Every marketer understands that as long as a website can attract and retain a large number of visitors, it will be successful. To do this, though, great new content must be added often enough to keep people interested. This difficult process will be hard to do without the help of content management software, or CMS. Are you looking for the finest Content Management Software for your website? A content management system, or CMS, is a tool that lets you build a website without having to build each page from scratch.
Distinct Content Management Software, on the other hand, offers different advantages and disadvantages, so you’ll want to pick the one that best suits your goals and budget. On the other hand, Content Management Software does more than just make sure that your content is interesting and up-to-date.
15 Best Content Management Software in 2023
This reliable and effective software helps your site get good search results, stay safe, and be optimized for different devices, among other things. This is why we’ve compiled a list of the top 15 content management systems so you can see if you’re already using a powerful Content Management Software or if it’s time to upgrade.
How to Select the Most Appropriate Content Management Software Platform for Your Website
Which Content Management Software platform should you choose among the several available? Before we get into our Content Management Software platform comparison, let’s have a look at what to look for in a good Content Management Software.
User-friendliness
You want a Content Management Software (CMS) that makes it simple to develop and change material. This frequently entails using a drag-and-drop interface to add different items to your sites. You should be able to make adjustments to your website’s content quickly and easily once it has been published.
Options for design
Your content management software (CMS) should provide you with a large number of website design templates to pick from. It should also allow you to simply alter the designs to meet your specific needs (ideally without writing code).
Portability of data
A good Content Management Software platform will have tools that make it easy to export and move your data. You could subsequently decide to use a different platform or a different hosting firm, for example. The capacity to move about with total freedom is made simpler by data portability.
Add-ons and extensions
Not all websites are created equal. Because of this, it’s hard for any Content Management Software platform to have all of the features that every website would need. Extensions and addons help solve this issue. These are stand-alone programs that you can install on top of your CMS software to improve its capabilities and add new ones as needed. Consider them CMS-based applications.
Options for assistance and support
Even while Content Management Software are designed to make creating a website as simple as possible, you may still have some questions. If you get stuck, find out what aid and support are available. Some Content Management Software companies will have a few FAQs and a customer support team that takes an eternity to react. Others will be surrounded by a large and supportive community that can assist you at any time of day or night.
How much does it set you back?
Some content management systems (CMS) are absolutely free. Others will bill you on a monthly basis. Even with free CMS platforms, you often need to use third-party extensions, designs, and/or web hosting services. To avoid unpleasant surprises, try to learn as much as you can about cost before deciding on a CMS. With these considerations in mind, let’s look at the top Content Management Software platforms available.
1. WordPress.org
Our top pick for the finest Content Management Software is WordPress.org. It is the most popular content management system in the world. More than 43% of all websites on the internet are run by it. It’s critical not to mix up WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that was originally created for blogging but is now used by a wide range of websites and online retailers. WordPress.com is a website that allows you to host your own blog. Check out our full comparison of WordPress.org vs WordPress.com if you’re not sure what the differences are. You have to host your own WordPress site, which means that you have to look for a good WordPress hosting service.
Pros
- WordPress provides you with the flexibility and freedom to create any type of website you want (online store, auction site, membership site, etc.).
- It does not require any technical or coding expertise.
- The WordPress block editor makes creating beautiful pages on your site a breeze.
- You have ultimate control over how you generate money online from your website.
- There are many premium and free WordPress themes and plugins available.
- These allow you to add contact forms, photo galleries, and other valuable features to your website.
- WordPress has a great search engine optimization design (SEO).
- Making SEO-friendly URLs, categories, and tags for your content is simple.
- You may also select from a variety of SEO plugins to assist you.
- Because WordPress is an open-source Content Management Software, it has a large and supportive community.
- You may seek support with any troubles you have by joining communities like the WPBeginner Engage Facebook group.
- WordPress has a lot of flexibility, which makes it an excellent CMS platform for both novices and developers.
