How Many Websites Are On The Internet? Key Statistics and Facts(2025)

Introduction

How Many Websites Are On The Internet? The internet hosts numerous sites, ranging from personal blogs to huge enterprises and online services. Since the debut of the first site in 1991, the number of sites has grown steadily day by day. However, not all websites remain online or operational. Some are just deserted or parked, while others spring up every day.

In this article, we’ll explore the general scope of how many websites are in total and how many are active, how fast new sites are being created, and the trends shaping the world of web up to 2025. Everything is presented coherently, with demographics, percentages, sources, and a bit of mention of investments where it pertains.

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• According to Netcraft Web Server Surveys, over 1.1 billion websites existed in 2024.
• Tim Berners-Lee launched the first site in 1991.
• Website growth peaked in 2020 at nearly 1.3 billion, whereas now it is on a slight decline due to the inactivity of sites, mobile applications, the merging of services, etc.
• There were reportedly 368.4 million new domain registrations in Q1 2025, marking a yearly rise of 1.7%.
• .com accounts for the lion’s share with 157.6 million registrations, whereas .net remains next to it with 13 million registrations—these two categories account for 72.6% of new domains.
• The .com domains represent 44.4% of all active domains, with .org holding a 4.2% share.
• There are more than 27 million eCommerce websites worldwide, up from 9.2 million in 2019 growth of nearly 193%!
• The U.S. boasts around 14 million active e-commerce sites.
• The New York Times is the greatest among these news sites in garnering 9.4 million digital subscribers.
• In gaming, Roblox.com leads with 12.54% site category traffic, followed by Twitch.tv (10.02%) and chess.com (1.55%).
• ESPN was the number one sports website in August 2023, garnering 415.5 million visits.
• Globally, Google.com stands forth as the most visited site with 132.34 billion visits on a monthly basis, followed by YouTube.com (71.97B) and Facebook.com (12.92B).

How Many Websites Are On The Internet Over Time?

• The first-ever website was created on August 6, 1991, by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. This became the beginning of the stretchy Internet.
• Now we can say that the number has shown a whopping growth and that the total number of websites is more than 1.1 billion according to the Netcraft Web Server Surveys.
• Although sites did not become common until around 1994.
• The opening of gates to the public meant an increasing number of sites being created and used across the globe.
• However, since the dawn of 2020, there seems to be a very slight decrease in the total number of websites, which can be attributed to several factors ranging from the rise of mobile apps to mergers of various web services, and finally changes in how websites have been counted or categorised.
• Older, inactive, or just obsolete websites have been removed or are no longer counted in the same way.

(Source: explodingtopics.com)

• In the first quarter of 2025 alone, there were 368.4 million new domain name registrations. This marks an increase of 6.1 million from the previous year, the equivalent of a 1.7% rise.
• The .com domain was by far the most popular, with 157.6 million new registrations. The second place was taken by the .net domain with 13.0 million registrations.
• These two domain types together accounted for 72.6% of all new domain registrations during that period.
• Of all active domains on the internet, .com remains the top-level domain most widely used, with 44.4% of total domains.
• The second most common is .org, which accounts for 4.2%.
• The data tell us about those domains: while several new domain names are being added every year, very few types of domains have an overall hold on the internet landscape.

How Many Websites Exist At Large On The Internet Per Industry?

• Having a presence online has become distinctive for all trades, and the number of websites in each industry is indicative of this trend.
• One of the most dominant sectors running online is that of e-commerce.
• Presently, more than 27 million e-commerce sites exist worldwide. This figure is way beyond the levels of just a few years back- back in 2019, there were some 9.2 million eCommerce sites.
• World growth in the market gives clear testimony to the fast-paced evolution of businesses into digital sales channels.
• The U.S. currently sits at the top for the largest number of e-commerce websites, with some 14 million being active now.
• In the U.K., the number is about 1.3 million, while Brazil and Germany total around 800,000 each.
• This signifies that while eCommerce is a worldwide movement, there exist countries, most notably the U.S.A., with much denser digital market activity.

