Ultimate Guide To Most Popular CMS Platforms Usability and Functionalities | Temok Hosting Blog

The CMS is an amazing tool that let you create and control the website and its content, even if you don’t have programming skills. The smart editing, content creating and publishing tools of different CMS platforms allow managing any website efficiently without bothering too much about the technical aspects of the website. If you are willing to make a website without having programming skills than CMS is something that you must consider in this case. There are hundreds of CMS platforms available in the marketing that are offering different themes, plugins and functionalities. Selecting the right CMS for your website is a hard task because the competition in the market is very high.

To select the perfect CMS for your website, you must know about the technical needs of your website. Different CMS platforms in the market provide different functionalities and their usability is also quite different from each other. For example, if you want a simple website, you must go for the CMS that is easy to use and have a friendly interface. As you need the basic CMS features for your website, so you better not look for the CMS with advanced functionalities.

A few years back, when I started blogging, the hardest thing for me to select the most appropriate CMS that will suites my needs. I take a lot of time to select the right option for me and till now I have used many CMSs. In this article, with my experience and exposure, I have discussed some of the most popular CMS services available in the market, that would guide you to make a better decision about your CMS selection.

Here are some of the most commonly used CMS platforms.

WordPress

Whether or not you have any experience related to CMS but you must hear of the WordPress. It is one of the most popular CMS and around 65% of the websites which needs any CMS is using WordPress because of its convenience, usability and functionality. WordPress is the CMS platform that provides the user with higher usability with advanced functionality.

WordPress provides its users with customized designs, user-friendly interface, high security, media management, etc. One of the best things about WordPress is that it is very SEO friendly CMS platform that would help you to maintain your Google ranking on the internet.

Around 33% of the overall websites on the internet are supported by WordPress. Some of the most popular sites made on WordPress are BBC America, Forbes, Bata, Facebook and more. The pros and cons of WordPress are as follow:

Pros

• You can get a range of free plugins and themes that are easy to use.
• All of the plugins are simple and SEO friendly.
• WordPress is free to install and most of the themes of this CMS are also free.
• It is made on PHP that increase the overall performance and responsiveness of the website.

Cons Drupal

The Drupal is a fully customized open source CMS platform that would provide you will high flexibility and scalability. The Drupal offers a wide range of content management features that can be ideal for enterprises who want to grow rapidly. The interface of the Drupal is very user-friendly. This CMS platform is mostly used in advanced websites. Some of the famous websites on the Drupal platforms are Box, EntertainmentWeekly, etc.

The Drupal is a good option for the small to medium-size enterprises. The Drupal platform has a very active community that is supporting it. The Drupal offers a wide range of interesting features such as user blogs, forums, profiles, OpenID, etc. If you want to create any website with more social features then Drupal is a good option for you to consider. Some of the pros and cons of the Drupal are as follow:

Pros

• You don’t need to have a license for Drupal because it is an open-source CMS platform.
• Drupal is an ideal option for experienced programmers because of its developers’ friendly features.
• You can make highly advanced websites using Drupal.
• Drupal is a very flexible and versatile CMS platform.

Cons

• To work on Drupal, you must have web development experience with other technical skills.
• You might need an expert to install Drupal because of its complexity.

Joomla

After WordPress, Joomla is the other most popular CMS platform. You can easily make powerful websites by using Joomla. The Joomla is an SEO friendly CMS platform. You can find a lot of design options here. The most popular websites using Joomla CMS platform are Linux, Harvard University, etc. As compared with WordPress, Joomla is a little bit complex. Joomla offers a lot of modules to the users to put some extra features to your website. To manage these modules, you should have a good knowledge of programming. If you are a developer then Joomla is the best option for you. Following are some of the pros and cons of Joomla.

Pros Cons Squarespace

The Squarespace is an amazing CMS platform to make attractive and beautiful websites. The Squarespace CMS platform offers fully customized control with high-quality features. One of the major qualities of Squarespace is its unique analytics. The famous websites made on this CMS are Slidebean, TrustPilot blog, Wired, Lyft, etc.

With the Squarespace, you will get a smart SEO and CRM toolkit. Squarespace is a good option for local businesses. The Squarespace is very flexible and it is easy for you to adjust this CMS platform depending on your business needs. Following are some major pros and cons of the Squarespace.

Pros

• The Squarespace offers the best quality templates and amazing designs to make your website attractive.
• It provides complete customization control without coding.

