---
title: "Copyright Year Statistics 2026: 26.0% Still Show 2025"
url: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/copyright-year-statistics
description: "452,273 homepages still show 'Copyright © 2025', 26.0% of those with a 2025 or 2026 line. Of ranking sites, 14.8% on WordPress and 3.9% on Shopify are stale."
lang: en
---
Data Study · Website Maintenance
# Copyright Year Statistics 2026: 26.0% Still Show 2025
452,273 homepages carry a 'Copyright © 2025' line and no mention of 2026. Among homepages showing a 2025 or 2026 copyright line, 26.0% are still on 2025.
- 40,295,452 homepages
- PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026
Matt Suffoletto: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/author/matt-suffoletto
Founder, PageSpeed Matters Published Oct. 19, 2026 7 min read
## Key Findings
1. **452,273** homepages crawled in 2026 carry a 'Copyright © 2025' line with no 2026 anywhere on the page, against 1,284,675 showing 'Copyright © 2026', so **26.0%** of homepages with a 2025 or 2026 copyright line are still on 2025. Copy stat
2. Older copyright years with no 2026 on the page: 2024 on **183,789** homepages, 2023 on 112,643, 2022 on 98,763, 2021 on 104,506, 2020 on 108,179, 2019 on 79,188 and 2018 on **102,992**. Copy stat
3. Sites that rank in Google are far more current: of 18,252 ranking sites with a footer year, **4.4%** still show 2025 and **7.0%** show 2024 or earlier. Copy stat
4. Among ranking sites with a footer year, **14.8%** of WordPress sites (6,924) show 2025 or earlier, against **3.9%** of Shopify stores (3,639) and 12.0% of sites on other platforms (7,689); only 2.3% of Shopify stores show 2024 or earlier, against 9.0% of WordPress sites. Copy stat
5. Stale footers get rarer higher up the results: **7.8%** of sites whose best Google position is #1 (2,046) show a past year, against 10.2% at positions 2 to 5, 11.6% at 6 to 10 and **13.3%** at 11 to 20 (6,694). Copy stat
6. Recipe sites are the most out of date (**19.8%** of 410 show 2025 or earlier), followed by restaurants (18.5% of 487) and fitness (16.7% of 540); jewelry (**5.4%** of 709) and apparel (6.1% of 539) are the most current. Copy stat
Ranking sites with a past footer year, by best Google position
Position 1 (2,046 sites) 7.8%
Positions 2 to 5 10.2%
Positions 6 to 10 11.6%
Positions 11 to 20 (6,694 sites) 13.3%
Source: PageSpeed Matters. Homepage footers of sites in the Google top 20 for 10,019 US searches, Oct 2026.
A correlation, not a ranking factor.
In this study
## Ranking sites showing a past copyright year in the footer, by platform
| Platform | Sites with a footer year | Show 2025 | Show 2024 or earlier | Any past year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WordPress | 6,924 | 5.7% | 9.0% | 14.8% |
| Shopify | 3,639 | 1.6% | 2.3% | 3.9% |
| Other | 7,689 | 4.6% | 7.4% | 12.0% |
| All ranking sites | 18,252 | 4.4% | 7.0% | 11.4% |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026. Sites in the Google top 20 for 10,019 US searches with a year in the footer.
## Summary
The copyright line in a footer is the smallest signal a site gives that someone is looking after it. When it still shows last year, or a year from long ago, some visitors will notice. It reads like a shop with an old calendar on the wall.
We counted how many homepages are behind. 452,273 homepages crawled in 2026 carry a 'Copyright © 2025' line with no mention of 2026 anywhere on the page. Among homepages that show a 2025 or 2026 copyright line, 26.0% are still on 2025, a figure that includes homepages captured early in the year, before many owners update the footer. Sites that actually rank in Google are far more current.
## What we measured
The headline counts cover 40,295,452 homepages crawled from January 1 to October 14, 2026. For each year we counted homepages whose code contains 'Copyright © [year]' and that do not mention 2026 anywhere on the page. That rule also leaves out year ranges such as 2018 to 2026.
The per-year counts overlap, because one homepage can mention several old years, so they should never be added together. Sites that set the footer year with JavaScript may also be counted as stale if the crawl captured the fallback year in the HTML. And because homepages were crawled across the year, some were captured in early 2026, before their owners had a chance to update the footer.
The ranking-site figures come from a separate check of the homepages of sites in the Google top 20 on October 15, 2026, for 10,019 US searches. We read the year after the copyright sign or word in the footer, and took the platform from markers on the same page. 18,252 of those sites showed a footer year.
## A quarter of copyright lines are a year behind
452,273 homepages show 'Copyright © 2025' and no 2026 anywhere on the page, against 1,284,675 that show 'Copyright © 2026'. So 26.0% of homepages with a 2025 or 2026 copyright line are still on 2025.
Many footers are older still. Counting homepages that show an older copyright year and no 2026 on the page:
- 2024: 183,789 homepages
- 2023: 112,643
- 2022: 98,763
- 2021: 104,506
- 2020: 108,179
- 2019: 79,188
- 2018: 102,992
These groups overlap, so they are not a running total. They do show that a large number of sites have not touched their footer in years, and likely not their theme either.