- WordPress allows you to export all of your content in XML format, making it simple to migrate to a new system in the future.
Cons
- You’ll be responsible for setting up your hosting and domain name, as well as handling security and backups.
- When you’re first starting with WordPress, it might be intimidating because it has so many choices and flexibility.
- This is why many WordPress newbies utilize drag-and-drop page builder plugins.
2. HubSpot CMS Hub
HubSpot Content Management Software Hub is a web-based content management system that allows you to manage. HubSpot CMS Hub is a content management system that is fully integrated. It was made with marketers and business owners in mind. HubSpot CMS Hub is a perfect option for developing businesses as well as large corporations seeking an all-in-one system to manage their websites because it is built on top of HubSpot’s CRM platform, which contains all types of marketing automation, sales, service, and operations features.
Pros
- Even if you have little to no technical knowledge, the HubSpot website builder is simple to use.
- With their drag-and-drop editor, built-in SEO tools, and contact attribution, it’s easy to create and optimize site content.
- They have smart content options that let you make your website page fit the needs of specific visitors or larger groups.
- Serverless functionalities, customizable theme choices, and command-line tools are available for developers, allowing them to make changes and edit content more quickly.
- Content Management Software Hub has built-in security tools like a worldwide CDN and Web Application Firewall, as well as a dedicated security team, to protect your site from DDoS attacks, hackers, and other problems.
- HubSpot’s email marketing tool and sales CRM work well with HubSpot’s CMS, which makes it easier to run your business.
Cons
- There is no free version, but a free trial is available.
- E-commerce websites aren’t effectively served by HubSpot CMS.
- The good news is that it interacts seamlessly with both WordPress and WooCommerce.
3. Joomla
Joomla is a popular open-source Content Management Software that is free to use and comes with many themes and add-ons. It’s completely free to use, but you’ll need hosting and a domain name to get started. It was initially introduced in 2005, so it’s been around for a long time, just like WordPress. Joomla has a lot of functionality, and many web servers allow you to install it with only one click. It is, however, a great CMS platform for developers and experienced website producers, so it isn’t a smart choice for newbies.
Pros
- Joomla provides you with a lot of flexibility and alternatives.
- It’s an excellent option if you’re making something unique or intricate.
- Although Joomla is geared at developers, you may still use it if you don’t want to touch a single line of code.
- It’s simple to make changes to your content.
- Joomla, like WordPress, is open source, and there’s plenty of community help if you get stuck.
- There are extensions available for Joomla that allow you to run an e-commerce store.
Cons
- Even Joomla aficionados would acknowledge that it is a complicated system.
- You may need to engage a developer to help you with it, depending on what you want to accomplish with it.
- There aren’t a lot of extra extension choices.
- Joomla could be hard to use if you’re used to a Content Management Software like WordPress, which has thousands of themes and plugins you can download to make the basic features better.
- If you have a lot of different extensions and modules installed, there may be some compatibility concerns.
4. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the world’s most popular eCommerce platform. It’s extremely adaptable and simple to use. WooCommerce isn’t a Content Management Software in and of itself. Instead, WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, so you’ll need to have WordPress installed on your site to use it. According to W3Techs, if it were a Content Management Software, it would have a 5.8% market share. That is the proportion of all websites worldwide that utilize it.
Pros
- WooCommerce is open-source software, but to get started, you’ll need WooCommerce hosting and a domain name.
- There are several WooCommerce themes to choose from, making it simple to have your site appear just as you want it to.
- WooCommerce has a lot of extensions, also called WooCommerce plugins, that you can use to improve the way your site works.
- WooCommerce allows you to sell both physical and digital goods.
- Affiliate links can also be used to sell affiliate items.
- WooCommerce allows you to completely manage your inventory, making it simple to keep track of what you have on hand.
- By default, WooCommerce accepts PayPal and Stripe payments.
- You may also use extensions and add-ons to incorporate more payment gateways.
Cons
- When you’re new to setting up a website, there are a lot of options in WooCommerce, which might be intimidating.
