it's drawing attention for making it easy to build fast-loading sites. At IT companies and web agencies in the Philippines, there is a move to adopt such new foundations for clients who prioritize display speed.

Gutenberg (WordPress's editing screen) is WordPress's editing approach, in which you assemble and arrange text and images in units called "blocks." Opinions have been divided over its usability. When you entrust site updates to local staff in the Philippines, holding a short briefing to get them comfortable operating this editing screen makes the handover smoother.

Step 7: Applying This to Your Own Company (10 min)

Grasp your site's "footing" in numbers

Check whether your site is truly comfortable for Filipino users — with numbers, not gut feel. Something to think about: It's important to measure display speed and security in the environment of local users, not that of head-office staff. Deciding who measures, on what device, and when, makes it easier to keep up.

Next action: This week, open your site on a local smartphone and connection and record the display time for just three pages.

Review whether you're over-reliant on a single technology

Leaning too heavily on a particular platform means a big impact if that foundation shakes. Something to think about: Imagine what would happen if the mechanism you use now suddenly raised its prices, or if there were no one left locally who could handle it. How many alternatives you hold ties to the resilience of your business.

Next action: List out the web mechanism you currently use and the number of local staff you can entrust with its updates and maintenance.

Take stock of your local production setup and costs

Even if you choose a good platform, it's meaningless if you can't run it locally. Something to think about: Do you have a grasp of how many people in the Philippines can handle the technology you've chosen, and how much the monthly cost is in pesos? Take a moment to sort out the balance between ease of operation and cost.

Next action: Total up the current monthly cost of your website in peso terms and split it into work you outsource and work you can do in-house.

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Part 4: FAQ

Q1. The article unsettled me. Should I switch our current WordPress site right away?

There's no need to switch right away. What the article shows is a global trend; it doesn't mean your site will suddenly become unusable. Think in this order: first check your site's display speed and security, and if there are problems, improve them. In the Philippines, many local web agencies are familiar with WordPress, so the advantage of ease of operation also remains.

Q2. Filipino users are smartphone-centric. In terms of display speed, which platform has the edge?

According to the article, Wix outperforms WordPress on the display-quality metric Core Web Vitals. That said, even with the same WordPress, speed varies greatly depending on the server and how extensions are used. Rather than judging by platform name alone, we recommend measuring your own site's actual numbers on a local connection.

Q3. I hear WordPress security is a concern. What measures should I take when running it in the Philippines?

The basics are to keep extensions up to date and delete the ones you don't use. Beyond that, setting up two-step verification for logins to the admin screen (a mechanism that requires a separate check in addition to a password) raises security. If you handle customer data, put in place storage and consent procedures in line with the Philippine Data Privacy Act.

Q4. Local web agencies only ever propose WordPress. Should I choose a newer technology?

Behind WordPress being proposed is a practical reason: many people locally can handle it. New technologies have advantages such as fast display, but if few people can handle them, every update costs money and time. Decide first whether you'll prioritize display speed or ease of operation, then consult your web agency — that makes the decision easier.

Q5. When building a form to collect customers' names and contact details, what should I watch for under Philippine law?

The Philippines has a Data Privacy Act that governs the protection of personal information, with the NPC (National Privacy Commission) as its regulator. You are required to clearly state the purpose for which you collect the information, obtain the person's consent, and store only what is necessary, securely. There is much overlap with Japan's approach to protecting personal information, but always confirm the local rules before you start operating.

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Tips for Getting the Most Out of This (3 Tips)

First, measure your own site once in the local environment The article's numbers are a global story. What truly matters for your company is how Filipino users experience it. Measuring display speed on a local smartphone and connection brings the points to improve into concrete view.

Make "checking" a habit before "switching" Changing platforms is a big decision. Before that, make it a monthly habit to update extensions and verify security settings. Simply keeping up the checks prevents many problems without switching at all.

Don't narrow to a single option; confirm you have a setup that can handle it locally No matter how excellent the technology, it won't last if you can't run it locally. When considering a new technology, always first confirm whether there are staff or agencies in the Philippines who can handle it.

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Bonus: How to Work With PH AI Works

PH AI Works is a company that supports the use of AI and technology in the Philippines. On this article's theme — "selecting a web platform and rethinking how you run it" — we can offer advice grounded in Philippine circumstances. We can work with you to sort out how to think about a site for smartphone-centric users and how to build an operating setup you can sustain locally.

As a next step, we can advise on things such as:

• How to check your site's display speed and security from the perspective of Philippine users
• How to compare multiple platforms, including WordPress, on peso-denominated cost and ease of operation
• How to set up forms that handle customer data in line with Philippine personal-information-protection rules

Please feel free to reach out — initial consultations are free.

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References and Sources

• Search Engine Journal — "WordPress Market Share Declines For Six Months In A Row" (May 28, 2026)
• National Privacy Commission (NPC)