(Reference: digitalsilk.com)

• News websites that keep a strong online presence are also in the media business.
• The New York Times stands as the most-read news site in the world, with 9.4 million digital subscribers.
• It is then followed by The Wall Street Journal with 3.5 million digital subscribers and The Washington Post with 2.5 million digital subscribers.
• Such numbers testify to the rising trend where readers gradually shift to digital platforms from print for their news consumption.
• At present, in the U.S., Roblox.com ranks first, drawing about 12.54% of all visits in the category.
• It then shares the limelight with Twitch.tv at a 10.02% share, followed way behind at 1.55% by chess.com.
• This signifies the varying tastes of viewers and players, ranging from immersive platforms to competitive and strategic games.
• In August 2023, ESPN garnered 415.5 million visits and was the number one sports website at that time.
• This amount of traffic reflects the continuous craving for up-to-the-minute sports news, scores, and content produced for digital platforms.

20 Most Popular Websites

Some Other Website Statistics

• Globally, mobile devices generate about 65.89% of traffic to websites, a way of saying that users rely on their smartphones and tablets for browsing.
• A major chunk of small businesses, 73%, have gone on to set up their digital presence on their own websites.
• Speed becomes an integral part of the user interface when 47% of consumers consider that sites should take two seconds, just two seconds for loading.
• On average, for a typical e-commerce type of website, the conversion rate stays between 2.5% and 3%, with a very limited number of visitors on any site making a purchase.
• Worldwide, there are close to 5.3 billion active internet users as of January 2024, making up 66% of the world’s total population.
• More than 43.2% of all websites worldwide, almost half at that, are powered by WordPress, claiming the title as the biggest content management system.
• Trademarking domains also remains popular; hence, by the close of the third quarter of 2023, a total of 359.3 million domain name registrations had been made across all top-level domains.
• Bounce rates, being a measurement of how many users leave a site after viewing a single page, mostly lie between 26% and 70%.
• Blogs and news sites suffer from higher bounce rates due to their one-page content going about it.
• On the other hand, voice search is quite the trend now, and with 27% of the global internet-using population engaged in voice queries through mobile devices, website owners are having to bear content optimisation on their minds.
• Over 90% now incorporate SSL certificates, and hence, HTTPS becomes the de facto standard for secure connections and for building trust among users, which helps contribute positively to SEO.
• The average website runs for about 2 years and 7 months before being forced into a big redesign or overhaul to keep things contemporary and relevant.
• Even a few technical glitches can have adverse effects on performance second of delay in page load time will result in a loss of 7% in conversion rates!

Conclusion

In summary, as of 2025, the World Wide Web comprises approximately 1.1 to 1.2 billion websites, with only a fraction, about 17%, being active. This mammoth digital ocean consists of billions of web pages (well above 50 billion), millions of blogs, e-commerce stores, business sites, personal sites, apps, etc. Not every site stays online or active; nonetheless, the web remains one of the largest collective societal creations.

Understanding these figures will give an immediate dimension to the user, marketer, and developer trying to realise what is the size and dynamics of the web as we know it today.

Tajammul Pangarkar

Tajammul Pangarkar is the co-founder of a PR firm and the Chief Technology Officer at Prudour Research Firm. With a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology from Shivaji University, Tajammul brings over ten years of expertise in digital marketing to his roles. He excels at gathering and analyzing data, producing detailed statistics on various trending topics that help shape industry perspectives. Tajammul's deep-seated experience in mobile technology and industry research often shines through in his insightful analyses. He is keen on decoding tech trends, examining mobile applications, and enhancing general tech awareness. His writings frequently appear in numerous industry-specific magazines and forums, where he shares his knowledge and insights. When he's not immersed in technology, Tajammul enjoys playing table tennis. This hobby provides him with a refreshing break and allows him to engage in something he loves outside of his professional life. Whether he's analyzing data or serving a fast ball, Tajammul demonstrates dedication and passion in every endeavor.

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