AI Displaces Freelancers: WordPress and PHP Jobs Drop by Nearly 60%
Small companies are increasingly building websites without hiring programmers. Research from Bluehost shows that US small businesses are actively adopting AI site builders, and statistics from the freelance platform Freelancer.com reveal a sharp decline in the number of website development orders.
Businesses Increasingly Operating Without Web Developers
Creating a website for a small company used to mean finding a specialist, coordinating design, preparing content, and paying for development. Now, some entrepreneurs prefer to navigate this path themselves using artificial intelligence-based tools.
According to research commissioned by hosting provider Bluehost, 53% of surveyed entrepreneurs in the US are already using AI builders instead of hiring professional developers. Among users of these services, 85% believe their sites would look different without the use of AI.
Cost savings have also been significant. On average, survey participants saved about $850 and 32 working hours by using AI compared to completing a similar project through a developer or agency.
Automation helps solve two problems that previously hindered small businesses from getting online. Among those surveyed, 34% cited a lack of time, while 28% pointed to a lack of technical knowledge. Even entrepreneurs not currently using AI builders show interest in the technology: 71% are willing to consider it for future projects.
WordPress and PHP Orders Plunge by Over Half
Changes are also visible in the freelance market. According to Freelancer.com data cited by TechRadar, the number of postings for various web tasks decreased significantly between Q2 2024 and Q3 2026.
Website design and PHP development saw the sharpest declines, with both categories falling by 59%. WordPress demand dropped by 58%, and HTML by 55%. Graphic design job postings fell by 43%.
However, the trend is not uniform across all types of remote work. For example, job postings for data entry increased by 16% over the same period.
This data points to a notable shift in the demand structure on the freelance platform. However, it does not definitively prove that all lost orders have shifted to AI: other market factors may also influence the number of job postings.
AI-Generated Sites Still Require Human Oversight
Despite the proliferation of automated builders, entrepreneurs are hesitant to cede full control over the output. Most study participants rated their resulting sites positively: 72% gave them a high rating, and 97% reported at least a moderate level of satisfaction.
But the final product is rarely published without owner intervention. Only 9% of respondents published their site in its original AI-generated state. Meanwhile, 61% made changes to text, and 60% adjusted the visual layout.
Control remains a priority even after launch. Over half of those surveyed—54%—want to personally approve every change on their site. Only 30% are willing to let AI make edits without prior approval.
There are also questions regarding transparency. Only half of the participants stated they were willing to openly inform clients that their site was created with artificial intelligence. Furthermore, entrepreneurs are not particularly keen on delegating hosting and domain configuration to algorithms: 21% listed these as the tasks they would least like to hand over to AI.
Automation Doesn’t End After Launch
For many companies, AI is becoming more than just a one-time tool for building a web page; it is becoming part of ongoing operations. According to Bluehost, 94% of entrepreneurs who used the technology to launch a site continued to apply AI in other launches and reduced initial costs. But building a site is only part of the work: content, promotion, maintenance, and development still require attention.
Evidence of a Web Development Collapse?
Despite the significant drop in job postings on Freelancer.com, it is too early to conclude that the entire
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