With its root as a blogging platform, it is easy to disregard the WordPress platform as a serious business solution. The fact that it is open-source and free to use for anyone can also certainly contribute to its image as a product for hobbyists.
As a consequence, clients who don’t know better might doubt its scalability for larger projects, and developers may therefore think they couldn’t land big-name clients by offering WordPress services.
However, WordPress now powers 64.1% of all websites with a known content management system. Showing the CMS is incredibly powerful.
To show that the platform is a force to be reckoned with, we have put together a list of famous websites using WordPress. From international news outlets and A-list celebrities, to big brands and tech companies — the platform is the technology behind players of all sizes in every industry.
News Outlets And Magazines Running On WordPress
In recent years, online news continues to boom. The fact is that some of the largest news outlets on the planet rely on WordPress to keep their readers informed. Here are a few of them.
1. The New York Times Company
The company behind New York’s finest and second-largest newspaper in the United States based not only its own firm website on WordPress but also some of its news blogs.
2. Fortune
Get business news and more with WordPress running behind the scenes.
3. New York Post
Extra! Extra! The New York Post runs its website on WordPress VIP!
4. CNN Blogs
CNN blogs also use WordPress.
5. Los Angeles Times
With so many east coast outlets using WordPress, the west coast is not far behind. The Los Angeles Times also uses WordPress.
6. Variety
Film and celebrity news coming at you and wearing WordPress code while they’re at it.
7. Harvard Gazette
The Harvard Gazette uses WordPress for its background architecture.
8. Observer
The Observer is now built with WordPress.
9. WIRED
This iconic tech magazine’s website is built on WordPress.
10. Reader’s Digest
The long-running magazine’s website is run on WordPress and makes it easy to digest their stories about all sorts of topics.
Online Publications That Trust WordPress for Their Sites
The WordPress platform has been adapted quickly by some of the leading technology blogs. Here are just a few examples.
11. TechCrunch
TechCrunch is probably among the most famous websites using WordPress. It allows you to get the latest technology and startup news through a custom WordPress loop with extra large images.
12. Boing Boing
If you look into Boing Boing’s source code, you will find familiar references to Jetpack.
13. The Next Web
More technology news and all things Internet with WordPress running behind the scenes.
14. Laughing Squid
First of all, what’s up with that name? Can anybody explain? Secondly, Laughing Squid is a blog on many topics (with a focus on cute animals, it seems) and a cloud-hosting service with a focus on WordPress hosting.
15. FiveThirtyEight
This political forecast site uses WordPress for content management.
Celebrity Sites Using the WordPress Platform
Your favorite celebrities and stars also opt for good ol’ WordPress. What better way to preserve your income from record sales, movie fees, and other shenanigans than opting for free software?
16. Jay Z
Jay Z, Jigga, Hova — the man with many names and even more rap albums — tells about his life and times on the official Jay Z WordPress website.
17. Beyoncé
We don’t know for sure if there was a conversation in the Carter household as to which CMS to use for their sites, but they obviously made a joint decision. I mean, they had to’ve, right?
18. Katy Perry
Katy Perry’s website offers a straightforward layout with prominent banner images, videos, and links to her merch shop.
19. Justin Timberlake
Clear lines, a nice font, and lots of photos can be found on JT’s site. The system making it all possible? If you’ve caught up with the theme of this article, you probably guessed it by now.
20. Usain Bolt
Clearly Usain Bolt loves speed. That’s why he chose WordPress to power his site!
21. Granity Studios
Granity Studios is the multimedia content company formed by NBA legend, Kobe Bryant, before his passing. The site, of course, runs on WordPress.
22. The Rolling Stones
Did you know that the Rolling Stones are apparently video blogging? It’s true. You can see it on their WordPress-powered website.
23. Dave Matthews Band
In case you are thinking of writing a WordPress plugin, there seems to be money in the image slider business for celebrity websites. They are everywhere. DMB is no exception.
24. LL Cool J
Apparently mama said build your website with WordPress.
25. Jason Mraz
Nice and clean design on Jason Mraz’s homepage. Mraz is clearly loving the full-size images.
26. Sylvester Stallone
The official homepage of the Rocky and Rambo star comes with a minimal and clean design. Made me check for ‘Stallone’ in the WordPress repository.
27. Katie Couric
The first lady in news also has her own website, courtesy of WordPress.
28. Russell Brand
The website of comedian Russell Brand has a solid responsive theme — it adapts to any screen size nicely.
29. Blondie
Blondie’s website is definitely running on WordPress. The design is simple but effective.
30. Snoop Dogg
The one and only Snoop D-O-Double G has a stylish website that runs on WordPress.