Cons SilverStripe

The SilverStripe is a CMS platform, built on PHP that makes it very much like WordPress. The SilverStripe has more configurations options as compared with WordPress. The SilverStripehas its templating language that can be helpful in the designing. The SilverStripe provides some features like the SEO supports tools with content version control. The SilverStripe doesn’t have a huge development community, it offers some widgets, themes and modules to add functionality to the website. Some of the pros and cons of SilverStripe are as follow:

Pros

• The SilverStripe is an open-source CMS that is totally free to use.
• It follows the MVC (Model, View, and Controller) structure that is more familiar with the developers.

Cons

Kentico CMS

The Kentico is another CMS versatile platform that offers a wide range of features for creating websites, managing content, and marketing. The Kentico is the one and only ASP.NET CMS platform and it offers a lot of community building tools like groups, forums, and message boards. The Kentico is a multilingual CMS that allows the users to manage the content and websites in different languages. Some of the famous websites on the Kentico are Starbucks, Gibson guitars, and Mazda, etc. The pros and cons of the Kentico are as follow:

Pros Cons

• The Kentico CMS is a bit expensive as compared with the other CMS platforms.
• It is hard to learn and you should have some programming and web development skills to manage this CMS.

Textpattern

If you are a beginner then Textpattern is the best option for you because of its simple to use and elegant design. It is a lightweight CMS that makes loading faster. The backend of the Textpattern is very easy to use because of its intuitive design. If you have any problem working on it, then you can get help from the official site of Textpattern. The developer’s community of the Textpattern is very active and you can easily get assistance.

The Textpattern just provides the users with the basic CMS functionalities. Some of the major pros and cons of the Textpattern are as follow:

Pros

Cons

• The Textpattern cannot be used for advanced websites because of its limited features and functionality.
• It is not compatible with the growing business models to get competitors advantage.

Umbraco

The Umbraco is a popular CMS platform that is developed using ASP.NET. The interface of the Umbraco is very developer-friendly. In the Umbraco, the overall process of publishing content and setup is very easy and simple. If you have some web development experience then working on Umbraco can be fun for you. You can easily learn the Umbraco; you must have a good knowledge of Razor coding. The pros and cons of Umbraco are as follow:

Pros Cons

Magnolia

The Magnolia is very easy to use CMS and it allows its users to make a website without any technical knowledge. The Magnolia is written in Java, and it is the best option for the businesses who want their websites to have a lot of functionalities. The Magnolia CMS is very flexible and you can add more features to this CMS with increasing business needs. One of the major purposes of Magnolia is to provide advanced security features and in the Magnolia, the public and private elements of the websites are separate from each other. The authorities and controls of the admins and users of the CMS are also well defined. The Magnolia CMS can be customized to different business needs. Pros and cons of the Magnolia are as follow:

Pros Cons

• There is no administrative dashboard in the Magnolia CMS to show different operations.
• In the Magnolia CMS, the migrations from one version to another is a bit complicated.

TYPO3

The TYPO3 is a content management system made in PHP language. The TYPO3 is not very user-friendly but most of the features of TYPO3 are developer-friendly. There are two types of extensions in the TYPO3, handmade extensions and ready-made extensions. To make your own extensions in the TYPO3, you can use the Typoscript. In theTYPO3, there are different levels of permission and you have to configure it during installation.

The TYPO3 offers good flexibility to the user to adjust according to the changing business needs. Some of the pros and cons of the TYPO3 are as follow:

Pros Cons

• Because of the complex interface, it is hard to learn for a non-developer.
• The installation of TYPO3 CMS is complicated and you might need some permission for installing this CMS.

Radiant CMS

The Radiant is one of the simplest and elegant CMS platforms that is made on the Ruby framework. The Radiant does not have any WYSIWYG editor and you have to depends on the Textile markups. This CMS platform has its own templating language that is very much like HTML, it is so intuitive that allows the users to make create HTML templates. It is an open-source CMS and users not need to have any license to use it. The Radiant is a perfect CMS for the small businesses and it has a user-friendly interface. It contains all the basic functionalities that make the management of the website easier. Here are some of the pros and cons of the Radiant.

Pros Cons

• The Radiant may not be compliable with growing business needs.
• It doesn’t provide any advanced functionality to the websites.

MODX

The MODX is very user-friendly CMS software that allows you to make a fully functional website in a short time. The overall content management and editing in the MODX are very easy as it uses simple features to create and edit content. The MODX offers a lot of pricing options for the customers depending on the different needs of businesses.

