Five changes companies made to their websites in October: the network more of them sit behind, the framework they rebuild on, the tag they are clearing away, the bot check they are adding and the season their banners started early.
5 findings · 2 tables · 7 charts · 25 companies named · Free to read · Published 26 October 2026
37.7%of websites are served through Cloudflare
8.9websites added Next.js for each one that removed it
17.4%of websites still load the retired Universal Analytics tag
4.6×the share of changed banners naming Black Friday, against two weeks before
October is when websites get ready for the busiest weeks of the year, and the changes show it. This edition reads five of them across the company websites in the Fokals index: a network more than a third of them already sit behind, a framework they rebuild on, a tag they are clearing away, a bot check they are adding and a banner that turned to Black Friday a month early.
Each finding is a measured change, named by its trend and scored for the strength of its evidence, with companies that made it and what it means for the people who sell to them, invest in them and market beside them.
This edition at a glance
5 findings, by how common and how fast
Each finding is placed by how many companies do it and how fast that is growing. The bigger the point, the stronger the signal. How to read a report
More than a third of websites are now served through Cloudflare, and in October 8.5 moved onto it for each one that moved off.
Signal score6.4/10Clear signal
TrendRisingMore companies are doing it
How common38%of companies do it
How fast+1.9%a month · Established
Strongest in
Fashion
Retail and marketplaces
Beauty
37.7%of websites are served through Cloudflare
Cloudflare answers a website's visitors before its own servers do: it caches the pages, screens the traffic and keeps the site up when a server fails. Of the websites read in the 30 days to 18 October, 37.7% were served through it.
It is still gaining. In the three weeks to 18 October, 8.5 websites moved onto Cloudflare for each one that moved off, net growth of 1.9% a month on a base of more than a third of the websites read.
Shops lead: 79% of fashion websites and 64.5% of retail and marketplace websites are served through it. Travel and real estate sit lowest, below 30%.
Websites served through Cloudflare, by industryShare of websites
Share of the websites in each industry read in the 30 days to 18 October 2026.
Show the numbers
Share of websites
Fashion
79%
Retail
64.5%
Beauty
60.3%
Gaming
56.7%
Electronics
55.8%
Software
43.2%
Health
38.9%
Finance
37.8%
Travel
29.4%
Real estate
28.6%
Cloudflare is on more than a third of websites and still gaining eight and a half for each one it loses.
Who’s doing it
The Manor House Innthemanorcroyde.co.uk
Moved its website onto Cloudflare
Heritage Hotel Forzahotelforza.hr
Moved its website onto Cloudflare
Queensland Eye & Retina Specialistsqers.com.au
Moved its website onto Cloudflare
Sunca Global Forest Productssunca.ca
Moved its website onto Cloudflare
TAIG Toolstaigtools.com
Moved its website onto Cloudflare
What it means
For sellers
A website moving onto Cloudflare is changing how it is delivered and secured: the moment to talk about performance, bot management and the security tools that sit beside it.
For investors
Net growth of 1.9% a month on a base this large is a weekly read of the share Cloudflare gains among websites that change their delivery network.
RisingMarketing stack
The Next.js Build
Next.js runs on 3.8% of websites and is growing 4.4% a month: in October 8.9 websites added it for each one that removed it.
Signal score6.1/10Clear signal
TrendRisingMore companies are doing it
How common3.8%of companies do it
How fast+4.4%a month · Breaking out
Strongest in
Software and SaaS
Gaming
Finance and insurance
8.9websites added Next.js for each one that removed it
Next.js is a React framework for building websites. It ran on 3.8% of the websites read in the 30 days to 18 October, on 16.3% of software and SaaS websites and on 11.1% of gaming websites.
In the three weeks to 18 October, 8.9 websites added it for each one that removed it, net growth of 4.4% a month. The tools around it rose with it: Vercel, the company behind Next.js, grew 5.5% a month as a host, and Sanity, a headless content platform, 8.3%.
WordPress, on 31.5% of websites, went the other way, with 0.6 additions for each removal. One in fourteen of the websites that removed WordPress in those weeks added Next.js at the same time.
