Despite recurring predictions of its obsolescence, jQuery continues to be a foundational element across a vast percentage of the web. As of 2025, estimates suggest it powers approximately 78% of the top one million websites and hundreds of millions globally (W3Techs). This enduring presence prompts a re-evaluation of the assumption that older technologies should simply vanish once newer alternatives emerge.

jQuery: Not Alive, But Deeply Installed

jQuery’s current status isn’t about active development or leading innovation; rather, it’s about deep integration and long-term maintenance. Much like COBOL in financial systems—a language no one eagerly rewrites but also cannot simply delete—jQuery has completed its race, delivered its utility, and is now firmly embedded in production environments. It’s an installed dependency, not a surging trend.

Debunking the Myth: Modern JS Didn’t Kill jQuery

It’s true that contemporary browser APIs have evolved to offer much of the functionality once monopolized by jQuery, from DOM manipulation (e.g., querySelector, classList) and event handling (addEventListener) to AJAX requests (fetch()) and animations (CSS + Web Animations API). However, the widespread adoption of these native features hasn’t eradicated jQuery for a fundamental reason: the cost associated with rectifying existing infrastructure far outweighs the investment in building new solutions.

The Economic Reality: Refactoring Rarely Justifies Itself

Most existing jQuery implementations aren’t inherently flawed; they are simply aged, complex, often tightly coupled with the DOM, and thus risky and difficult to replace piecemeal. Key factors solidifying jQuery’s position include:

• Intertwined Business Logic: Critical business processes are frequently embedded directly within DOM-centric jQuery code, making clean migration challenging.
• Reliance on Third-Party Plugins: A multitude of older, essential third-party plugins lack modern framework equivalents (e.g., React, Vue, Svelte versions).
• Lack of ROI: From a business perspective, rewriting functional jQuery code often yields no direct new revenue, only a reduction in technical debt—an investment typically deferred until absolutely necessary.
• Ecosystem Dependencies: Major platforms like WordPress, Shopify, and Drupal are built upon and continue to integrate jQuery, cementing its ecosystem presence.
• High Migration Risk: Refactoring core functionalities, especially those critical to transactions (like a checkout process), carries significant risk of costly breakage.

Businesses prioritize stability and revenue; hence, “if it works, don’t touch it” often prevails.

Framework Lifecycles vs. Legacy Longevity

Interestingly, JavaScript frameworks exhibit a relatively short lifespan of relevance, typically around 5-7 years, with React being a notable exception. In contrast, real-world commercial applications often operate for 12-20 years. While frameworks like AngularJS, Backbone, Ember, and Meteor have faded or become niche, jQuery continues its quiet, consistent operation on production servers, underpinning revenue-generating code.

jQuery Education: For Juniors vs. Seniors

For aspiring web developers in 2025, learning jQuery as a primary skill is generally unadvisable. It doesn’t cultivate understanding in modern paradigms such as components, reactivity, state management, bundlers, SSR/hydration, or scalable architecture. Its focus on DOM scripting is no longer representative of contemporary frontend development.

However, for senior software engineers, a thorough understanding of jQuery is crucial. This isn’t for writing new code, but for the indispensable skill of safely analyzing, modifying, and ultimately deprecating legacy systems. A senior engineer’s value often lies in their ability to maintain existing critical systems and strategically migrate them without compromising production, rather than solely building new features. The ability to refactor a complex jQuery feature into modern code without breaking essential functionality is a hallmark of senior expertise.

The Incremental Approach to jQuery Removal

Complete jQuery removal is seldom a direct process. Migrations often involve developing new UI components within modern frameworks, allowing older jQuery modules to run in parallel (a “strangler pattern”). The promise of “cleaning it up later” frequently leads to a scenario where jQuery is encapsulated and gradually reduced to supporting only a few legacy widgets—a pragmatic compromise born from economic realities, not technical deficiency.

WordPress: The Unseen Anchor

The sheer scale of WordPress—powering approximately 43% of all websites—is a critical factor in jQuery’s persistence. WordPress core continues to ship jQuery, and its vast ecosystem of themes and plugins largely depends on it. Even if the entire frontend development community were to cease using jQuery today, WordPress alone would ensure its longevity for at least another decade.

The Core Truth: Economics Over Elegance

jQuery’s continued existence is not a testament to its technical superiority in 2025. Instead, it’s a profound demonstration of economic principles: the cost of its removal generally surpasses the cost of its maintenance. This is a decision rooted in economics, risk management, and the natural entropy of legacy systems, rather than purely technical merit.

Final Assessment

Is jQuery the future of web development? No. Is it dead? Absolutely not. It occupies a role akin to COBOL in the frontend world: an uncool, old technology that remains irreplaceable in millions of functional systems. Modern frontend development demands a dual skillset: proficiency in building new, robust applications, and a deep enough understanding of legacy systems to ensure their stable continuity.