Many years ago, creating a website meant a lot of HTML code and a steep learning curve. Today, the landscape is unrecognizable, thanks to content management systems. A CMS lets site owners control everything from creating pages, inserting media, and even managing product databases for e-commerce from something called an admin panel.
The World’s Favorite Content Management Systems
A content management system allows someone who doesn’t have any development knowledge to create beautiful and full-functioning websites without writing blocks of code. The way a CMS works is with pre-developed functions, themes, templates, and plugins. Let’s look at some of the most popular CMSes among site owners.
WordPress
Among all the content management systems available today, WordPress is the clear winner in terms of market share. Two-thirds of all websites have WordPress as their platform. Why is it so popular? Its community plays a significant role. Millions of contributors provide useful content, components, and support for users. With WordPress, you do not need to be a professional to create an amazing site, thanks to the many tutorials featured on the internet.
Shopify
Shopify cannot compete with WordPress, but when it comes to online shops, it is king. Shopify runs on a third of all US e-commerce websites. Built with drag-and-drop UI functionality, this CMS allows you to design and launch a site in minutes. It boasts security, speed, and scalability, which are undoubtedly essential in today’s world. Unfortunately, unlike WordPress, which is free, Shopify will cost you a minimum of $29 a month.
Magento
Like WordPress, Magento is a free CMS, and it powers about 0.8% of all websites. This open-source platform is home to thousands of extensions and has very strong community support. News portals, personal homepages, restaurant reservation sites, and online stores are only a few examples of the platform’s broad capabilities. Whether you’re looking to build something yourself or hire Magento developers to do so, the platform is an excellent choice.
Drupal
Drupal is another open-source platform the online community needs to watch out for. Launched in 2001, the CMS is the base for about 2.6% of all websites. Users love the impressive Drupal module library as well as the bundles available for different industry sectors. These packages make designing a website simple as they contain themes, modules, and configurations specially formulated for certain site types.
Wix
If you’re unfamiliar with designing websites, Wix is an excellent option for you. It features an intuitive editor, a free plan, a library of templates, numerous widgets, and webstore capabilities. With that said, this is not the platform for you if you require more control over your site because hosting, uptime, and updates are all determined by Wix. However, if you’re looking to get a website up and running quickly and with minimal effort, you won’t go wrong with it.
Squarespace
Known as a popular option for e-commerce sites, Squarespace is more similar to Shopify compared to other platforms like Joomla! and Drupal. However, Squarespace isn’t as limited as Shopify, as it also powers sites of all types. Users will need to pay to use the platform, and monthly fees start at $16. A probable reason it doesn’t control a bigger market share than its competitor might be due to its bulky and less intuitive editor.
Choose Wisely!
Gone are the days when site owners needed to learn how to code to develop even the most basic of sites. As you can see, there are many solutions to simplify website creation. Some are free, and some require a monthly fee. To determine which CMS suits you the best, find out what others in your industry go for. It doesn’t hurt to look at example sites!