Websites that added each one for each one that removed it, three weeks to 18 OctoberAdded for each removal
A company rebuilding on Next.js is choosing its hosting, content platform and analytics at the same time: the moment for each of them.
For founders
The framework a market rebuilds on sets the integrations its buyers expect: a tool that ships for Next.js first meets more of this month's rebuilds.
FallingMarketing stack
The Ghost Tag
Google has retired Universal Analytics, yet its tag still loads on 17.4% of websites, and it is coming off slowly.
Signal score5.5/10Moderate signal
TrendFallingFewer companies are doing it
How common17%of companies do it
How fast−0.6%a month · Established
Strongest in
Nonprofit and public sector
Finance and insurance
Real estate
17.4%of websites still load the Universal Analytics tag
Universal Analytics was Google's analytics product before Google Analytics 4, and Google has retired it. Its tag still loads on 17.4% of the websites read in the 30 days to 18 October, beside GA4 on 39.6%.
It is being cleared away slowly. In the three weeks to 18 October, 1.4 websites removed it for each one that added it, a net fall of 0.6% a month. Most of the websites removing it were tidying up rather than switching: 64 of the 826 added GA4 in the same weeks.
It lingers longest on nonprofit and public sector websites (27.3%), finance and insurance (27.2%) and real estate (26.1%), and least on fashion websites (10.3%).
Websites still loading the Universal Analytics tag, by industryShare of websites
Nonprofit and public sector27.3%
Finance and insurance27.2%
Real estate26.1%
Telecom and utilities25.8%
Travel and hospitality25.6%
Automotive24%
Professional services23.2%
Education22%
Health and wellness20.5%
Software and SaaS19.1%
Retail and marketplaces14.6%
Fashion10.3%
Share of the websites in each industry read in the 30 days to 18 October 2026.
Show the numbers
By industry
Share of websites
Nonprofit and public sector
27.3%
Finance and insurance
27.2%
Real estate
26.1%
Telecom and utilities
25.8%
Travel and hospitality
25.6%
Automotive
24%
Professional services
23.2%
Education
22%
Health and wellness
20.5%
Software and SaaS
19.1%
Retail and marketplaces
14.6%
Fashion
10.3%
Who’s doing it
Temenostemenos.com
Removed the Universal Analytics tag from its website
Dynaudiodynaudio.fr
Removed the Universal Analytics tag from its website
DocCheckdoccheck.com
Removed the Universal Analytics tag from its website
Fluidrafluidra.at
Removed the Universal Analytics tag from its website
Karpos Outdoorkarpos-outdoor.com
Removed the Universal Analytics tag from its website
What it means
For sellers
A website still loading the old tag has not had its tracking reviewed since the switch: an opening for analytics, consent and tag management work.
For marketers
Where the old tag still loads, the old goals and filters built on it may still be in reports: worth checking before the year-end numbers are read.
RisingMarketing stack
Bot Checks Without the Puzzle
Cloudflare Turnstile, a bot check most visitors never see, is growing 8.4% a month, ten times as fast as reCAPTCHA.
Signal score6.6/10Clear signal
TrendRisingMore companies are doing it
How common1.2%of companies do it
How fast+8.4%a month · Breaking out
Strongest in
Professional services
Real estate
Travel and hospitality
4.5websites added Turnstile for each one that removed it
Turnstile is Cloudflare's check that a visitor is a person, built to run without asking them to pick out traffic lights. It is on 1.2% of the websites read in the 30 days to 18 October; reCAPTCHA, the check many visitors know, is on 13.2%.
The gap is closing from below. In the three weeks to 18 October, 4.5 websites added Turnstile for each one that removed it, against 1.5 for reCAPTCHA: Turnstile grew 8.4% a month and reCAPTCHA 0.8%.
One in thirteen of the websites that added Turnstile removed reCAPTCHA in the same weeks. It is most common on professional services websites (2.2%), real estate (1.8%) and travel (1.7%).