- Although WooCommerce works with any WordPress theme, you may prefer to stay with WooCommerce-specific themes for better support.
5. Drupal
Drupal is a free and open-source content management system (CMS). It’s the Content Management Software that powers a number of well-known websites, including The Economist and a number of university websites. Drupal is a good option for developers or people with enough money to hire one. It’s especially helpful if you want to make a fully customized site that needs to handle a lot of information. SiteGround can host a Drupal website. They provide free installation as well as assistance in transferring an existing Drupal site.
Pros
- Drupal makes it simple to add content.
- Custom content types are adaptable and provide a variety of possibilities.
- There are several modules that you may use to enhance your website (these work like WordPress plugins).
- Help is provided through community forums, similar to other popular systems like Joomla and WordPress.
- User administration is simple thanks to a built-in framework that allows you to establish new roles and assign access to them.
Cons
- It might be difficult to figure out how to modify the look of your site or add features with Drupal.
- It’s not nearly as user-friendly as WordPress.
- Most Drupal websites have a developer-created, highly customized theme, which may be rather costly.
6. Wix
Wix is a popular Content Management Software, but it does have some drawbacks. We get a lot of questions about how to move from Wix to WordPress, which is understandable because any savvy company owner understands that WordPress is far superior to Wix. Wix, on the other hand, is beginner-friendly and may be worth exploring. It also has a free plan.
Pros
- Wix’s drag-and-drop interface makes it simple to design pages that appear exactly as you want them to.
- You may start modifying any portion of your page by selecting it.
- Wix has a large number of pre-made templates for you to pick from.
- They’re entirely responsive, so they’ll look excellent on both mobile and desktop devices.
- From the Wix App Market, you can add a variety of apps to your website.
- These work just like WordPress plugins in that they add extra features to your site.
Cons
- You can’t switch to another Wix template once you’ve picked one.
- This may result in you being trapped with a layout that isn’t ideal for your website.
- Unless you upgrade to a premium plan, you won’t be able to run an eCommerce store on Wix, and even then, you’ll only be able to take payments through PayPal or Authorize.net.
- Wix does not make it simple to extract and export your data.
- You can relocate your blog posts (but not your photos) by downloading them, but you’ll have to manually copy and paste any pages on your site.
- We provide step-by-step instructions for migrating your Wix site to WordPress.
- You’ll get a Wix-branded domain name and Wix advertisements on your site if you use the free plan.
- Wix makes money from the ads, not you.
7. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an all-in-one eCommerce platform that is hosted entirely by BigCommerce. If you’re a newbie, it’s simple to get started. BigCommerce not only hosts your site but also provides Content Management Software. It also takes care of your security and backups.
Pros
- There is a trial plan available, so you may try BigCommerce out before making a commitment.
- You may either use a BigCommerce-provided free domain name, such as mystore.mybigcommerce.com or pay for a custom domain name.
- Through BigCommerce, you can accept payments in a variety of ways.
- Customers may pay using digital wallets such as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay, as well as credit or debit cards.
- You can get support options from BigCommerce right from your dashboard, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Live chat, email, phone assistance, community support, and more options are available.
- You can combine BigCommerce and WordPress to get the most out of both Content Management Software.
Cons
- BigCommerce gives you less control over your store than WooCommerce.
- You might not want to use a third-party solution to grow your business if there aren’t enough themes and integrations.
- When your annual sales reach a certain level, you’ll automatically move up to the next level of the price plan.
- If you have a lot of expenses, this may be difficult for you.
8. Shopify
Another all-in-one hosted Content Management Software is Shopify. You won’t have to buy hosting, install software, or take care of updates and backups. It offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. It lets you sell things in person, which is helpful if you have a storefront as well as an online business.
Pros
- Shopify Payments, Shopify’s integrated payment solution, lets you take credit and debit cards.
- Shopify includes PayPal as one of its default payment suppliers.
