That's not a failing of WordPress. That's:
1. A failure of how the business owner just couldn't be bothered. Wordpress, Wix, Squarespace, there's a fairly good chance they'd fail at all of these. They won't pay for the design, marketing etc etc, and the reason why?
2. their business doesn't need a website e.g. local plumber or the only game in town for a specific vertical.
3. They're on their local Facebook groups and don't need anything more.
These folks also abandoned Yellow pages, Thomsons etc years ago but yet they survive through word of mouth. The internet and these other marketing services can't compete with that (especially outside certain confined bubbles). The local plumbing and heating guy in my area gets on fine without all the paraphernalia of "being on the web", as do all other trades.
Not everyone needs a "website", especially if they've a well developed funnel of incoming business that, by now in 2021, they still get on ok without needing to be internetized.
What does get these folks business without websites is other folks recommending them "on the internet", via local Facebook groups or whatever. Why would you waste time having a website when FB funnels the business to you, it's already job done.
Or, if you send me a message via the contact form and tick 'submit', you can sign up to our newsletter at the same time.
I'll split that out into a separate newsletter signup in the next few days.
Thanks so much for the kind words, much appreciated!
But, then I look at my neighborhood and the 1,000 small-business WordPress sites, with blogs that have been abandoned in 2015, should be one-pagers and not seen an update since because their owners don't understand WordPress and also can't afford to pay someone for every small change and now they think the whole Internet is like that (40% as you say), and changing that is going to be one hell of an uphill battle.
I don't have to hate WordPress or knock their efforts to see ways to improve things with more modern approaches.