The Number That Defines the Decade
10,002,735. That's how many websites WebPulse detected and classified in the largest web framework scan ever published. Of those, 8,250,594 — 82.5% — run legacy frameworks. WordPress alone accounts for 7,427,780 sites. The modern web — Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, Remix, Hugo — accounts for 1,752,141 sites combined.
This Gap Will Close — The Question Is How
Every historical technology transition follows the same curve: the legacy platform doesn't disappear gradually — it collapses when a tipping point hits. Mainframes to client-server. Client-server to web. Desktop apps to mobile. In each case, the legacy platform held 80%+ share right up until it didn't.
For web frameworks, the tipping point is the convergence of three pressures: AI agents consuming 57.5% of web traffic (legacy can't serve them efficiently), vulnerability acceleration (WordPress CVEs increased 42% year-over-year), and cost (legacy hosting costs 10-60x more than modern alternatives).
The Migration Industry
82.5% legacy means the migration services market is massive. At conservative estimates — $10,000-50,000 per site migration — the addressable market for WordPress-to-modern migrations alone exceeds $50 billion. This is the infrastructure rebuild that will define the next decade of web development. The agencies and consultancies that can execute these migrations at scale will be the next generation of digital services firms.
Where Migration Is Already Happening
Fintech: 100% modern. AI-native companies: 100% modern. Tech infrastructure companies (Cloudflare, Netlify, Vercel): 100% modern. The pattern is clear — industries with the highest security requirements and the most technically sophisticated teams migrated first. Healthcare, government, education, and manufacturing are next. They have the same compliance pressures but slower procurement cycles. The migration will happen. The only variable is whether it happens proactively or after a breach.