Websites running Cloudflare Turnstile, by industryShare of websites
Professional services2.2%
Real estate1.8%
Travel and hospitality1.7%
Education1.7%
Telecom and utilities1.5%
Software and SaaS1.5%
Home and garden1.5%
Health and wellness1.3%
Finance and insurance1.2%
Retail and marketplaces0.8%
Fashion0.6%
Share of the websites in each industry read in the 30 days to 18 October 2026.
Show the numbers
By industry
Share of websites
Professional services
2.2%
Real estate
1.8%
Travel and hospitality
1.7%
Education
1.7%
Telecom and utilities
1.5%
Software and SaaS
1.5%
Home and garden
1.5%
Health and wellness
1.3%
Finance and insurance
1.2%
Retail and marketplaces
0.8%
Fashion
0.6%
Who’s doing it
Voodoo Labvoodoolab.com
Added Cloudflare Turnstile to its website
Helix Lawhelix-law.co.uk
Added Cloudflare Turnstile to its website
Hare + Kleinhareklein.com.au
Added Cloudflare Turnstile to its website
Monarch Culinary Advisorsmonarchculinary.ca
Added Cloudflare Turnstile to its website
ISIS Fluid Controlisisfluid.com
Added Cloudflare Turnstile to its website
What it means
For sellers
A website replacing its bot check is reworking its forms and sign-up: an opening for fraud, identity and form tools.
For founders
A check visitors never see sets a new expectation for every form on a website: the tools behind a sign-up are judged by what the visitor does not have to do.
StartingMarketing stack
Black Friday Comes Early
In the week to 24 October, 1.6% of shops that changed their announcement banner named Black Friday, four and a half times the share two weeks before.
Signal score5.5/10Moderate signal
TrendStartingSomething new is being set up
How common1.6%of shops changing their banner
How fast+712%a month · Breaking out
1.6%of shops changing their banner named Black Friday, 19 to 24 October
An announcement banner is the strip of text across the top of a shop's pages, and shops change it to say what is on now. In the six days to 24 October, 1.6% of the shops that changed theirs named Black Friday, from 0.8% the week before and 0.3% the week before that.
Most of them say early: early access, pre-Black Friday, a sale that opens in October and runs to the day itself. Holiday and Christmas offers are on 3.9% of the same banners, and Halloween on 5.7%.
The discounts are steady: the median offer on a banner that names one has held at 25% off for three weeks.
Shops naming the season on their banner, by weekShare of shops changing their banner
Black Friday
Holiday and Christmas
Share of the shops that changed their announcement banner in each week; the last week is six days.
Show the numbers
Black Friday
Holiday and Christmas
28 Sep to 4 Oct
0%
1.8%
5 to 11 Oct
0.3%
3.3%
12 to 18 Oct
0.8%
3.6%
19 to 24 Oct
1.6%
3.9%
Who’s doing it
DELSEY Parisdelsey.ca
Put a Black Friday preview on its banner
CruiseCupcruisecup.com
Started its Black Friday sale on its banner
Wild Wingswildwings.com
Asked visitors on its banner to sign up for early Black Friday offers
GLAMCORglamcor.com
Opened Black Friday early access on its banner
Alviunalviun.com
Opened Black Friday early access on its banner
What it means
For marketers
The holiday window opened in October: a shop that has named Black Friday has set its offer and its dates, and its campaign is already running.
For sellers
A shop announcing an early sale is buying traffic and preparing for volume now: the moment for ad, email, support and fulfilment services.
The tables
Where companies stand
The figures behind the findings, industry by industry, to set any company against. Where a table compares two dates, it compares the same companies at both.
Traffic by business model
In September, 12.0% of consumer websites ranked among the million most visited, against 8.0% of business websites. Gaming led, with 30.6% of its websites in that band, ahead of fashion and software at 22.2% each.
