Why jQuery Still Matters in a React‑Dominated Web Landscape

jQuery is one of the longest‑running and most influential JavaScript libraries on the web. According to BuiltWith, 78 % of the top‑million sites use jQuery in some form, while the currently most discussed library React is used by only about 14 %.

jQuery was launched in 2006 when Ajax was at its peak in front‑end development. Although Ajax and other early Web 2.0 technologies have faded from core developer vocabulary, jQuery has withstood the test of time and its usage has actually grown steadily in recent years, accompanied by modernization efforts such as deprecating the old jQuery Core.

WordPress factor

Despite its large footprint, many developers are unaware that they are using jQuery because it is bundled into major projects—most notably the WordPress platform. Numerous WordPress themes and plugins depend on jQuery, and the library also underlies popular frameworks and toolkits such as AngularJS and Bootstrap 4 (and earlier).

In the WordPress community, the performance impact of using jQuery in themes is a hot topic. Sites such as “You Might Not Need jQuery” offer tips for replacing jQuery in WordPress applications, arguing that modern browsers already provide the needed functionality.

As time goes on, WordPress may gradually shift to newer technologies, but the transition will be incremental.

How jQuery was embedded in the web

When jQuery’s creator John Resig released it at BarCampNYC in January 2006, he claimed it “changed the way JavaScript interacts with HTML.” The library simplified DOM manipulation at a time when Internet Explorer 6 dominated 85‑90 % of the browser market and modern browsers like Chrome did not yet exist.

Thus, jQuery was invented to help developers cope with the shortcomings of browsers of that era.

jQuery’s role today

With modern browsers now adhering to web standards, what role does jQuery play? Since the release of ECMAScript 6 in 2015, JavaScript itself has improved dramatically, and contemporary frameworks such as React, Angular, and Vue.js provide component‑based architectures that abstract away direct DOM manipulation.

These frameworks make jQuery largely unnecessary, and large‑scale applications can suffer performance penalties when relying on it. Nevertheless, jQuery’s maintainers have worked to boost its performance over the years.

Conclusion

It is clear that jQuery is no longer the optimal way for developers to add JavaScript functionality to sites or applications, especially when scalability is required. GitHub contributions to jQuery have dropped far below its 2006‑2013 peak, indicating that more work is needed to keep it compatible with today’s web.

However, because jQuery originated in the early Web 2.0 era, it has endured longer than many expected; it still accomplishes what it was designed to do and remains a convenient library for many developers.

Perhaps one day it will even outlast React.