26.0%
Share of homepages with a 2025 or 2026 copyright line that still show 2025 and no 2026 anywhere on the page.
## Ranking sites are far more current
Sites that rank in Google are much less likely to show an old year. Of 18,252 ranking sites with a footer year, 4.4% still show 2025 and 7.0% show 2024 or earlier.
That makes sense. Sites that earn rankings for competitive US searches tend to be actively run, and an active team is more likely to update the footer, or to have it set automatically.
## WordPress sites lag more than Shopify stores
Among ranking sites with a footer year, 14.8% of 6,924 WordPress sites show 2025 or earlier, against 3.9% of 3,639 Shopify stores and 12.0% of 7,689 sites on other platforms.
The gap is widest for footers that are more than a year behind. Only 2.3% of Shopify stores show 2024 or earlier, against 9.0% of WordPress sites. A likely reason is how the footer gets its year: many store themes print the current year automatically, while many WordPress footers are typed into a widget or theme setting once and then left alone.
## Stale footers get rarer higher up the results
The higher a site's best Google position, the less likely it is to show a past year. 7.8% of the 2,046 sites whose best position is #1 show a past year, against 10.2% at positions 2 to 5, 11.6% at 6 to 10 and 13.3% of the 6,694 sites whose best position is 11 to 20.
This is a correlation, not evidence of a ranking factor. A current footer is more likely a sign of a well-kept site, and well-kept sites tend to do better in search for many other reasons.
## Recipe and restaurant sites lag the most
Recipe sites are the most out of date: 19.8% of 410 ranking recipe sites show 2025 or earlier. Restaurants follow at 18.5% of 487, then fitness at 16.7% of 540.
At the other end, jewelry (5.4% of 709) and apparel (6.1% of 539) are the most current. Both are retail verticals, and Shopify stores showed the fewest stale footers in the platform split above, so platform mix is a likely part of the reason.
## What this means for your site
Check your footer today. If it shows a past year, fix it once so it never goes stale again: print the year from the server in your theme template rather than typing it into a text widget. On WordPress that is a one-line change in the footer template, or a setting in many themes and page builders.
Avoid setting the year only with JavaScript if you can, since crawlers and some visitors may still see the fallback year in the HTML.
Treat the footer as a signal, not a fix. If the year is years out of date, the theme, plugins and content behind it probably are too, and those matter far more for speed, security and search.
## Sources
- PageSpeed Matters analysis of 40,295,452 homepages crawled January 1 to October 14, 2026, October 2026
- PageSpeed Matters analysis of the homepage footers of sites in the Google top 20 for 10,019 US searches, October 2026
## Embed this research
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Source: Copyright Year Statistics 2026: 26.0% Still Show 2025 - PageSpeed Matters
## Frequently asked questions
### How many websites still show last year's copyright date?
452,273 homepages crawled in 2026 carry a 'Copyright © 2025' line with no 2026 anywhere on the page. That is 26.0% of homepages with a 2025 or 2026 copyright line.
### Does an outdated copyright year hurt SEO?
Our data shows a correlation, not a ranking factor. 7.8% of sites whose best Google position is #1 show a past year, against 13.3% of sites whose best position is 11 to 20.
### Which platforms are most likely to show an old copyright year?
Among ranking sites with a footer year, 14.8% of WordPress sites show 2025 or earlier, against 12.0% of sites on other platforms and 3.9% of Shopify stores.
### How do I keep my footer copyright year current?
Print the year from the server in your theme's footer template instead of typing it into a text widget. Then it updates on its own every January.
An old footer year is a one-time fix, and it is often the first visible sign that a theme, its plugins and its content need a review. Need help with this? See our website maintenance services (https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/services/website-maintenance).
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How we measured
## Methodology & Source
Data source
40,295,452 homepages crawled Jan to Oct 2026; homepages of sites in Google's top 20 for 10,019 US searches
Collection date
October 2026
Sample
40,295,452 homepages
Release
PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026
Count = homepages containing 'Copyright © [year]' that do not also mention 2026, across 40,295,452 homepages crawled Jan 1 to Oct 14, 2026. Year ranges such as 2018 to 2026 are therefore not counted. Per-year counts overlap and should not be added up. Sites that set the year with JavaScript may be counted as stale. Ranking-site figures come from a homepage footer check of sites in the Oct 15 Google top 20 for 10,019 US searches; position differences are a correlation, not a ranking factor.
Using this data?
## Cite this study
Link back to the study when you cite it.
APA
Matt Suffoletto. (2026). Copyright Year Statistics 2026: 26.0% Still Show 2025. PageSpeed Matters. https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/copyright-year-statistics
Plain link
Copyright Year Statistics 2026: 26.0% Still Show 2025 - PageSpeed Matters - https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/copyright-year-statistics
## Related studies
- Website Maintenance Business Blog Activity 2026: 20.9% Silent for a Year: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/business-blog-activity
- Website Maintenance Lorem Ipsum Statistics: WordPress Sites 4x More Likely Than Shopify: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/lorem-ipsum-statistics
- Website Maintenance Default WordPress Tagline: Still on 1 in 112 WordPress Sites: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/default-wordpress-tagline
- Website Maintenance WordPress Version Statistics 2026: 18.7% Run Old Releases: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/wordpress-version-statistics
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