If you don’t already know, the WordPress content management system powers 35% of the world’s websites. Seeing as there are 1.7 billion sites right now, and counting, you can do the math as to the number of WordPress websites delivering content to site visitors every second.

Yet, the thing is, when people think of WordPress, a lot of them still think it’s only good for small to medium-sized business websites or blogs. In fact, many people believe the popular CMS is not powerful enough to handle big-name corporations, well-established global brands, or even the personal websites of some of the world’s most famous celebrities.

But it is.

And we’re here today to share with you some of the most famous active websites that use WordPress to help dispel this myth and show you just how great this content management system is.

So, let’s get started.

First on our list of well-known websites using WordPress is Etsy Journal. It’s the blog for the well-known global marketplace Etsy. This is the place to find unique, hand-crafted, and creative goods for friends and family. It seeks to bring together a group of community sellers to promote and sell their crafts. And the Etsy Journal complements this connection by giving people, sellers and buyers alike, a place to learn more about crafting, share their thoughts and become inspired.

Tech Crunch, which reports on business related to tech, news, technological advances, emerging tech trends, startups, and new products is another great example of a famous WordPress website. In fact, it was acquired by AOL in 2010 for $25 million, truly exposing its value to the online world.

Microsoft News is a blog that clearly takes advantage of the masonry grid layouts for its news articles. It also happens to be built on the WordPress platform, making it simple to achieve this layout. I hope we don’t have to explain why an internationally recognized brand like Microsoft made it on this list.

The TED Blog, powered by WordPress, shares famous TED Talks in written form for anyone who prefers reading to watching them as videos. As a nonpartisan, non-profit organization devoted to spreading ideas to people across the globe, it’s clear the team behind the TED Blog knows what kind of website foundation is needed to succeed.

BBC America offers the best American scripted television series alongside the best in British entertainment, making it very popular no matter which side of the pond you’re on. Ever heard of Dr. Who or Planet Earth II?BBC America is responsible for both and many more TV dramas, sci-fi series, and natural history documentaries. It even lets you stream movies, too. But what makes this website so versatile is that you can read the blog and shop online for merchandise as well.

PlayStation is not just for kids who love to play video games. In fact, PlayStation’s WordPress-based website has plenty of information for adults who love connecting with their inner child. Find out about worldwide game drops, trending gaming industry news, and advanced technology that you’ll want to get your hands on right here on the PlayStation Blog.

If this layout looks familiar to you, don’t be alarmed. Skype, which is a part of Microsoft, knows that if the open-source CMS works for Microsoft News, it’ll work for the Skype blog, too. This famous WordPress website shares Skype features, tutorials for Skype interviewing, and even heartfelt stories about how this free technology helps connect people no matter where they are in the world.

Known for creating the happiest place on Earth, this well-known brand also takes advantage of the best CMS on Earth – WordPress. Utilizing a large hero image, a sticky navigation menu, and dedicated sections for investors, those looking to change careers, and the company’s philanthropy efforts, this site oozes WordPress design and functionality.

As part of the Disney brand, the Star Wars blog follows suit and uses WordPress to handle the influx of traffic it surely sees on a daily basis. Everyone is on the edge of their seats awaiting the release of the latest Star Wars installment, in December 2019. To make sure that everyone is up to date, the official Star Wars Blog relies on the power and security of the WordPress platform to share news, events, video content, and stunning imagery (that lazy loads for optimal load times).

Yelp reviews tend to land on the front page of Google search results, making it an ideal place to gather positive feedback for your online business. But little did you probably know that Yelp itself uses the SEO-optimized WordPress platform (for the best WordPress SEO plugins, read this post). This helps them ensure that people looking for authentic reviews can find them with ease, along with news, data, community information, and products.

Want the latest on what’s going on in Facebook land? Then hop on over to this WordPress-based website and check out the latest Facebook news and press statements released by the global brand. Facebook has taken over the social media world and holds strong to billions of people around the world. Therefore, for its blogging needs, they require a foundation that can handle all that and then some. You can also access company information, a media gallery, a directory, and more thanks to the flexibility WordPress offer website owners.