- Shopify has a large number of extensions and themes to choose from.
- You can buy third-party Shopify apps to add a wide range of features to your online business.
- You don’t need to upgrade if your sales exceed a particular threshold like you would with BigCommerce.
- Shopify helps you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through live chat, email, phone, and even Twitter.
- There’s also a wealth of content (such as written how-to instructions and video lessons) as well as online forums.
Cons
- If you wish to add a lot of third-party applications to your shop, your expenses might quickly pile up.
- You might wish to add functionality that isn’t already available:
- Shopify’s applications are more limited than WordPress plugins, for example.
9. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is WordPress’s commercial, hosted version. It’s easy to mix things up using WordPress.org, which is a self-hosted open-source WordPress. You may learn more about the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org by clicking here. You receive an all-in-one Content Management Software that is hosted for you by WordPress.com. You may either buy a domain name or use a free WordPress.com subdomain.
Pros
- It’s simple to get started with WordPress.com.
- You may simply add and change material, and novices will find it to be a simple Content Management Software to use.
- At no cost, WordPress.com allows you to construct a website.
- However, if you want to use your own domain name, you’ll probably want to pay for at least the lowest plan.
- For your WordPress.com site, you may choose from a variety of themes (designs).
- In your WordPress.com dashboard, you can quickly choose between these.
- You may upgrade to a new plan as your site increases in size and popularity.
- There are a variety of plans available, including one with e-commerce capabilities.
- WordPress.com includes analytics, so you can see how many people visit your site directly from your dashboard.
- However, unless you’re on a business plan, you won’t be able to utilize Google Analytics.
- If you wish to upgrade to a more powerful and versatile CMS in the future, switching from WordPress.com to WordPress.org is simple.
Cons
- Even with its business model, WordPress.com has limited revenue opportunities.
- Unless you pay for at least the cheapest premium plan, you won’t be able to add a custom domain name.
- Although you can use plugins on your WordPress.com site, there aren’t nearly as many as there are for WordPress.org.
- You don’t have the same level of control over your site as you would if you used WordPress.org.
10. Ghost
Ghost is a blogging-centric content management system (CMS). It’s sometimes referred to as a “headless CMS,” which may seem strange. This just means that the Content Management Software doesn’t force content to be delivered in a certain way. As a result, the material or data you generate may be shown on a website, but it could also be transferred to a mobile app or used for something else completely. You don’t need to worry about this if you’re not a developer or just want to use Ghost for blogging.
Pros
- When writing with the Ghost editor, you may use Markdown.
- Markdown is a text formatting method in which you surround words with special characters to make them bold, italic, and so on.
- Ghost offers a card-based content editor.
- These behave similarly to the blocks in the block editor in WordPress.
- Ghost has a lot of SEO (search engine optimization) help built-in.
- This may be delivered without the need for any plugins.
- Ghost is well-suited to charging for content, so if you want to create a subscription-based online magazine or periodical, you may do it with ease.
Cons
- Ghost lacks the same level of power and customization as WordPress.
- Ghost started out as a Content Management Software for blogs, but some users think it has become too complicated because it now has features like paid subscriptions for your site’s visitors.
11. Magento
Adobe Magento is a robust open-source eCommerce platform from Adobe, the world’s largest software firm. Magento Open Source is a free version that you can download and install on your own server. If you wish to use it, SiteGround Magento hosting is the most convenient way to get started. You can pay for Magento Commerce if you prefer. It comes with complete support and is hosted for you, but it’s somewhat costly.
Pros
- Magento is very flexible, and there are a lot of third-party extensions you can use to add more features.
- Magento allows you to manage a large number of items and customers.
- It allows your company to expand without slowing down your website.
- (However, you’ll almost certainly need to improve your hosting package.)
- Nike, Ford, and Coca-Cola are just a few of the well-known brands that use Magento.
- Magento supports a variety of payment gateways.
- It also has built-in features such as PayPal, cash-on-delivery, and bank transfer.
