---
title: "WordPress Version Exposure: 52.8% of Sites Show It"
url: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/wordpress-version-exposure
description: "52.8% of top 1M WordPress homepages publish their exact version in a generator tag. 4.1% of those show a version older than 6.0; WooCommerce stores hit 59.8%."
lang: en
---
Data Study ยท Website Maintenance
# WordPress Version Exposure: 52.8% of WordPress Sites Show It
52.8% of top 1M WordPress homepages (60,079 of 113,804) publish their exact WordPress version in a generator meta tag.
- 113,804 WordPress homepages
- HTTP Archive, Sept 2026
Matt Suffoletto: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/author/matt-suffoletto
Founder, PageSpeed Matters Published Oct. 19, 2026 6 min read
## Key Findings
1. 60,079 of 113,804 top 1M WordPress homepages (**52.8%**) publish their WordPress version in a generator meta tag. Copy stat
2. Most exposed sites are current: of the 60,077 homepages whose tag gives a major.minor version, **56.6%** show 7.1 and 15.9% show 7.0, while 8.6% show 6.0 to 6.7 and **4.1%** (2,471) show a version older than 6.0. Copy stat
3. Bigger sites expose slightly less: **51.0%** of 637 Top 10K WordPress homepages and 50.3% of 7,139 Top 100K homepages show the version, against **53.0%** of 106,028 in the rest of the top 1M. Copy stat
4. WooCommerce stores are more exposed: **59.8%** of 21,999 WordPress homepages running WooCommerce publish the version, against **51.1%** of 91,805 without it. Copy stat
5. **75.4%** of WordPress homepages (85,828) carry a generator meta tag of some kind, so about **1 in 4** carries no generator tag at all. Copy stat
Version shown by exposed WordPress homepages (60,077 with a major.minor version)
7.1 56.6%
7.0 15.9%
6.9 8.8%
6.8 5.9%
6.0 to 6.7 8.6%
Older than 6.0 4.1%
Source: PageSpeed Matters. HTTP Archive top 1M crawl, Sept 2026, mobile.
Only covers homepages that publish their version.
In this study
## WordPress homepages publishing their exact version, by group (Sept 2026, top 1M)
| Group | Shows version | Any generator tag | Homepages |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Top 10K | 51.0% | 64.7% | 637 |
| Top 100K | 50.3% | 68.1% | 7,139 |
| Rest of top 1M | 53.0% | 76.0% | 106,028 |
| With WooCommerce | 59.8% | 86.7% | 21,999 |
| Without WooCommerce | 51.1% | 72.7% | 91,805 |
| All WordPress | 52.8% | 75.4% | 113,804 |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, HTTP Archive, Sept 2026. Top 10K includes the Top 1K.
## Summary
By default, WordPress adds a generator meta tag to every page that names the exact version the site runs. It is useful to nobody visiting the site, but it tells anyone scanning the web which release a site is on, and so which known issues it might still have.
We checked how many popular WordPress sites still publish it. 52.8% of top 1M WordPress homepages, 60,079 of 113,804, show their exact WordPress version in a generator meta tag. Most of those sites are on a current release, but a small group shows a version that is several years old.
## What we measured
We looked at the HTTP Archive crawl from September 2026, on mobile, covering the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic. A homepage counts as WordPress when the crawl identifies it as a WordPress site, which gives 113,804 homepages.
A homepage counts as exposing its version when it has a generator meta tag that reads 'WordPress' followed by a version number. For the version breakdown we used the first major.minor number in the tag, which works for 60,077 of the exposed homepages. The popularity tiers merge the Top 1K into the Top 10K. All results are reported in aggregate, and we do not name individual sites.
This is a narrower test than our WordPress version study, which also looks for the version outside the generator meta tag, so the counts here are slightly lower.
## Just over half of WordPress homepages publish their version
60,079 of 113,804 top 1M WordPress homepages (52.8%) publish their WordPress version in a generator meta tag. That is the default behaviour, so these are likely mostly sites where nobody has changed it.
Generator tags in general are even more common. 75.4% of WordPress homepages (85,828) carry a generator meta tag of some kind, so about 1 in 4 carries no generator tag at all. The rest of the gap is likely sites that removed the WordPress tag while a plugin or page builder still prints its own.
52.8%
Share of 113,804 top 1M WordPress homepages that publish their exact WordPress version in a generator meta tag.
## Most exposed sites run a current release
Among the 60,077 homepages whose tag gives a major.minor version, most are current. 56.6% show 7.1 and 15.9% show 7.0. Another 8.8% show 6.9 and 5.9% show 6.8.