Websites among the most visited, September 2026, by industry and business modelShare of websites in the band
Highest: Software and SaaS · Sells to consumers: 39.9%
AllSells to businessesSells to consumersSells to bothAll industries11.3%8%12%11.4%Gaming30.6%11.8%32.7%15%Fashion22.2%13.2%23.3%17.2%Software and SaaS22.2%14.8%39.9%38.8%Retail and marketplaces20.3%20.7%20.3%20.9%Consumer electronics20%11.3%22.1%22.6%Finance and insurance18.2%7.2%21.2%23.7%Nonprofit and public sector17.2%8.5%19.6%21.8%Entertainment and media16.6%9.5%18%15.5%Telecom and utilities16.2%5.7%24.6%20.6%Sports and outdoors13.7%8.6%14.7%11.3%Education12.1%11.9%11.4%15.2%Beauty11.9%11.1%11.8%13.3%Home and garden10.2%7.3%11.5%9%Travel and hospitality8.8%6%9%8.6%Automotive8.6%8.3%8.2%10.2%Pets8.5%7.8%8.4%10.6%Health and wellness7.4%7.1%7%11.6%Real estate4.9%3.6%5%5.5%Food and drink4%5.3%3.8%4.6%Professional services3.9%3%5.8%5.7%
3%39.9%
Of the company websites ranked in September. A band is a website's popularity rank among all websites, not a count of visits.
Show the numbers
Top 1 million
All
Sells to businesses
Sells to consumers
Sells to both
All industries
11.3%
8%
12%
11.4%
Gaming
30.6%
11.8%
32.7%
15%
Fashion
22.2%
13.2%
23.3%
17.2%
Software and SaaS
22.2%
14.8%
39.9%
38.8%
Retail and marketplaces
20.3%
20.7%
20.3%
20.9%
Consumer electronics
20%
11.3%
22.1%
22.6%
Finance and insurance
18.2%
7.2%
21.2%
23.7%
Nonprofit and public sector
17.2%
8.5%
19.6%
21.8%
Entertainment and media
16.6%
9.5%
18%
15.5%
Telecom and utilities
16.2%
5.7%
24.6%
20.6%
Sports and outdoors
13.7%
8.6%
14.7%
11.3%
Education
12.1%
11.9%
11.4%
15.2%
Beauty
11.9%
11.1%
11.8%
13.3%
Home and garden
10.2%
7.3%
11.5%
9%
Travel and hospitality
8.8%
6%
9%
8.6%
Automotive
8.6%
8.3%
8.2%
10.2%
Pets
8.5%
7.8%
8.4%
10.6%
Health and wellness
7.4%
7.1%
7%
11.6%
Real estate
4.9%
3.6%
5%
5.5%
Food and drink
4%
5.3%
3.8%
4.6%
Professional services
3.9%
3%
5.8%
5.7%
Top 100,000
All
Sells to businesses
Sells to consumers
Sells to both
All industries
1.3%
0.7%
1.3%
1.2%
Gaming
5.9%
1.6%
6.4%
2.4%
Software and SaaS
3.9%
1.8%
8.5%
9.5%
Telecom and utilities
3%
0.4%
5%
4.1%
Entertainment and media
2.7%
1.3%
3.2%
1.7%
Retail and marketplaces
2.6%
1.9%
2.7%
2.3%
Finance and insurance
2.5%
0.6%
3.3%
3.1%
Consumer electronics
2.3%
0.6%
2.6%
2.8%
Fashion
2.2%
0.5%
2.5%
0.7%
Nonprofit and public sector
2%
0.5%
2.3%
3%
Education
1.5%
1.8%
1.3%
2.2%
Travel and hospitality
1%
0.6%
1%
0.8%
Beauty
0.9%
0.4%
1.1%
0.4%
Sports and outdoors
0.8%
0.2%
1%
0.5%
Automotive
0.6%
0.5%
0.6%
0.8%
Home and garden
0.6%
0.2%
0.7%
0.4%
Real estate
0.4%
0.3%
0.4%
0.6%
Health and wellness
0.4%
0.3%
0.4%
0.6%
Pets
0.3%
0%
0.3%
0.6%
Professional services
0.3%
0.2%
0.3%
0.8%
Food and drink
0.2%
0.2%
0.3%
0.2%
Traffic moving up or down
From August to September, consumer websites slipped: 9.9% moved to a quieter band and 6.7% to a busier one, while business websites held even at 9.2% each way. Consumer travel websites fell furthest.
