The Data
The narrative: Nordic companies lead the world in modern web infrastructure. Spotify (Next.js), Klarna (Next.js), Wolt, Polestar — all modern. The reality from our 2.6M-site scan: the broad Nordic web is 78-86% WordPress. More legacy-dependent than the global average.
Why the Gap Exists
Spotify and Klarna use .com domains, not .se. They're global companies that happen to be Swedish. The .se domain space is Swedish SMBs, local agencies, municipal sites — and they default to WordPress just like SMBs everywhere else. The celebrated Nordic tech sector is a thin modern layer on top of a WordPress-dominated base.
What This Changes
Our earlier analysis suggested Nordic companies run modern while the rest of Europe runs legacy. That's true for the funded tech layer — the Spotifys and Klarnas. But it's misleading about the Nordic web as a whole. The EU's internal digital divide isn't North vs South. It's funded tech vs everything else, in every country.
