Highlights · computed from our daily tracking data
- Twenty Sixteen currently ranks #29 and has stayed inside the top 50 in every daily snapshot since Sep 17, 2024 (687 snapshots).
- Its best position in our tracking is #25, first reached on Jan 29, 2026.
- It accounts for roughly 0.8% of all active installs across the themes we track.
- It is averaging 2,738 downloads/day over the last 30 days, up 10% versus the month before (2,490/day).
- The latest release, v3.8, shipped on May 20, 2026 (83 days ago) — release #124 since the theme joined the directory in 2015.
- Beyond WordPress.org, BuiltWith detects 83,896 live sites running Twenty Sixteen across the web, including 855 of the one million most-visited sites.
Performance · Google Lighthouse, official wordpress.org demo
| Mobile | Desktop | |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 0.8 s | 0.2 s |
| First Contentful Paint | 0.8 s | 0.2 s |
| Total Blocking Time | 0 ms | 0 ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Page weight | 1.2 KB | 1.2 KB |
Lab (Lighthouse) data measured on the official demo at wp-themes.com, where every theme serves identical content — so scores isolate the theme's own CSS/JS payload. Tested Aug 3, 2026. Scores vary ±5 between runs. Run a live test ↗
Real-world usage · live sites, via BuiltWith
Ranking history
Active installs
Downloads per day
Details
| Author | WordPress.org |
|---|---|
| Current version | 3.8 |
| Versions released | 124 |
| Last updated | 2026-05-20 |
| Added to directory | 2015-08-31 |
| Requires WordPress | 4.4+ |
| Requires PHP | 5.2.4+ |
| Type | Classic theme |
| First tracked here | 2024-09-17 |
Description
Twenty Sixteen is a modernized take on an ever-popular WordPress layout — the horizontal masthead with an optional right sidebar that works perfectly for blogs and websites. It has custom color options with beautiful default color schemes, a harmonious fluid grid using a mobile-first approach, and impeccable polish in every detail. Twenty Sixteen will make your WordPress look beautiful everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is Twenty Sixteen a free theme?
Yes — Twenty Sixteen is a free, open-source (GPL) theme distributed through the official WordPress.org directory.
Is Twenty Sixteen a block theme or a classic theme?
Twenty Sixteen is a classic theme: it uses the traditional Customizer/widgets workflow rather than WordPress Full Site Editing.
How many websites use Twenty Sixteen?
WordPress.org reports 90K+ active installs. BuiltWith independently detects 83,896 live websites running Twenty Sixteen.
How popular is Twenty Sixteen?
As of August 11, 2026, Twenty Sixteen ranks #29 in the WordPress.org popular themes list. Its best position in our tracking is #25.
When was Twenty Sixteen last updated?
Twenty Sixteen was last updated on May 20, 2026 (version 3.8). It has shipped 124 releases in total.
Who makes Twenty Sixteen?
Twenty Sixteen is developed by WordPress.org. It joined the WordPress.org theme directory in August 2015.
How fast is Twenty Sixteen?
On the official WordPress.org demo, Twenty Sixteen scores 100/100 for mobile performance in Google Lighthouse and 100/100 for desktop (tested August 2026).