Websites that moved to a busier band less those that moved to a quieter one, August to September 2026Moved up less moved down
Education+0.8 pts
Retail and marketplaces+0.6 pts
Fashion0.0 pts
Professional services−0.2 pts
Telecom and utilities−0.2 pts
Entertainment and media−0.5 pts
Home and garden−1.0 pts
Software and SaaS−1.0 pts
Finance and insurance−1.0 pts
Nonprofit and public sector−1.0 pts
Health and wellness−1.3 pts
Consumer electronics−1.6 pts
Gaming−1.6 pts
Real estate−1.8 pts
Food and drink−2.0 pts
Automotive−2.7 pts
Sports and outdoors−3.5 pts
Travel and hospitality−8.3 pts
The same 81,443 websites, ranked in both months.
Show the numbers
All websites
Moved up less moved down
Education
+0.8 pts
Retail and marketplaces
+0.6 pts
Fashion
0.0 pts
Professional services
−0.2 pts
Telecom and utilities
−0.2 pts
Entertainment and media
−0.5 pts
Home and garden
−1.0 pts
Software and SaaS
−1.0 pts
Finance and insurance
−1.0 pts
Nonprofit and public sector
−1.0 pts
Health and wellness
−1.3 pts
Consumer electronics
−1.6 pts
Gaming
−1.6 pts
Real estate
−1.8 pts
Food and drink
−2.0 pts
Automotive
−2.7 pts
Sports and outdoors
−3.5 pts
Travel and hospitality
−8.3 pts
Sells to businesses
Moved up less moved down
Nonprofit and public sector
+5.2 pts
Home and garden
+3.4 pts
Education
+3.0 pts
Entertainment and media
+2.1 pts
Telecom and utilities
+1.5 pts
Food and drink
+1.2 pts
Real estate
+0.7 pts
Health and wellness
+0.2 pts
Professional services
0.0 pts
Finance and insurance
−0.5 pts
Software and SaaS
−0.9 pts
Consumer electronics
−1.4 pts
Automotive
−1.6 pts
Sells to consumers
Moved up less moved down
Fashion
0.0 pts
Software and SaaS
−0.6 pts
Retail and marketplaces
−0.6 pts
Consumer electronics
−1.2 pts
Gaming
−1.9 pts
Education
−2.0 pts
Beauty
−2.1 pts
Entertainment and media
−2.1 pts
Finance and insurance
−2.2 pts
Health and wellness
−2.8 pts
Food and drink
−2.9 pts
Telecom and utilities
−2.9 pts
Home and garden
−3.2 pts
Automotive
−3.2 pts
Real estate
−4.1 pts
Nonprofit and public sector
−4.3 pts
Sports and outdoors
−4.6 pts
Travel and hospitality
−9.4 pts
How we measured
Technologies are those found on each company website. Shares are of the websites read in the 30 days to 18 October 2026. Growth compares the websites that added a technology with those that removed it over the three weeks to 18 October, against those already running it, and is stated a month.
Banner offers are the offers each shop states in its announcement banner. A share is of the shops that changed their banner in the week; growth is the change over the last two weeks, stated a month.
Traffic bands are each website's popularity rank among all websites, read once a month; it ranks how widely a website is visited, not how many visits it has. A move compares the same websites in August and September 2026.
Every change is dated when it is first seen, and nothing already on a website when it is first seen is counted as new. Each finding's signal score, out of 10, states the strength of its evidence. The full methodology is shared on request.
Every finding is read the same way: its trend, its signal score, and where it stands by how common it is and how fast it is growing. How to read a report · Methodology overview
Cite this report
Quote and chart any figure in this report. Credit Fokals and link to this page, or to the finding itself.
Fokals, Fokals Monthly, October 2026. https://www.fokals.com/reports/monthly-2026-10