The tail is where the risk sits. 8.6% show a version from 6.0 to 6.7, and 4.1% (2,471 homepages) show a version older than 6.0. Those sites, all in the top 1M, are publicly announcing that they run old software.
Showing the version is not a problem in itself for a site that stays updated. It matters most for sites that fall behind, because the tag makes them easy to find.
## Bigger sites expose their version slightly less
The most visited WordPress sites are a little less likely to show the version. 51.0% of 637 Top 10K WordPress homepages and 50.3% of 7,139 Top 100K homepages show it, against 53.0% of 106,028 in the rest of the top 1M.
The gap is small. Bigger sites are also less likely to carry any generator tag (64.7% in the Top 10K and 68.1% in the Top 100K, against 76.0% in the rest of the top 1M), likely because more of them use custom builds or security settings that strip default tags.
## WooCommerce stores are more exposed
WordPress sites that run WooCommerce are the most likely to publish their version. 59.8% of 21,999 WooCommerce homepages show it, against 51.1% of 91,805 WordPress homepages without WooCommerce. WooCommerce homepages also carry a generator tag of some kind more often, at 86.7% against 72.7%.
WooCommerce adds its own generator tag, which likely explains part of the higher overall rate. For stores the version tag matters more than for most sites, because they handle customer accounts and orders.
## What this means for your site
Start with the part that matters: keep WordPress, your theme and your plugins up to date. Hiding the version does not protect an outdated site. It only makes it slightly harder to spot.
Once you are current, remove the version tag. Many security and SEO plugins have a setting for it, or a developer can remove WordPress's generator output from the page head with one line in the theme's functions file. Check plugin and page builder generator tags too, since they can reveal versions of their own.
Then confirm the change: view your homepage source and search for 'generator'.
## Sources
- HTTP Archive crawl of the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic, September 2026, mobile: WordPress homepages and their generator meta tags
## Embed this research
Paste this on your site to embed the chart. It links back to the source automatically.
Source: WordPress Version Exposure: 52.8% of WordPress Sites Show It - PageSpeed Matters
## Frequently asked questions
### What percentage of WordPress sites show their version number?
52.8% of top 1M WordPress homepages, 60,079 of 113,804, publish their exact WordPress version in a generator meta tag.
### Is it a security risk to show the WordPress version?
The tag itself does not make a site vulnerable, but it makes outdated sites easy to spot. Of the exposed homepages with a readable version, 4.1% show a version older than 6.0.
### Do WooCommerce stores expose their WordPress version more often?
Yes. 59.8% of WordPress homepages running WooCommerce publish the version, against 51.1% of WordPress homepages without it.
### How do I hide my WordPress version?
Update WordPress first, then remove the generator tag with a security or SEO plugin setting or a one-line change in your theme. View your page source and search for 'generator' to confirm it is gone.
Keeping WordPress current and removing the version tag is routine work, and it stops your site from advertising old software to anyone who looks. Need help with this? See our WordPress support services (https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/services/wordpress-maintenance).
Share
How we measured
## Methodology & Source
Data source
HTTP Archive crawl of the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic
Collection date
September 2026
Sample
113,804 WordPress homepages
Release
HTTP Archive, Sept 2026
Sept 2026 HTTP Archive homepages, mobile, identified as WordPress by the crawl (113,804 homepages). A homepage exposes its version when a generator meta tag reads 'WordPress' followed by a version number. Version groups use the first major.minor number in the tag (60,077 homepages). Popularity tiers merge the Top 1K into the Top 10K. Reported in aggregate only; no individual sites are named.
Using this data?
## Cite this study
Link back to the study when you cite it.
APA
Matt Suffoletto. (2026). WordPress Version Exposure: 52.8% of WordPress Sites Show It. PageSpeed Matters. https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/wordpress-version-exposure
Plain link
WordPress Version Exposure: 52.8% of WordPress Sites Show It - PageSpeed Matters - https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/wordpress-version-exposure
## Related studies
- Website Maintenance WordPress Version Statistics 2026: 18.7% Run Old Releases: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/wordpress-version-statistics
- Website Maintenance XML-RPC Statistics 2026: 76.0% of WordPress Sites Advertise It: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/xml-rpc-statistics
- Website Maintenance Server Version Disclosure: 14.8% of Top 1M Sites: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/server-version-disclosure
- Website Maintenance WooCommerce Version Statistics: 35.6% of Stores Run Old Releases: https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/woocommerce-version-statistics
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