The MODX is very handy CMS and you can get almost all features and functions here that you for content management. The MODX also offers you security features to make your content more protected. Following are the pros and cons of MODX.

Pros Cons

• Dealing with the installations and other settings can be a bit difficult for the non-technical person.
• The user roles and permission setting of the MODX can be quite confusing for the users.

Magento

The Magento offers a lot of functionality and customization to the users. The Magento CMS is the perfect option if you want to give exposure to your brand by creating amazing content. The good quality workflows of the Magento allow the marketing team to manage the content and make it more compatible with their brand image.

Although the services of the Magento CMS are quite expensive so you can take a free trial to decide whether it seems effective for your business or not. The Magento CMS will surely decrease your overall marketing cost with its smart marketing features that are enough to build a solid brand image. Some of the pros and cons of Magento CMS are as follow:

Pros Cons

Concrete5

The Concrete5 is an amazing CMS that allows the developers to save a lot of time. The editing tools of CMS are very convenient for the end-users. It is a high-speed CMS that is highly responsive to the users. In the Concrete5 CMS, the editing of the blog is done in the blog page rather than on the admin page. So, you can say that in the Concrete5 CMS all of the changes are live. Some of the pros and cons of Concrete5 CMS are as follow:

Pros Cons

• The Concrete5 CMS has a smaller community and it may be difficult for you to find help when any issue occurs.
• It is not a suitable option for eCommerce websites.

Refinery CMS

The Refinery is a content management system based on Ruby Rails language. It is an open-source CMS that is totally free to use. The user interface of the Refinery CMS is also very simple and easy to use. You would not have any issue learning this CMS, as it needs no technical skills to use. There are many of the design options available in the Refinery for your website. The RefineryCMS is a flexible tool that can be adjusted with changing business needs. This CMS also provides a lot of extensions options, here you can make your own extensions or use the ones contributed by the community. The Refinery is a good alternative CMS to WordPress. Here are some of the pros and cons of Refinery.

Pros Cons

• If you made any changes to the system then you have to override the files.
• There is no post scheduling and easy previewing options for the content.

Liferay DXP 7.2

Liferay is a new content management system in the market. The Liferay CMS allows its users to make unique websites and content resources for different businesses. This CMS uses the latest technology and design that is a major reason why people are getting attracted to it. It is one of the most amazing tools to make professional websites with stylish designs by using the latest technology. The pros and cons of the Liferay are as follow:

Pros

• The advanced features of the Liferay CMS reduce the overall time for development.
• The best options to make highly professional websites.

Cons

ExpressionEngine

The ExpressionEngine is a content management tool that is very much similar to WordPress. Rather than focusing on the databases and comment, ExpressionEngine CMS is more concern about your content. This CMS is majorly designed for experienced web developers. The ExpressionEngine is very simple and easy to use CMS and it offers a lot of add-ons, some of them are free and some user has to buy. The pros and cons of the ExpressionEngine CMS are as follow:

Pros Cons Serendipity

Serendipity CMS is a simple blogging platform suitable for small businesses or personal blogging. The interface of the Serendipity is very user-friendly and simple that makes the overall content creation and management easier. The user gets the notification anytime a blogger commented on your post. To customize your blog, you can also install some plugins in it. Some of the pros and cons of the Serendipity CMS are as follow:

Pros

• Serendipity CMSis simple to use and maintain the content.
• A good CMS tools to fulfils the basic blogging needs.

Cons

• The Serendipity does not offer advanced CMS functionality.
• Not flexible enough to adjust to changing business needs.

Chamilo

The Chamilo is very unique CMS that is also known as LMS. The Chamilo is majorly used for the e-learning websites. The content management in the Chamilo is very easy and fast. It provides all the features that any learning management system might need, for example, you can upload learning material, videos, online tests etc. The pros and cons of the Chamilo CMS are as follow:

Pros

• The Chamilo is an open-source platform that can be customized.
• It provides all of the features required by any learning management system.

Cons

Conclusion

In this article, I have talked about different CMS platforms available in the market. I also discuss the usability, functionality, pros and cons of major CMS platforms. The information provided in this article would help you to select the most appropriate CMS depending on your personal or business needs. I hope this information helped you to understand the functionality and usability of different CMS platforms. Now, you can make a better decision about your CMS selection.

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