Cons
- If you’re just getting started in eCommerce, Magento might be intimidating.
- Finding skilled developers for Magento projects may be difficult, and hiring them can be costly.
- Support isn’t always the same, especially if you’re using Magento Open Source and getting help from online forums.
12. Textpattern
Since 2003, Textpattern has been a basic and uncomplicated CMS platform. It’s free and open-source, with enough documentation to get you started.
Pros
- A large number of Textpattern tweaks, plugins, and templates (designs) are accessible for free.
- Textpattern allows you to organize your information in a variety of ways.
- Readers may subscribe to individual RSS feeds for different portions of your site, and you can arrange it using “sections” and “categories.”
Cons
- Textpattern does not have a one-click installation approach with any of the major web providers.
- It’s not difficult to set up, but you’ll need to be familiar with building a database on your web server and uploading the software over FTP.
- Textpattern isn’t well-known, and it’s not nearly as popular as other CMS platforms such as WordPress.
- It may be difficult to locate writers or developers who are familiar with it.
13. Blogger
Since 1999, Blogger has been around. It’s a CMS platform that’s primarily designed for blogging, as the name suggests. It’s a Google-provided service that’s completely free. Blogger blogs usually use Blogspot as the domain name, but you may use your own domain name instead. We’ve written an essay about the differences between WordPress and Blogger and a tutorial on how to switch from Blogger to WordPress.
Pros
- Blogger is a simple platform to get started with.
- It takes minutes to set up a blog, and it’s well-designed for writing and publishing content.
- There are a variety of free gadgets that you can add to your blog to include things like a contact form and even advertisements.
- Google is the host of your blog.
- There’s no need to install anything, keep it up to date, or pay for hosting.
- Blogger gives you a lot of room to work with.
- You can have as many posts as you like per blog, and you can have as many static pages as you want.
- Because your photographs are stored in Google Drive, they will contribute to your 15GB limit.
Cons
- Blogger will not be the best CMS platform for you if you wish to run a website that isn’t a blog.
- It, for example, lacks eCommerce capabilities.
- While all of the themes are free, they are rather basic.
- You can tweak them a little, but you can’t make your own.
- You’ll need to employ a designer if you want anything more specialized.
- If you want to switch from Blogger to WordPress, you can export your posts, but you will have to move your pages by hand.
14. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a business tool that can be used to manage activities, projects, communications, and customer interactions. It also has a content management system (CMS). It’s free at the most basic level (up to 5GB of online storage and 12 user accounts) and provides a one-stop-shop for small enterprises. If you need a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) app, it might be a good choice.
Pros
- Bitrix24’s basic level is free, so you can try it out without risk.
- Bitrix24 comes with a plethora of features that provide you with everything you need to run a small to medium-sized business.
- The website builder features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to create landing pages and even online storefronts.
- If you’re on the free plan, your website hosting is free.
Cons
- Bitrix24 is designed to be used as a CRM, so if you already have a CRM that you like or don’t need that capability, it’s a difficult method to obtain a CMS platform.
- Because the Bitrix24 interface has so many options, you may find it difficult to navigate.
15. TYPO3
TYPO3 is a popular content management system. TYPO3 is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that has been around longer than Blogger. It was first published in 1998. It’s an enterprise CMS, which means it may be used for both intranets (internal organization) and online sites. There are a lot of extensions for TYPO3 that provide additional functionality.
Pros
- TYPO3 can handle very large websites, even ones with a lot of pages in more than one language.
- It’s an excellent alternative for multinational corporations.
- Because it’s open-source, you can expand TYPO3 in any way you want if you’re prepared to employ a developer.
- You can quickly change the permissions of the different people and groups that use your website.
- To add additional features to your TYPO3 site, you may choose from over 6,000 extensions and apps.
Cons
- Because there aren’t many options, you’ll almost certainly have to hire someone to design one for you.
- To get TYPO3 up and running and to keep it going, you’ll need a lot of technical know-how.