31. Rihanna
The singer turned fashion and makeup mogul relies on a website that operates on WordPress, too. The gallery-style blog is eye-catching.
32. Ricky Martin
This WordPress-based website features a clearly mobile-first design.
33. Martha Stewart
The maven of homemaking blogs regularly uses, you guessed it, WordPress.
34. The Duke & Duchess of Sussex
Offering a straightforward layout that borrows a bit of a masonry style, the website is simple and makes it easy to find the info you’re after.
35. Dolly Parton
With eye-catching design and informative content, this website is easy to navigate. Would you expect anything less from Dolly’s official web presence?
36. Naomi Campbell
Supermodel Naomi Campbell’s website features prominent photos of her, which is facilitated by a minimal layout that emphasizes imagery above all else.
37. Danielle Steel
Author Danielle Steel’s website is a tad old-fashioned but it offers her readers the info they’re looking for quickly.
38. John Grisham
Another author on our list! John Grisham’s site acts as a knowledge base for his previous works and an online store of sorts.
39. Helen Mirren
The British actress’s website features a block layout with a fine balance of text and images.
Websites of Famous Brands and Companies Using WordPress
Celebrities and news outlets aren’t the only ones who have discovered WordPress. All sorts of well-known brands and companies also rely on the platform to communicate with their customers online.
40. PlayStation USA
The PlayStation blog is presented by WordPress.
41. Sony Music
Sony Music is another entry in the long list of large-slider-on-homepage websites. I am telling you, this is a gold mine!
42. James Bond 007
Turns out that WordPress is one of the latest entries in 007’s list of gadgets. I wonder if Q came up with the idea?
Popular Technology Companies That Use WordPress
The companies on this list have a large staff of tech experts at hand and could easily whip up their own custom solution. Yet, they chose to go with WordPress. What does that tell you?
43. Blender
The 3D animation software’s website is based on WordPress and even makes use of the W3 Total Cache plugin.
44. Flickr
Yes, Flickr also has a blog and yes, it is also running on our favorite CMS, WordPress.
45. Mozilla
With the Mozilla blog running on WordPress, the two giants of open-source finally unite.
46. Hootsuite
The people behind the social media tool Hootsuite give tips on how to run your social campaigns and more. I actually contribute to this blog from time to time.
47. Evernote
WordPress and Evernote are two of my favorite blogging tools. The makers of the latter apparently feel the same way.
48. cPanel Blog
The web host control panel uses WordPress to manage their own blog posts.
49. Angry Birds
Find out about everything Angry Birds on this side-scrolling, highly-interactive website that’s built on – you guessed it – WordPress.
50. Creative Commons
Everything you could ever possibly know about Creative Commons licensing is available here. And the site is built on the Twenty-Sixteen theme, no less!
Other Famous Websites Using WordPress
Finally, here are a bunch of big WordPress users who couldn’t fit into the above categories.
51. TED
Best known for interesting and inspiring talks, TED also runs a blog that goes beyond what you see in their videos.
52. Riverdance
Anyone else always think about how this Irish folk dance scares “the bejeezus” out of Chandler Bing? Just me? Oh well. They use WordPress though!
53. The Walt Disney Company
One of the most famous companies in the world has at least one of their websites using WordPress. It features a large hero image and easy-to-navigate menus.
54. Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
This Smithsonian museum website makes full use of WordPress features like image sliders, a mega menu, and a donation plugin.
55. Hachette Book Group
The WordPress website for Hachette Book Group offers a simple design that’s easy to navigate and browse – perfect for those looking for their next favorite book.
56. Grubhub Blog
If you want to learn all about the latest over at Grubhub, their blog is an obvious must-read. There you’ll find company news, food info, restaurant stories, and more.
Is Yours Going to Be Another Famous Website Using WordPress?
We hope this list managed to eliminate any doubts about WordPress’ capabilities. The platform has long grown out of being a mere blogging tool and has become a full-fledged CMS used by heavy-hitters in pretty much all industries.
From news media, to big brands and tech companies — loads of A-listers have joined the 64+% of the Internet powered by WordPress. Should the above list not be enough to convince you, you can find even more examples here:
- 7 Inspiring Headless WordPress Examples Out in the Wild (2021)
- Enterprise-Level WordPress Sites: 13 Examples Worth Checking
- 30 Real-life Examples of eCommerce Sites Built with WordPress
There are also more in the WordPress Website Showcase. But really, if you are not convinced by now, what are you even doing here?
Do you have examples of famous websites running on WordPress? What was the most surprising in our list above? Please share in the comments.
