it’s become easier than ever in 2021. There are many platforms to choose from and most allow you to create virtually any type of site. But due to the large number of options available, it may not be easy to choose between the best CMS (content management systems).
In this article we will help you make that choice. We’ll break down everything you have to look for in the best cms, and we’ll introduce you to eight of the top options below. And when we are done, you will know how to choose the best CMS for your website.
Quick introduction to content management systems (CMS)
A Content Management System (CMS) is an application that allows you to intuitively publish and manage content on the web. For example, imagine you had a text editor (such as Notepad or TextEdit) that allowed you to post articles directly to a website you owned.
That would be a very basic example of a CMS. Of course, these days most of the best CMS options help you do much more than that. They allow you to index your content, make changes to it, format it using visual editors, and more.
It’s easy to confuse a CMS with a website builder. The latter is a type of tool focused on helping you create websites without any programming knowledge. They typically accomplish this by providing you with access to a visual drag-and-drop editor. However, they tend to be much simpler, offering few customization options and little control over how your site is set up.
A CMS, on the other hand, used to be more difficult to understand and use without any technical knowledge. However, nowadays the best CMS options give you many modern tools to help you.
This type of CMS is basically a one-stop solution for building websites and managing your content. Depending on which CMS you use, you may also gain access to additional features that you can install using ‘plugins’ or ‘extensions’. However, we will talk more about that shortly.
What can you create using a CMS platform
Many people think that CMS are just for blogging. It’s true that some of the best CMSes were originally built with blogs in mind. However, many of them have evolved to the point where they are now highly customizable. For example, about 30% of the entire web is powered by WordPress.
The truth is that CMS these days are so flexible that you can use them for almost any type of project you want. However, they are ideal for websites based on content creation and sharing. That means you can use them to create simple blogs, tutorial websites, portfolios, news sites, and more. With the right tools, you can even tackle more advanced web projects using a CMS, such as , private membership sites, and .
In a moment, we’ll introduce you to some of the best CMS available today. However, before that, let’s talk about the features you should consider when choosing a CMS for your website.
What features should the best CMS have?
By now, you should already have a solid idea of what CMS are in theory. At this point, let’s talk about some of the specific features they might offer. The best CMS should provide:
- A way to publish new content easily. Any quality CMS will include a powerful editor and plenty of options to ensure your content looks top-notch.
- Content taxonomy options. The more content your website has, the more important it is to keep everything organized. This is why a CMS should allow you to create categories, assign tags to your articles, etc.
- Page editing functionality. In addition to posting content, you will need to create various types of pages for your website. Your CMS should provide you with the tools you’ll need to get the job done.
- A high level of customization. In our experience, the best CMS are highly customizable. That means they allow you to add almost any functionality you want, which in turn allows you to create more advanced websites.
- A strong community. CMSes with active communities are constantly developing, so you’ll always have access to updates, security patches, and help from other knowledgeable people.
These are five main features that you should expect to see in any CMS worth its salt. Other than that, most of the best CMSes vary a lot in terms of features and types of projects they are suitable for.
In the rest of this article, we’ll take a look at some of our favorite CMS platforms. We’ll break down what makes them unique, explore their pros and cons, and help you choose the best CMS for your site.
8 of the best CMS options for 2021
There is a wide variety among the CMS options that we have selected here for you. But they all have one thing in common: they are all open source and available for 1-click install on . That means you won’t have to spend a penny to download and try each one. Find the best CMS with .
Here is the list of the best free CMS available in 2021 ordered by popularity and features:
1.WordPress
We’re sure you’ve probably heard of . This CMS has the largest market share among its competitors so far, and it’s easy to see why.
Although WordPress was conceived as a platform, it grew far beyond that niche. The platform is , and you can customize it in great detail using plugins and themes (of which you have thousands to choose from).
When it comes to content management, WordPress also provides a top-notch experience. Publishing new posts and pages is simple, and you have access to a powerful editor that allows you to format your content. In addition, the platform also supports user registration, has regular updates, and has a large and helpful community.
Main features:
- Includes intuitive posting and content management options.
- It provides a powerful editor that allows you to format your content with ease.
- It is highly customizable, thanks to thousands of plugins and themes.
- It has a strong and very active community.
The only downside to WordPress is that sometimes you’ll have to combine many to add the precise functionality your site needs. There are also other CMS options that offer a more streamlined blogging experience, though they can’t quite match WordPress’ level of customization.
2.Joomla!
When people debate which is the best CMS, Joomla! is one of the names that is heard most often in conjunction with WordPress. The general consensus is that while Joomla may not be as beginner-friendly as WordPress, it can be more flexible in some ways.
For example, Joomla is a great option if you need to manage a lot of ‘custom post types’. That is, it’s ideal if you want to run a website that doesn’t rely heavily on text content. The platform also offers a lot more options when it comes to user management. This makes it a fantastic option for membership-based sites, for example.
In addition to that, Joomla also includes multilingual support out of the box. That means you don’t have to use plugins or extensions to add more languages to your site. Finally, Joomla also allows you to use multiple templates or themes at once, for different types of content.
Main features:
- It offers excellent support for custom post types.
- Provides advanced user management options.
- Includes multilingual support out of the box.
- Supports the use of unique templates for each type of page.
On paper, Joomla sounds amazing, and is a strong option. But it is not as beginner-friendly as WordPress, so it may take you more time to learn how to create a website using this CMS.
It also doesn’t offer as many extensions or templates as some of its competitors. That’s not necessarily a reason to rule it out, but it does mean that there are some features you may have to apply manually, making this a good option for those with some web development experience.
3. Drupal
is another name that carries a lot of weight in discussions of the best open source CMS. While it lags behind WordPress and Joomla in market share, that doesn’t make it any less remarkable.
In practice, Drupal shines in many of the same areas as Joomla. For example, she offers a very flexible system for dealing with custom post types. It also gives you a high degree of control over your users and their permissions, and can even handle multilingual sites out of the box.
However, there are other areas where Drupal is unmatched. Its taxonomy system, for example, is much more powerful than its competitors. Also, Drupal is considered a more secure platform than WordPress and Joomla.
Main features:
- It offers a flexible system for managing and creating custom posts.
- Provides advanced permission settings and user management.
- Includes support for multilingual sites out of the box.
- It has a detailed taxonomy system.
- It has first level security for your website.
You can build just about any type of website you want using the ‘big three’ CMS platforms, which include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. However, Drupal is known for its scalability and security, which often makes it a better choice for business and commercial sites.
However, it has a steep learning curve. In most cases, we do not recommend using Drupal unless you have experience in web development. Though if you’re comfortable with development, this is one of the best CMS options available today.
4.Type3
We are now venturing into the realm of lesser known CMS platforms. But that doesn’t make these options any less valuable. It just means they have more specific use cases.
Let’s take Typo3, for example. This is a CMS with scalability as its strong point, and it caters to enterprise-grade websites. For example, if you want to use a CMS to build an intranet, Typo3 would be a great option.
When it comes to ease of use, on the other hand, Typo3 isn’t usually the first choice. In our experience, this CMS is more suitable for users who have some experience when it comes to web development, and is not ideal for small and simple websites.
Either way, Typo3 packs a lot of great features, like multilingual support. It also allows you to run multiple sites from a single installation, which can save you a lot of work.
Main features:
- It is a great option for sites of level…
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