Music is everywhere (for example, in these music website templates), and MTV has long been the leader in sharing the latest gossip, newest album drops, and hottest outfits at every music-related award ceremony. Because of this, they need a reliable site foundation, such as WordPress, to handle the traffic and enough resources to deal with thousands of images and blog posts being published on it daily.

It seems fitting that the most popular control panel in WordPress hosting uses WordPress to power its own blog. If you have a digital presence and know about WordPress, you’ll know exactly what cPanel is, and you might even be using it regularly for your own site.

What started as a weekly magazine in the United States in 1892 has now become one of the most well-established fashion and lifestyle online magazines in the world. Focusing on topics such as couture, beauty, culture, living, and runway, Vogue is a household name. And to top it off, they include every single print magazine since the beginning – online – for people to read, powered by WordPress.

Usain Bolt is more than the fastest man the world has ever seen (though conquering the Triple Triple – winning three gold medals at three consecutive Olympic games is impressive). He’s also a world ambassador for top brands. Plus, he has established the Usain Bolt Foundation, started an Urban Mobility company called BOLT to help those with mobility needs, has a clothing line with Puma, signature watches with Hublot, a restaurant, and even a shaving and insole company to his resume. Needless to say, Usain is a busy guy with lots to share with the world, and WordPress helps him achieve all of that.

Rackspace is a well-known hosting company for enterprises that need lots of server space and room to scale. And you can bet Rackspace itself needs the same, which is why it relies on the power, flexibility, and scalability of the WordPress CMS.

Alanis Morissette is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is best known for her rock album, Jagged Little Pill, that sold 33 million copies globally. If you want to learn more about her or her music, media, or events, and/or buy merchandise check out her website (learn how to accept payments in WordPress here). She even decided to start a podcast that you can find on her site, which is built on WordPress and can handle the traffic of all her fans with ease.

Everyone knows about the popular online tool Evernote. It has helped people all over the world to organize and store their most important information. With over 225 million people using Evernote, in more than 25 different languages, it just goes to show that little old WordPress can handle the big name brands.

It might seem silly, but Angry Birds has gone from being a household mobile app/game to a movie on the big screen, all in a short amount of time. Not to mention, it has found its way onto PCs and game consoles, have its own television show, and even their own clothing, toys, and so much more. You can download the popular game right from its website for your device. And since there were over 2 billion downloads in 2014 alone, it’s safe to say that WordPress is dealing with a lot of traffic.

Love him or hate him, Snoop Dogg is using WordPress to run his official website and he’s doing quite well. Visit the news, tour information, video content, music, photos, or online store sections to see what he has to offer. Better yet, easily follow him on all your favorite social media platforms thanks to the prominent social icons displayed on this official WordPress site.

Flickr is a popular image and video hosting service. It was designed to help people organize and share photos and other visuals. This includes its blog, which has to contend with lots of images and resource-heavy posts. Luckily WordPress has its back. If you ever wanted to check out a corporate blog running on WordPress.com, here is your chance.

As a leading retail giant in the world, it makes sense that Target would entrust its main source of information for Target lovers to the WordPress CMS. This website needs to accommodate tons of traffic, visiting the bog post and image domain, having the flexibility to stay on brand with the company’s well-known red and white. WordPress just happens to offer all that and more, lending a tiny hand to Target’s global success.

Lollapalooza, the well-known Chicago based four-day music festival has a global presence that brings people from all over the world together in the name of music. This famous WordPress website allows users to buy tickets, sign up for emails, check the lineup of performers, and catch up with the latest news. The site also comes with dynamic background images, scroll animations, and a daring color scheme, all built with the same CMS.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. In fact, it consists of 19 museums and the National Zoo. It also just so happens that the website of one of its museums is built on WordPress and is taking advantage of things like donation collection, image sliders, mega menus, interactive calendars, and the ability to handle a ton of daily traffic.

He’d better be using it! …Just saying.

What Are Your Favorite Famous WordPress Sites?

And there you have it! 25 uber-famous websites using the popular WordPress content management system to power the design and functionality behind their successful brands. If you thought WordPress couldn’t cut it in the enterprise world, surely now you think differently. WordPress works wonderfully for all these well-known people, companies, and brands. Why shouldn’t it work wonders for you too?

Do you have other examples of famous websites built with WordPress? Let us know in the comments section below.